The Story Behind "I Saw Her Standing There" by The Beatles and the Bass Line Paul
One, two, three, four
Those four words kick off the debut album by The Beatles as they explode into the intro with guitar, bass, and drums. After “Love Me Do” reached No. 17 on the British charts and “Please Please Me” hit No. 1, it was time to record an album. When producer George Martin witnessed the audience’s reaction to the band’s live shows, he decided they should record the same songs they regularly performed. On February 11, 1963, the band entered EMI Studios on Abbey Road in London and laid down 10 songs. Let’s take a look at the story behind one of them—”I Saw Her Standing There” by The Beatles.
Well, she was just seventeen
You know what I mean
And the way she looked
Was way beyond compare
So how could I dance with another
Ooh, when I saw her standing there?
The Origin
Paul McCartney began writing the song as he was returning home from a show in Southport, England. He was influenced by the traditional song “As I Roved Out.” He worked out the arrangement on an acoustic guitar at musician Alan Caldwell’s house in October 1962. (Caldwell went by the name of Rory Storm and had a band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, whose drummer at one time was future Beatle Ringo Starr.)
McCartney wrote some of the lyrics during a trip to London with his then-girlfriend, Celia Mortimer, who was 17. About a month later, John Lennon helped complete the song in the living room of McCartney’s home on Forthlin Road in Liverpool when they both skipped school.
Source: Jay McDowell/americansongwriter.com
