Format 7-inch single Label Verve | Length 2:04 | |
A-side "White Light/White Heat" Released November 1967 (1967-11) Recorded September 1967
Scepter Studios, Manhattan | ||
"Here She Comes Now" is a song released by the American rock band the Velvet Underground in November 1967, from their second studio album White Light/White Heat. As the shortest song on the album, the performance and mix of the song are both considered simple and traditional, making it somewhat distinct from the other five songs on the album, all of which contain some degree of experimental or avant-garde elements in terms of sound.
Contents
Background
"Here She Comes Now" was recorded during the recording sessions for White Light/White Heat in September 1967 at Scepter Studios in Manhattan. Lou Reed originally intended the song to be sung by Nico, who had sung it on a few occasions during the Exploding Plastic Inevitable events, however her collaboration with the group had ended before recording for White Light/White Heat had begun. Subsequently, Reed had decided to take over vocals for the song. The song was first demoed in two takes during the winter of 1967 by Reed, Sterling Morrison and John Cale at their Ludlow Street apartment. In 1995, the demo was released on the box set Peel Slowly and See.
Lyrical interpretations
The double entendre of the title has been interpreted by writers to mean that the song is about sex and the female orgasm. Due to the group's fondness of writing songs related to drug use, the word "she" has also been regarded as a metaphor for drugs and "awaiting an intoxication that fails to occur". This is further suggested by the feminine code names for drugs such as "Lucy" for LSD. Gerard Malanga and Victor Bockris, authors of Uptight: The Velvet Underground Story, described the song as a "rather pretty 4-line dissertation on the possibility that a girl might come". Another common interpretation is that the song is about Reed's Ostrich guitar. The line "She's made out of wood" and Reed's habit of exclaiming "Here she comes now" before soloing on various live recordings and performances lend credence to this.
Critical reception
Eddie Gibson of Music Review Database praised the song as "one of the more beautiful tracks from White Light/White Heat". He described the instrumentation as "delicate and in an acoustic manor" [sic] and said "it's something spectacular because the guitar is very delirious and the sparse drumming only adds to the beautiful atmosphere". He also commented that the delayed reverb gave the song a "sweet, melancholy edge over the rest of the album". Uncut described it as "a soothing mantra that served as a brief moment of balm amongst the blistering noise, a guttering light in the churning darkness". Similarly, Mark Deming of AllMusic considered it "the album's sole 'pretty' song" and "mildly disquieting". Authors Scott Schinder and Andy Schwartz deemed the song "the album's lone melodic ballad" that "carried an uneasy undercurrent". Author Doyle Greene considered the track "a brief and relatively sedate song closest to the psychedelic folk leanings of the first album".
Recordings and personnel
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
1967 studio personnel
Cover versions
Cabaret Voltaire recorded a cover version on their debut EP Extended Play in 1978.
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". It also appears on the box set With the Lights Out and the 20th anniversary deluxe edition of their album Nevermind.
The song was also covered by dream pop band Galaxie 500 as a bonus track for the reissue of their 1990 album This Is Our Music.