Here She Comes Now

Song infobox
Name = Here She Comes Now


Type = Single
Artist = The Velvet Underground
Album = White Light/White Heat
Released = January 30, 1968
track_no = 4
Recorded = September 1967, Scepter Studios, New York City, New York
Genre = Rock
Length = 2:04
Writer = Lou Reed
Composer = Sterling Morrison, John Cale, Lou Reed
Label = Verve Records
Producer = Tom Wilson
Tracks =
#"White Light/White Heat"
#"The Gift"
#"Lady Godiva's Operation"
#"Here She Comes Now"
#"I Heard Her Call My Name"
#"Sister Ray"
Misc = Extra chronology
Artist = The Velvet Underground
Type = singles
Last single = "Sunday Morning" / "Femme Fatale"
(1966)
This single = "White Light/White Heat" / "Here She Comes Now"
(1968)
Next single = "What Goes On" / "Jesus"
(1969)

"Here She Comes Now" is fourth track appearing on The Velvet Underground's second album, "White Light/White Heat", released in 1968. The performance and mix of the song are both simple and traditional, making it somewhat distinct among the other five songs on the album, all of which contain some type of experimental or avant-garde element in terms of sound. It is also the album's shortest song at just over two minutes.

The song was released as the B-side to the single, "White Light/White Heat".

Background

Originally intended for Nico to sing (who did indeed sing it on a few occasions during the Exploding Plastic Inevitable shows), the song was demoed in 1967 by Lou Reed, Sterling Morrison and John Cale. This demo later surfaced on the 1995 box set "Peel Slowly and See". However, the time "White Light/White Heat" was recorded, the collaboration between Nico and The Velvet Underground had come to an end. On both the recorded demo and the studio version, lead vocalist Reed sings the lyrics.

Lyrics

As the song is lyrically ambiguous, many people have speculated as to its meanings. The authors of the Velvet Underground biography "Up-Tight" called it a "seven-line thesis on the possibility that a girl might come" [Gerard Malanga and Victor Bockris in "Up-Tight: The Velvet Underground Story" (1983, 1995²)] . The lyrics to the song's original demo, which contain two extra verses, are even more mystifying.

Recordings

Although known to have been played live, no other recorded versions than the demo and the "White Light/White Heat" studio version are known to exist.

1967 demo personnel

* Lou Reed - vocal, rhythm guitar
* Sterling Morrison - lead guitar
* John Cale - viola

1967 studio personnel

* Lou Reed - vocal, rhythm guitar
* John Cale - viola, bass guitar, piano
* Sterling Morrison - lead guitar
* Maureen Tucker - percussion

Cover versions

Cabaret Voltaire recorded a cover version on their debut "Extended Play" EP. A version is also included on their collection of early demos and experiments, "Methodology : Attic Tapes" .

Rock band Nirvana released a cover version of the song in 1991 as part of a split single with The Melvins (who, in turn, covered "Venus in Furs", another song by The Velvet Underground).

French artist Colleen works a sample of the song's opening notes into the full track, "Your Heart on Your Sleeve," from her 2003 debut album, "Everyone Alive Wants Answers".

The song was also covered by Galaxie 500 as a bonus track on a mid-90s rerelase of their 1990 album "This is Our Music"

References