"" and "" ( en, "Come, Give Me Your Hand" and "She Loves You") are German-language versions of "

I Want to Hold Your Hand "I Want to Hold Your Hand" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles. Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, and recorded on 17 October 1963, it was the first Beatles record to be made using four-track equipment. With advance orders ...

" and "

She Loves You "She Loves You" is a song written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney and recorded by English rock band the Beatles for release as a single in 1963. The single set and surpassed several sales records in the United Kingdom charts, and set a record i ...

", respectively, by the English

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

the Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...

. Both

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

and

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

wrote the original English songs, credited to the

Lennon–McCartney Lennon–McCartney was the songwriting partnership between English musicians John Lennon (1940–1980) and Paul McCartney (born 1942) of the Beatles. It is the best-known and most successful musical collaboration ever by records sold, with the ...

partnership, while Camillo Felgen wrote the translated German lyrics. Felgen is credited under several of his pen names. In places, his translations take major liberties with the original lyrics.

Odeon Records Odeon Records is a record label founded in 1903 by Max Straus and Heinrich Zuntz of the International Talking Machine Company in Berlin, Germany. The label's name and logo come from the Odéon-Théâtre de l'Europe in Paris. History Straus a ...

released the German versions together as a non-album single in

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

in March 1964.

Swan Records Swan Records was a mid-20th century United States-based record label, founded in 1957 and based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It had a subsidiary label called Lawn Records. History Swan Records had enjoyed chart success with several U.S. arti ...

released "", along with the original "She Loves You" B-side " I'll Get You", as a single in the United States in May 1964.

Capitol A capitol, named after the Capitoline Hill in Rome, is usually a legislative building where a legislature meets and makes laws for its respective political entity. Specific capitols include: * United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. * Numerous ...

included "" as the closing track of the 1964 North American-only album '' Something New''. The recording of "" and "" came at a time when it was standard practice for artists to record unique versions of songs for foreign markets. Executives from Odeon insisted with

George Martin Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the " Fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the ...

and

Brian Epstein Brian Samuel Epstein (; 19 September 1934 – 27 August 1967) was a British music entrepreneur who managed the Beatles from 1962 until his death in 1967. Epstein was born into a family of successful retailers in Liverpool, who put him i ...

that in order for them to penetrate the German market, the Beatles would need to record German versions of their biggest songs. The Beatles opposed the idea until Martin convinced them to record. On 29 January 1964, during their only group recording session outside of the United Kingdom, the Beatles recorded the songs at

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...

's Pathé Marconi Studios in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. For "", they

overdubbed Overdubbing (also known as layering) is a technique used in audio recording in which audio tracks that have been pre-recorded are then played back and monitored, while simultaneously recording new, doubled, or augmented tracks onto one or more av ...

German vocals onto the original backing track of "I Want to Hold Your Hand". The two-track tapes of "She Loves You" from July 1963 were erased after the

mono Mono may refer to: Common meanings * Infectious mononucleosis, "the kissing disease" * Monaural, monophonic sound reproduction, often shortened to mono * Mono-, a numerical prefix representing anything single Music Performers * Mono (Japanese b ...

master Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans *Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...

was made, forcing the Beatles to record "" entirely from scratch. The English and German versions contain differences, the most prominent being Lennon's rhythm guitar; on the former he plays his

Gibson Gibson may refer to: People * Gibson (surname) Businesses * Gibson Brands, Inc., an American manufacturer of guitars, other musical instruments, and audio equipment * Gibson Technology, and English automotive and motorsport company based * Gi ...

J-160E The Shenyang J-16 ( Chinese: 歼-16) is a Chinese advanced fourth-generation, tandem-seat, twinjet, multirole strike fighterBronk, page 38 developed from the Shenyang J-11 (itself derived from the Sukhoi Su-27) and built by Shenyang Aircraft Co ...

while on the latter he plays his

Rickenbacker Rickenbacker International Corporation is a string instrument manufacturer based in Santa Ana, California. The company is credited as the first known maker of electric guitars – a steel guitar in 1932 – and today produces a rang ...

