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"Somewhere Only We Know" is a song composed and performed by English
alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...
band Keane, officially released as the first single from their debut album, ''
Hopes and Fears ''Hopes and Fears'' is the debut studio album by the English alternative rock band Keane. It was released on 10 May 2004 in the United Kingdom and topped the UK Albums Chart upon release. It was the second best-selling British album of 2004, ...
'' (2004). The single peaked at number three on the
UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
during its first week of sales. In 2013, the song was covered by
Lily Allen Lily Rose Beatrice Allen (born 2 May 1985) is an English singer-songwriter and actress. She is the daughter of actor Keith Allen and film producer Alison Owen. Her music career began in 2005 when she made some of her vocal recordings publi ...
for a
John Lewis Christmas advert The John Lewis Christmas advert is an ongoing television advertising campaign released by British department store chain John Lewis & Partners in the build-up to Christmas. John Lewis & Partners launched their first Christmas advert in 2007. It ...
; Allen's version reached number-one in the UK Singles Chart.


Composition and recording

The first demo was composed by
Tim Rice-Oxley Timothy James Rice-Oxley (born 2 June 1976) is an English musician, best known for being the keyboardist, singer and songwriter of the pop rock band Keane. In 2010, he formed a side-project, Mt. Desolation, with his Keane bandmate Jesse Quin ...
in about 2001. Rice-Oxley said that the song came from "hammering away on the piano" explaining "I was thinking of something like David Bowie's "
Heroes Heroes or Héroes may refer to: * Hero, one who displays courage and self-sacrifice for the greater good Film * ''Heroes'' (1977 film), an American drama * ''Heroes'' (2008 film), an Indian Hindi film Gaming * ''Heroes of Might and Magic'' ...
", which you drive along to a really rocking beat...It was one of the first things we recorded for the album." It was first played on the guitar just before
Dominic Scott Dominic Scott (born 15 May 1979) is an Irish guitarist, and the founder of the English rock band Roundstone and a founding member of the pop rock band Keane. Keane Scott attended Tonbridge School in Kent, where he met the other members of the b ...
left the band, and recorded as a demo the same year with a
Yamaha Yamaha may refer to: * Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services, established in 1887. The company is the largest shareholder of Yamaha Motor Company (below). ** Yamaha Music Foundation, an organization estab ...
CP70 instead of the guitar. Keane recorded the final version in 2003 at the Helioscentric Studios,
Rye, East Sussex is a small town and civil parish in the Rother district of East Sussex, England, two miles from the sea at the confluence of three rivers: the Rother, the Tillingham and the Brede. An important member of the mediaeval Cinque Ports confederatio ...
for the album. Keane also played this song at the historic concert
Live 8 Live 8 was a string of benefit concerts that took place on 2 July 2005, in the G8 states and in South Africa. They were timed to precede the G8 conference and summit held at the Gleneagles Hotel in Auchterarder, Scotland, from 6–8 July 200 ...
in London, along with the single "
Bedshaped "Bedshaped" is a song by English rock band Keane, released as the third single from ''Hopes and Fears''. It became their third consecutive top-10 hit on the UK Singles Chart, after "Somewhere Only We Know" and "Everybody's Changing", peaking a ...
". A demo version of "Somewhere Only We Know" was leaked into the Internet in 2004. This version features a different length (4:24) and an extra
bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...
. Chaplin's shouts near the outro of the final version do not feature in the demo. "Somewhere Only We Know" is a traditional piano rock song. The piano is the most relevant instrument due to its harmonic and rhythmic role. It is played in quavers throughout the whole song, holding the tempo and the rhythmic pattern. The studio version is recorded in 87bpm, and follows a 4/4
time signature The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note value ...
, the most commonly used in traditional rock songs. It is in the key of
A major A major (or the key of A) is a major scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has three sharps. Its relative minor is F-sharp minor and its parallel minor is A minor. The key of A major is the only k ...
. The song form can be analyzed as ABAB CBCB, a variation of the strophic form. The verse (A) chord progression is a plain (I-II-V), one of the most used chord progressions in music; the chorus (B) presents a (VI-III-IV-V) progression; the variation of the verse section (C) presents a (II-III-IV-V) progression. The bass line was recorded by Rice-Oxley. When played live (up until 2007 with the arrival of bassist
Jesse Quin Jesse Joseph Quin (born 3 September 1981) is an English multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter and producer best known as the bass player of the British pop rock band Keane. Jesse also founded and runs an arts centre on an abandoned U.S. Air ...
), this song uses a pre-recorded bass, which is played in an
Apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...
PowerBook G4 The PowerBook G4 is a series of notebook computers manufactured, marketed, and sold by Apple Computer between 2001 and 2006 as part of its PowerBook line of notebooks. The PowerBook G4 runs on the RISC-based PowerPC G4 processor, designed by the ...
. The 16-beat rhythm was made by Hughes.


