When the legendary singer of The Beatles, Paul McCartney, turned 70 years old, people saw on Jane Asher’s Facebook a link to a YouTube video leading to the song “And I Love Her.” “And I Love Her” praises an intense love that ultimately went nowhere. Their love story began in 1964 when Paul McCartney and the actress Jane Asher were at the sweetest stage of their relationship. At that time, they were considered the golden couple of the music world. John Lennon and Yoko Ono hadn’t met yet, Mick Jagger and Marianne Faithfull weren’t together, so Paul and Jane were the center of media attention. They were a peculiar couple – he was handsome and erudite, she was a blonde, gentle, and tender woman. They came together simply because they truly loved each other. Both had successful careers, came from well-off families, and their only concern was to choose the right time to get married.
This was one of the first songs that Paul wrote for Jane (later, he would write many other love songs for her, from “I’m Looking Through You” to “Here, There And Everywhere,” and “For No One”). It was developed from a previous song that Paul had dedicated to Jane, “All My Loving.” If “All My Loving” was a promise to give all his love, “And I Love Her” was like a summary, saying, “I’m giving you all my love. That’s all I can do. And if you can see my love, you’ll love her too.”
Paul McCartney and Jane Asher were once a beautiful couple in the UK music scene. Paul wrote many famous love songs for her, fueled by his love for Jane.
This was the first song that The Beatles played entirely acoustically, without any electronic instruments. The melody was simple and raw, lacking any glitter. Later, Paul mentioned that he developed the melody based on the harmonic structure of 1930s Irving Berlin love songs and was inspired by Perry Como’s very popular song “And I Love Her So.” But “And I Love Her” remained distinctively Beatles, with its beautiful structure, rich harmony, and smooth melody. This song earned Paul McCartney the title of the best ballad writer in the group. John Lennon later admitted that he felt jealous because Paul had written such a simple yet beautiful song. “This song was the premise for Paul to compose ‘Yesterday’ later,” John recalled. When “And I Love Her” was released, the songwriting credit was given to Lennon-McCartney, and John later claimed that he contributed 35% to the melody. However, much later, after the Beatles disbanded and their friendship deteriorated, Paul McCartney stated that he wrote this song and “Yesterday” on his own, and Lennon’s name was included per the band management’s request.
“And I Love Her” quickly became the most beloved ballad on the 1964 album “A Hard Day’s Night.” It was also the most endearing song in the movie of the same name. It became one of The Beatles’ timeless classics.
Paul McCartney cherished this song personally. He wrote it in February 1964, just a couple of days before the band’s trip to the United States. He composed the song in Jane Asher’s music room, where he was residing at the time. The song featured sincere and bright lyrics, “Bright are the stars that shine, dark is the sky, I know this love of mine will never die. And I love her.” Paul said that even now, he couldn’t write “I love the sky and the stars, I love words and saying them simply and sincerely. I love the gentle guitar in that part, pushing the spirits high, and when singing, I felt like I was floating,” Paul reminisced.
However, this beautiful song couldn’t hold Paul and Jane Asher’s love together. They broke up three years later when Jane discovered Paul’s infidelity in their own home. Although Jane never brought up their past, on her Facebook page, one can still find glimpses of old photos, video clips, and songs, reminding us of a beautiful time, of love and freedom when The Beatles ruled the world. Paul still considers Jane a dear friend, and Jane genuinely wishes him a happy birthday and congratulates him on his latest marriage. Their love may have ended, but it left behind many timeless songs, with “And I Love Her” being one of the most memorable.
And I Love Her was released on June 10, 1964. According to Songfacts, by 1972, which is less than 10 years later, other artists had covered this song 372 times, making it the second most-covered song after the absolute success of “Yesterday.” Many artists from different music genres, including jazz, blues, country, pop, and musicals, took turns covering this song. Notably, jazz legend Shirley Horn, who didn’t typically favor mainstream pop at the time, praised this song highly: “It’s simple, it goes deep into your heart, and it has a lot of jazz potential.” After Horn, many jazz artists played and interpreted the song in various ways. The most recent version that many have heard is by the artist Pat Metheny.