325 Capri. The German versions reached number one and seven in the German charts, respectively. "" reached number 97 in the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Following these recordings, the Beatles never again made foreign versions of their songs. Commentators have credited the band's subsequent practice of only releasing their songs in the original English with helping to spread the English language across Europe and the rest of the world.

Background and development

The beginning of 1964 saw the Beatles reaching international levels of fame. On 14 and 15 January, the Beatles arrived in

for a 19-day residency at the Olympia Theatre. On 25 January 1964, after returning to the hotel from a show, Beatles manager

informed them that "

" reached number one in the United States on the ''Cashbox'' Top 100 chart. On 1 February, it went to number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. From this point forward, Epstein focused on promoting the Beatles to the international market. Otto Demmlar, a producer of the German sub-label of

, , conceived the Beatles recording songs in German.

insisted with Epstein and Beatles producer

that if they wanted to sell more records in

, the band would need to rerecord their biggest songs in German. At that time, recording unique versions for foreign markets was a standard practice. Odeon sent Luxembourger Camillo Felgen, a popular presenter from

Radio Luxembourg Radio Luxembourg was a multilingual commercial broadcaster in Luxembourg. It is known in most non-English languages as RTL (for Radio Television Luxembourg). The English-language service of Radio Luxembourg began in 1933 as one of the earlies ...

, to make translations and meet Martin and the Beatles in Paris. Felgen initially translated both sides of the original "

" single, with the

A-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 company ...

becoming "" and the B-side " I'll Get You" becoming "". Beatles writer John C. Winn translates this back to English as "Happy like never before". Because it was a more recent hit, "I Want to Hold Your Hand" replaced "I'll Get You" and became the prospective A-side of the single, with Felgen translating the title as "". Beatles writer

Kenneth Womack Kenneth Womack (born January 24, 1966) is an American writer, literary critic, public speaker, and music historian, particularly focusing on the cultural influence of the Beatles. He is the author of the bestselling ''Solid State: The Story of A ...

translates this back to English as "Come on, give me your hand" while Winn translates it as "Come, give me your hand". Felgen translated under several pen names, including Jean Nicolas, Heinz Hellmer and Lee Montague. The credits on "" are

–Nicolas–Hellmer while the credits on "" are Lennon–McCartney–Nicolas–Montague.

Musicologist Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some m ...

Walter Everett writes that both translations take great liberties. He singles out the chorus of "" in particular, which became, "" These lyrics translate to English as: "She loves you / yeah, yeah, yeah / for with you alone / can she only be happy." In his book ''

Revolution in the Head ''Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties'' is a book by British music critic and author Ian MacDonald, discussing the music of the Beatles and the band's relationship to the social and cultural changes of the 1960s. The fir ...

'',

Ian MacDonald Ian MacCormick (known by the pseudonym Ian MacDonald; 3 October 1948 – 20 August 2003) was a British music critic and author, best known for both '' Revolution in the Head'', his critical history of the Beatles which borrowed techniques from ...

says, "The German rewrite didn't go so far as insisting on ''." Womack writes a more direct translation of "I Want to Hold Your Hand" would be "".

Recording

On 24 January 1964 at EMI Recording Studios,

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...

Norman Smith made a tape-to-tape copy of the basic rhythm track of "I Want to Hold Your Hand" from take 17 of the original 17 October 1963 session. The tape was brought by Martin and Smith during their travels to Paris, where they met with the Beatles. On 29 January 1964, the Beatles were due in the studio to record the German translations. In an interview for

Mark Lewisohn Mark Lewisohn (born 16 June 1958) is an English historian and biographer. Since the 1980s, he has written many reference books about the Beatles and has worked for EMI, MPL Communications and Apple Corps.

