Sie Liebt Dich

Sie Lieb Dich is one of two Beatles' hits that were translated into German and then performed by the group for a special release into the German market. (The other was Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand.) It is another example of how record company executives at the time had trouble predicting how the public would embrace the Beatles' phenomenon. EMI, parent company of Parlophone in the UK, was persuaded by Elektrola (its German entity) that the Beatles would not go over well in Germany unless the songs were released in German. This is especially peculiar, given the Beatles' favorable experience during several extended gigs in Hamburg just a couple of years earlier. The Beatles (rightly) protested, but George Martin urged them to comply, and they did. During their Paris tour in January of 1964, they recorded vocal tracks over the existing rhythm track of I Want to Hold Your Hand. The original recording of She Loves You had not been saved, so they had to re-record it from scratch, in 13 takes. The vocal overdub was done in just one try. They accomplished both recordings at the Pathe-Marconi Studios in Paris on January 29, one of very few time the Beatles recorded somewhere other than London.

German fans reacted favorably to Sie Lieb Dich when it was released as a single. However, the English versions of both songs have prevailed in the German market insofar as collection albums are concerned). The Past Masters (Remastered) CD (2009) carries the German track.