History

The song was mixed by Mark "Spike" Stent. 3" pocket CDs were released as a limited edition of 1000, containing the
B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...
"Snowed Under" as well as links to receive a
polyphonic Polyphony ( ) is a type of musical texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody, as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice, monophony, or a texture with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords, h ...
ringtone via
SMS Short Message/Messaging Service, commonly abbreviated as SMS, is a text messaging service component of most telephone, Internet and mobile device systems. It uses standardized communication protocols that let mobile devices exchange short text ...
. These copies are now valued at £20 due to their rarity. This song was the first Keane item released on vinyl format. The records were numbered and limited to 5,000 copies, only sold in the United Kingdom. The B-side "Walnut Tree" was recorded during the James Sanger sessions at Normandy, France. The song's lyrics refer to Manser's Shaw, a place in
Battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
that Keane members used to visit in their childhood days and the site of the
Battle of Hastings The Battle of Hastings nrf, Batâle dé Hastings was fought on 14 October 1066 between the Norman-French army of William the Conqueror, William, the Duke of Normandy, and an English army under the Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godw ...
, fought on 14 October 1066. According to Rice-Oxley, they wrote the song after returning to Battle from London after failing to achieve musical success. The "pathway" referenced in the song refers to the trail between the house of Rice-Oxley's parents and the local pub. Richard Hughes, Keane's drummer, offered the following explanation of the song on Chris Flynn's fansite:


B-sides

; Snowed Under The song talks about a place called "Manser's Shaw" in
Battle, East Sussex Battle is a small town and civil parish in the local government district of Rother in East Sussex, England. It lies south-east of London, east of Brighton and east of Lewes. Hastings is to the south-east and Bexhill-on-Sea to the south. Batt ...
where the band used to spend their childhood days. It was inspired by a poem. "Snowed Under" was the only B-side played live during 2004, 2005, and early 2006, because of its appearance on the CD+DVD version of ''
Hopes and Fears ''Hopes and Fears'' is the debut studio album by the English alternative rock band Keane. It was released on 10 May 2004 in the United Kingdom and topped the UK Albums Chart upon release. It was the second best-selling British album of 2004, ...
'', as well as in the
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
ese version of it. Like "Walnut Tree", this song was mixed by Andy Green. "Snowed Under" also titles the band's debut album, with the line "someone who understands your hopes and fears". ; Walnut Tree The lyrics talk about waiting for someone under a walnut tree, but Rice-Oxley hasn't given this meaning. It appeared on the '' Music from the OC: Mix 2'' soundtrack. James Sanger is credited on this song for his contributions at his studios in
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
. This song was mixed by Andy Green.