's 1988 book ''

The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions ''The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions'' (subtitled ''The Official Story of the Abbey Road Years 1962–1970'') is a reference book on the English rock band the Beatles compiled by author Mark Lewisohn. Hamlyn published it in the UK in 1988 ...

'', Martin recalled of the day: The Beatles recorded "" and "", along with McCartney's new song "

Can't Buy Me Love "Can't Buy Me Love" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles that was released in March 1964 as the A-side of their sixth single. It was written by Paul McCartney and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. The song was included ...

", at EMI's Pathé Marconi Studios in Paris. This was their first recording session outside Abbey Road and the band's only one outside of the United Kingdom. "" was the first of three songs recorded that day. Martin produced it, being supported by engineers Smith and Jacques Esmenjaud. Smith recalled, "I found the studio very odd to work in, the equipment was alien to anything we were used to", and, "

here Here is an adverb that means "in, on, or at this place". It may also refer to: Software * Here Technologies, a mapping company * Here WeGo (formerly Here Maps), a mobile app and map website by Here Technologies, Here Television * Here TV (form ...

was absolutely no atmosphere!" The original rhythm track was mixed down from four-track to two-track. The Beatles

German vocals and handclaps across 11 takes, as well as George Harrison's Country Gent. Takes five and seven were marked "best" and edited together, along with a handclap overdub. The original two-track tape of "She Loves You", recorded on 1 July 1963, had been erased after the

was finished, meaning the Beatles needed to record "" entirely from scratch. They recorded a new rhythm track in 13 takes.

's rhythm guitar distinguishes the German and English backing tracks from one another. In July 1963 on "She Loves You", he plays his

, a guitar later stolen in early January 1964 during the Beatles' 1963–64 Christmas show. For "", he instead plays his

325 Capri. The Beatles overdubbed German vocals in a single take – take 14. Smith recalled, "They were extremely pleased to get it over with... we all were." The Beatles worked quicker than anticipated and so cancelled a second session booked for two days later on 31 January 1964. They used their remaining studio time to record four takes of "Can't Buy Me Love". On 10 March 1964, while the Beatles filmed '' A Hard Day's Night'', Martin, assisted by Smith, mixed "" and "" for mono at EMI Recording Studios. He used the combined edit of takes five and seven for the former and take 14 for the latter. Two days after the initial mix, they mixed the songs for stereo, equalizing, compressing and adding

echo In audio signal processing and acoustics, an echo is a reflection of sound that arrives at the listener with a delay after the direct sound. The delay is directly proportional to the distance of the reflecting surface from the source and the lis ...

as well. Copies of the mixes were sent to West Germany and the United States. Everett comments that the most noticeable differences between the mixes of "" and "I Want to Hold Your Hand" are Lennon's compressed Capri guitar, which is heard more freely in the German version, and Harrison's Gent guitar, which has a different bass

register Register or registration may refer to: Arts entertainment, and media Music * Register (music), the relative "height" or range of a note, melody, part, instrument, etc. * ''Register'', a 2017 album by Travis Miller * Registration (organ), th ...

Release and impact

Odeon released the German single of "" b/w "" across West Germany in March 1964. The songs reached number one and seven in the German charts, respectively. In Denmark, the single reached number 15. Sourced from the German release,

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 ...

released the single in Australia during June 1964, though it failed to chart.

, a small

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

-based

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

mainly known for novelty records, obtained the US rights to "She Loves You" in September 1963. After the Beatles recorded "", Swan argued they likewise held the rights to that song. Swan released "" b/w "I'll Get You" in the US on 21 May 1964. The single was on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for one week, peaking at number 97. Capitol Records included "" as the closing track on the Beatles' North American album '' Something New'' in July 1964. Beatles biographer Jonathan Gould refers to this as "an added curiosity". MacDonald ascribes the inclusion to Capitol being "newly anxious to exploit every last scrap of Beatles product..." Both Everett and Winn write that the songs were released in the US because of the American public's desperation for new Beatles material. Following these recordings, the Beatles never recorded foreign versions of their songs again. In ''The Beatles Anthology'', Martin reflected of the songs: "They were the only things they have ever done in a foreign language. And they didn't need to anyway ..The records would have sold in English, and did." By the end of 1963, the Beatles had already achieved hits in Sweden and

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

without needing to record translated versions.

