"Get Here" is a pop ballad written by American singer and songwriter Brenda Russell. The title track of her fourth studio album Get Here (1988), it became a moderate hit on the Billboard R&B chart on the heels of the album's massive first hit, "Piano in the Dark". American vocalist Oleta Adams recorded the song in 1990, making it a major international hit that reached the top 5 in both the US and the UK.[1][2] Adams' version of "Get Here", co-produced by Roland Orzabal from the band Tears for Fears (for whom she had performed the female vocals on the hit single, "Woman in Chains" a year earlier), became her signature song.
Composition and first release
Brenda Russell had written the song while staying at a penthouse in Stockholm: the tune came to her as she viewed some hot air balloons floating over the city, a sight Russell recalls set her "really tripping on how many ways you can get to a person" (the eventual song's lyrics include the line: "You can make it in a big balloon but you'd better make it soon"). Although Russell did not pursue the musical ideas that came to her as her current record label saw her as a dance artist and she thought would not be interested in a song such as the one which became "Get Here", the song was still in the singer's mind when she woke up the next day: "I don't read or write music [therefore] it's extraordinary if a song is still in my head that I haven't jotted down or recorded. So if it's still in my head overnight, I think that’s something extra special, it's like somebody trying to tell me something."[3] Russell recorded the song as the title cut of her 1988 album from which it was issued as a single - the album's third - reaching #37 on the Billboard R&B charts.[4]
Oleta Adams version
It was while Oleta Adams was visiting Stockholm that she heard Russell's song playing in a record store and was sufficiently impressed with the song to record it for her 1990 album Circle of One.[3] Adams' version of "Get Here" was issued as a single in early 1991. World events at this time gave the song a resonance as an anthem for the US troops in the Gulf War—underscored by the lyrics "You can reach me by caravan / Cross the desert like an Arab man"—which sent Adams' single into the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 in the spring of 1991.
Release history
| Country |
Release date |
| United Kingdom |
January 1, 1991 |
| Canada |
January 1991 |
| Sweden |
February 11, 1991 |
| United States |
March 15, 1991 |
Other versions
- An uptempo cover version was released in the UK in 1993 by the dance act Q featuring Tracey Ackerman and reached number 37 in the UK Top 40.
- A signature number of Justin Guarini during season one of American Idol and included on the Justin Guarini album.
- "Get Here" has also been recorded by Vanessa Amorosi, Paul Anka, David Archuleta, Alexia Gardner, Salena Jones, Patti LuPone,[16] Barbara Mandrell, Omar Chakil (who wrote French lyrics for his version: "Tu m'as tout donné"), Jennifer Rush, Livingston Taylor, Siti Nurhaliza, Jonalyn Viray, and Susan Wong.
- Also Edsilia Rombley recorded "Get Here" for her 1998 album Edsilia from which it was taken as a single reaching #88 on the Netherlands charts: previously Rombley had recorded a Dutch rendering of the song entitled "Zorg Dat Je Er Bent" which had appeared on the singer's 1997 Thuis album.
- Australian born Irish singer Johnny Logan recorded the song as "Get Here If You Can" for his album, We All Need Love (2003).
- A humorous cover of "Get Here", which featured comedy sound effects after each method of transport mentioned, was performed by fictional singer Michelle Coffee in the Peter Kay series Phoenix Nights.
- The song was performed by Andy Hallett as his character Lorne on the series Angel, in the season 2 episode "First Impressions".
- During American Idol's American Juniors, Lucy Hale sang "Get Here" in the top-20 semi-final 2. She was chosen as one of the 5 contestants who advanced to the next competition.
- Nils Landgren recorded a cover of the song on his album Chapter Two (2009).
- Lulu Roman (of Hee Haw fame) recorded a cover for her 2013 album At Last.
- Will Downing covers the song on his album Black Pearls (2016).
- Sam Smith recorded a cover for his Spotify Singles release in 2018.
The Beautiful South's album Gaze included a song with the same title and, partially, similar lyrics - but reversed the theme, with Paul Heaton protesting his unwillingness to travel any distance at all for his lover. (Sample lyric: "You can get here by helicopter"/"I can barely make Blackpool sands").
References
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| Singles | |
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| Related topics | |
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 Book:Brenda Russell
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