Music videos

There are three
music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...
s for this song: ; UK version Keane appear coming out of a studio and taking a
taxi A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice ...
. Then they come across a forest where the "simple thing" aliens live (called Roxleys by some fans). Each Roxley represents the spirit of a tree. This international video was directed by Corin Hardy, produced by
Kit Hawkins Kit Hawkins is an English entrepreneur and entertainment producer, based in Los Angeles. Kit Hawkins is the Co-Founder of the creative agencSunshineSunshine represents leading fashion, luxury and lifestyle brands such as Dior, Adidas, Grey Goose ...
for White House Pictures, and shot between 22 and 23 November 2003. Hardy was influenced by the movie ''
Princess Mononoke is a 1997 Japanese animated epic historical fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki and animated by Studio Ghibli for Tokuma Shoten, Nippon Television Network and Dentsu. The film stars the voices of Yōji Matsuda, Yuriko Ishida ...
'' and created the "simple thing" aliens based on the "Kodama" appearing in that film. The video saga starts with an image of a backstage door shortly before Keane walk through it with Tom holding a
snare SNARE proteins – " SNAP REceptor" – are a large protein family consisting of at least 24 members in yeasts, more than 60 members in mammalian cells, and some numbers in plants. The primary role of SNARE proteins is to mediate vesicle fu ...
. They get into a British taxi cab. A little spirit (a "simple thing" alien) is inside the taxi. Then they arrive in a wooded area (in East Sussex, owned by Anthony Becvar, an acquaintance of Corin Hardy). The "simple thing" alien remains in the cab. They began walking through the forest, "an empty land", across a "fallen tree" and finally arrive at a stream. They are now playing the song in the stream. Near the end of the song, the little spirits, Roxleys, appear again and get closer to Keane. Finally, lights representing their hearts shine. ; United States version 1 The video is the same without the "simple thing" aliens. ; United States version 2 and other countries This video was shot on 29 May 2004 in Hollywood, California, and directed by The Saline Project. The song kicks off and Keane are playing a gig on the stage with a photograph of a forest behind them. Soon, the photograph becomes real, and Keane are playing in the forest it represents. After the chorus, the forest becomes a city, and buildings start to grow. In the last chorus, it starts raining before converting into a forest again. The forest disappears, and then Keane are playing again on the stage.


Cover art

The cover art, designed by Madefire and Alex Lake, represents maple leaves falling, as on the music video. It also relates to the themes of the B-sides, "Walnut Tree" and "Snowed Under". Although neither of these songs appear on the ''Hopes and Fears'' album, they are relatively well known due to live performances and soundtracks. The letters reading "KEANE" are also in the background, featuring the red leaves.


Track listings

Enhanced CD single Catalogue number: CID849
The CD included two different wallpapers for the PC and the official UK release music video. # "Somewhere Only We Know" – 3:58 # "Snowed Under" – 3:51 # "Walnut Tree" – 3:40 # "Somewhere Only We Know" (CD-ROM video) – 3:56 UK 7-inch vinyl Catalogue number: IS849 # "Somewhere Only We Know" # "Snowed Under" UK 3-inch pocket CD Released 19 July 2004. It included links for download polyphonic and real ringtones. # "Somewhere Only We Know" # "Snowed Under"


Alternative versions

German enhanced CD single Released 26 March 2004. # "Somewhere Only We Know" # "Snowed Under" Spanish enhanced CD single Released 16 April 2004. # "Somewhere Only We Know" # "Walnut Tree" # "Somewhere Only We Know" (video)


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


Release history


Lily Allen version

In 2013, English singer
Lily Allen Lily Rose Beatrice Allen (born 2 May 1985) is an English singer-songwriter and actress. She is the daughter of actor Keith Allen and film producer Alison Owen. Her music career began in 2005 when she made some of her vocal recordings publi ...
released a cover version of the song. It was released on 10 November 2013 in the United Kingdom as a digital download through
Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a German–British record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 192 ...
and
Regal Recordings Regal Recordings is a British record label functioning as an imprint of Parlophone, Parlophone Records. Background Regal Records was a British record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings ...
. The song was selected as the soundtrack to the
John Lewis John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American politician and civil rights activist who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashville ...
2013 Christmas advertisement. The song reached number one in the
UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
, becoming her third number-one single. "Somewhere Only We Know" is included on Allen's third studio album, ''
Sheezus ''Sheezus'' is the third studio album by English singer Lily Allen. It was released on 2 May 2014 by Parlophone. The album is Allen's first work since her musical hiatus in 2009, after the release of her second studio album, '' It's Not Me, It' ...
''. A portion of the proceeds from the sales of the single were donated to
Save the Children The Save the Children Fund, commonly known as Save the Children, is an international non-governmental organization established in the United Kingdom in 1919 to improve the lives of children through better education, health care, and economic ...
's Philippine Typhoon Appeal campaign. Allen's version of the song was used for the trailer of ''
The Little Prince ''The Little Prince'' (french: Le Petit Prince, ) is a novella by French aristocrat, writer, and military pilot Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. It was first published in English and French in the United States by Reynal & Hitchcock in April 1943 an ...
'' (2015), which was shown in French. Allen's version of the song was also used on an advertisement by Brazilian telecommunications company Vivo in 2015. The Labour Party used this version in a campaign video for the 2017 general election.


