The Drug and Lovestruck Meanings Behind “There She Goes” by The La’s (and Sixpence None the Richer)

In 1988, the British rock band The La’s released “There She Goes.” Written by the band’s singer Lee Mavers, the song’s meaning was believed to be an ode to drugs, heroin in particular—There she blows again / Pulsing through my veins / And I just can’t contain / This feeling that remains.

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Rereleased again in 1989 and later remixed by Steve Lillywhite and appearing on the Liverpool band’s 1990 debut (and only album together) The La’s, “There She Goes” eventually reached No. 13 on the U.K. charts.

Heroin and Love

Though Mavers dismissed the link between heroin and the meaning of “There She Goes” in Daniel Rachel’s 2013 book Isle of Noises: Conversations with Great British Songwriters, he did admit to succumbing to the drug in the ’90s.

If the song was about heroin, it didn’t necessarily glamorize the drug but did show how addictive, mind-altering, and controlling it could be.

With its upbeat, jangly, and psychedelic ’60s sway, the song could also be construed as a love song, and like any song, is all up to interpretation.

[The Meaning Behind the Song Lyrics of “Against The Wind” by Bob Seger]

In their more lighthearted video for “There She Goes,” The La’s can be seen busking around their hometown of Liverpool and on stage.

There she goes
There she goes again
She calls my name
She pulls my train
No one else could heal my pain
And I just can’t contain
This feeling that remains

There she goes
(She calls my name)
There she goes again
(She calls my name)
Chasing down my lane
(She calls my name)
And I just can’t contain
This feeling that remains

The Velvet Undergound

Upon its many releases—including a fourth by The La’s in 2008 on vinyl to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the song—”There She Goes” was also compared to The Velvet Underground’s 1967 release “There She Goes Again,” though the latter leaned more on prostitution.

Still, the two bands had some parallels, particularly between Mavers and the Underground’s Lou Reed. Both did drugs and often wrote songs about them, and Reed and Mavers gained a cult following with their first bands. There were also some crazy stories linked to them. There are rumors that Mavers once lived in a monastery with monks who thought he was as wise as Mozart.

Both bands also influenced many after them. Oasis, The Stone Roses, The Charlatans, The Libertines, and The Courteeners are some of the bands that have cited The La’s as an influence.

Sixpence None the Richer

When Christian band Sixpence None the Richer began working on their 1999 self-titled album, which also included their mega-hit “Kiss Me,” written by singer Leigh Nash, they closed the album with one of their favorite songs, The La’s hit that was released a decade earlier.

“We were fans of the La’s, and we liked the song ‘There She Goes’ a lot,” said Nash in a 1999 interview. “We’ve been playing it live for about a year and a half. The label encouraged us after a while to go ahead and record it. It was just striking a chord with a lot of people in our live performances, so we went in and recorded it, and it came out really well. So we decided it would be our second single.”

[Leigh Nash Makes ‘Good Trouble,’ Talks New Music and Sixpence None The Richer Reunion]

There was never an autobiographical or presumed drug link in the lyrics of the song for Sixpence None the Richer since they didn’t write the song. Their version came across as a straight-up indie love song in admiration of a girl who heals all the pain.

There she goes
There she goes again
She calls my name
She pulls my train
No one else could heal my pain
And I just can’t contain
This feeling that remains

Sixpence None the Richer’s version peaked at No. 32 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and No. 14 in the U.K., and was used across dramatic, romantic, and breezier moments on TV and in film. The song was featured on the soundtracks of the 1997 romance comedy Fever Pitch, The Parent Trap, Girl, Interrupted, So I Married an Axe Murderer, and a number of other films, as well as the television series The Gilmore Girls.

In 2018, There She Goes, a British comedy-drama starring David Tennant, that follows the life of a learning-disabled girl and her parents, also used The La’s original version.

A Blessing and a Curse

The La’s guitarist Mike Badger said in a 2021 interview that the popularity of “There She Goes” over the past 30 years and following the popularity of Sixpence None the Richer’s cover, has always been a blessing and a curse for Mavers.

“It’s the best thing that’s happened to Lee but also the worst,” said Badger. “He wrote this perfect song, but it’s meant he hasn’t had to do anything because he has a constant source of income.”

Lee Mavers Today

Today, Mavers still resides in Liverpool, in the suburbs, is a father of four, and has been off drugs for decades.

“I’m a father now,” Mavers shared with author Rachel. “I haven’t done any of that [drugs] for decades. I’m just a fellow that’s got four kids and just living and observing as anyone could.”

Photo by Martyn Goodacre/Getty Images

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