Peter Doggett Peter Doggett (born 30 June 1957) is an English music journalist, author and magazine editor. He began his career in music journalism in 1980, when he joined the London-based magazine ''Record Collector''. He subsequently served as the editor ...

credits the Beatles popularity with helping spread the English language throughout Europe, especially among young people. MacDonald offers similar sentiments, but goes further, asserting they helped spread English around the world. Parlophone released both tracks for the first time in the UK on the 1978 compilation album '' Rarities''. This was the first stereo release of "" anywhere. In addition, the release eliminates a stray English word ("coming") present on the original stereo version of "". In the US, "" remained readily available on re-releases of ''Something New''. "" however fell out of print after its 1964 release. The song remained unavailable in the US until Capitol included the stereo version on the 1980 American compilation album '' Rarities''. Both tracks were first released on

compact disc The compact disc (CD) is a digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then released in Oc ...

for the 1988 compilation ''

Past Masters, Volume One ''Past Masters'' is a two-disc compilation album set by the English rock band the Beatles. It was originally released as two separate volumes on 7 March 1988, as part of the first issue of the band's catalogue on compact disc. The set compile ...

''. The stereo and mono tracks were

remastered Remaster refers to changing the quality of the sound or of the image, or both, of previously created recordings, either audiophonic, cinematic, or videographic. The terms digital remastering and digitally remastered are also used. Mastering A ...

and included on the 2009 releases ''

Past Masters ''Past Masters'' is a two-disc compilation album set by the English rock band the Beatles. It was originally released as two separate volumes on 7 March 1988, as part of the first issue of the band's catalogue on compact disc. The set compiles ...

'' and ''

Mono Masters ''Mono Masters'' is a compilation album by the Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influe ...

''. "" is featured in the 2019

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

film ''

Jojo Rabbit ''Jojo Rabbit'' is a 2019 comedy-drama film written and directed by Taika Waititi, adapted from Christine Leunens's 2008 book ''Caging Skies''. Roman Griffin Davis portrays the title character, Johannes "Jojo" Betzler, a ten-year-old Hitler ...

'', directed by

Taika Waititi Taika David Cohen (born 16 August 1975), known professionally as Taika Waititi ( ), is a New Zealand filmmaker, actor, and comedian. He is a recipient of an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and a Grammy Award, and has received two nominations at ...

, and its soundtrack. After initially being denied, the film's composer

Michael Giacchino Michael Giacchino (; born October 10, 1967) is an American composer of music for films, television and video games. He has also served as a director for television. He has received many awards, including an Oscar for his work on '' Up'' (2009), ...

helped secure the rights to the song by contacting McCartney, with whom he had previously worked.

Personnel

According to Everett, Winn and MacDonald: *

vocal, rhythm guitar, handclaps *

vocal, bass, handclaps * George Harrison lead guitar, handclaps * Ringo Starr drums, handclaps According to Lewisohn and MacDonald:: new rhythm track for "" based on the original "She Loves You", vocal overdub of German vocals; : personnel for "She Loves You". * John Lennon vocal, rhythm guitar * Paul McCartney vocal, bass * George Harrison harmony vocal, lead guitar * Ringo Starr drums

Charts

Notes

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

External links

Full lyrics to "Komm, gib mir deine Hand" at the Beatles' official website

Full lyrics to "Sie liebt dich" at the Beatles' official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Komm, gib mir deine Hand Sie liebt dich 1964 singles 1964 songs The Beatles songs German-language songs Number-one singles in Germany Song recordings produced by George Martin Songs published by Northern Songs Songs written by Lennon–McCartney Swan Records singles