Music video

The video for the song is a composite made by editor Chris Morris of the John Lewis "The Bear and the Hare" Christmas advert, directed by Elliot Dear and Yves Geleyn, and its making-of video, directed by Jake & Josh (Jacob Hopewell & Josh Hine), allowing the song to run to its full length.


Commercial performance

On 24 November 2013, "Somewhere Only We Know" reached number one in the
UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
, thus becoming Allen's third number-one single following "
Smile A smile is a facial expression formed primarily by flexing the muscles at the sides of the mouth. Some smiles include a contraction of the muscles at the corner of the eyes, an action known as a Duchenne smile. Among humans, a smile expresses ...
" (2006) and " The Fear" (2009). Although the song spent a total of three non-consecutive weeks at the top spot, it did not reach number one on the
UK Singles Downloads Chart The UK Singles Downloads Chart is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC) on behalf of the music industry. Since July 2015, the chart week runs from Friday to Thursday, with the chart date given as the following Thursday. The main chart con ...
. It sold 46,279 copies during its second week at number one, the lowest number for a number-one single since
Taio Cruz Jacob Taio Cruz (; born Adetayo Ayowale Onile-Ere, 23 April 1980), better known professionally as Taio Cruz (stylized TΛIO CRUZ), is an English singer, songwriter and record producer from London, England, currently based in Los Angeles. In 200 ...
's "
Break Your Heart "Break Your Heart" is a song by British singer and songwriter Taio Cruz. The song serves as the lead single from his second studio album, ''Rokstarr'' (2009). It was written by Cruz and Fraser T Smith and produced by Smith. It was first release ...
" sold 42,746 copies in its third week at number one in 2009. In total the single sold over 600,000 copies. According to the BPI, the single was awarded a
gold disc Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...
in January 2014, representing 400,000 sales. The song was included on the album '' Now 86!'' which sold more than 1.1 million copies to become the UK's best-selling album of 2013.


Track listing


Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from CD single liner notes. *
Tom Chaplin Thomas Oliver Chaplin (born 8 March 1979) is an English singer-songwriter, musician and composer, best known as the lead singer of the English pop rock band Keane. Early life Thomas Oliver Chaplin was born in Hastings, East Sussex, to Sally and ...
– songwriter * Richard Hughes – songwriter *
Tim Rice-Oxley Timothy James Rice-Oxley (born 2 June 1976) is an English musician, best known for being the keyboardist, singer and songwriter of the pop rock band Keane. In 2010, he formed a side-project, Mt. Desolation, with his Keane bandmate Jesse Quin ...
– songwriter *Lily Allen – lead vocals *Paul Beard – producer, arranger, mixer, piano, percussion, programming *Paul Sayer – acoustic guitar *James Banbury – string arrangement *Joe Kearns – engineer and mixer *Andy Cook – assistant *Will Hicks – assistant *Matt Dougthy – assistant *Jason Elliot – additional programming *Stuart Hawkes – mastering


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


Release history


References


External links


Official site



Keane.fr - Information about the record in French
{{Authority control 2004 singles 2004 songs Interscope Records singles Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Island Records singles Keane (band) songs Lily Allen songs Parlophone singles Rock ballads Songs written by Richard Hughes (musician) Songs written by Tim Rice-Oxley Songs written by Tom Chaplin UK Singles Chart number-one singles