Written by: Lennon-McCartney
Recorded: 1 July 1963, 29 January 1964
Producer: George Martin
Engineer: Norman Smith
Released: 5 March 1964 (Germany)
John Lennon: vocals, rhythm guitar
Paul McCartney: vocals, bass
George Harrison: vocals, lead guitar
Ringo Starr: drums
Available on:
Past Masters
A German language version of She Loves You, Sie Liebt Dich was recorded by The Beatles in Paris in January 1964, along with Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand, a similar reworking of I Want To Hold Your Hand.
EMI's West German couterpart, Electrola Gesellschaft, persuaded the group to re-record the songs, for release as a double a-side single in February 1964. The practice of recording special versions for foreign markets was a common occurrence at the time, but the 29 January session was the only time The Beatles did so.
As noted by Ian MacDonald in Revolution In The Head, foreign-language versions of British hits subsequently fell out of favour. "The resulting promotion of the English language around the world is one of [The Beatles'] most substantial, and least documented, achievements," he wrote.
In the studio
When The Beatles had recorded She Loves You, and it had been mixed for mono, the original two-track tape had been destroyed by EMI. For Sie Liebt Dich, therefore, the group had to re-record the song again from scratch.
This they did in 13 takes, following which they overdubbed their vocals in a single take. The new lyrics, prepared by a translator called Otto Demmlar, kept the familiar "Yeah, yeah, yeah" refrain of the original.
They were extremely pleased to get it over with. We all were. I found the studio very odd to work in, the equipment was alien to anything we were used to.
The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions, Mark Lewisohn
Related articles:
- US single release: Sie Liebt Dich
- Recording: Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand, Sie Liebt Dich, Can't Buy Me Love
- Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand
- Mixing: Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand, Sie Liebt Dich
- The Beatles at the George V Hotel, Paris
