Somewhere Only We Know

Composition and recording

The first demo was composed by Tim Rice-Oxley in about 2001. Rice-Oxley explained that the song came from "hammering away on the piano":

It was first played on the guitar just before Dominic Scott left the band, and recorded as a demo the same year with a Yamaha CP-70 instead of the guitar. Keane recorded the final version in 2003 at the Helioscentric Studios, Rye, East Sussex for the album.

"Somewhere Only We Know" is a traditional piano rock song, and leaned on different influences, "A lot of The Smiths, Oasis, U2, The Beatles, Radiohead [and] Paul Simon", according to Rice-Oxley. The piano is the most prominent instrument due to its harmonic and rhythmic role. It is played in quavers throughout the whole song, holding the tempo and the rhythmic pattern.

The studio version is recorded in 86 bpm, and follows a time signature – the most commonly used in traditional rock songs. It is in the key of A major. The song form can be analysed as ABAB CBCB, a variation of the strophic form. The verse (A) chord progression is a plain (I-II-V), one of the most used chord progressions in music; the chorus (B) presents a (VI-III-IV-V) progression; the variation of the verse section (C) presents a (II-III-IV-V) progression.

The bassline was recorded by Rice-Oxley. When played live (up until 2007 with the arrival of bassist Jesse Quin), this song uses a pre-recorded bass, which is played in an Apple PowerBook G4. The 16-beat rhythm was made by Hughes.

Lyrics

The song's lyrics refer to Manser's Shaw, a place in Battle, East Sussex that Keane members used to visit in their childhood and the site of the Battle of Hastings, fought on 14 October 1066. According to Rice-Oxley, they wrote the song after returning to Battle from London after failing to achieve musical success. He told Dave Simpson of The Guardian: "I picture a particular place in Sussex, just a bit of scrub where we used to go when we were kids", and spoke of a fallen pine tree (referenced in the song as "I came across a fallen tree") where the three of them were photographed together around the age of 11. The "pathway" referenced in the song refers to the trail between the house of Rice-Oxley's parents and the local pub.

Richard Hughes, Keane's drummer, offered the following explanation of the song on Chris Flynn's fansite:

B-sides

; Snowed Under The song talks about a place called "Manser's Shaw" in Battle, East Sussex where the band used to spend their childhood days. It was inspired by a poem. "Snowed Under" was the only B-side played live during 2004, 2005, and early 2006, because of its appearance on the CD+DVD version of Hopes and Fears. Like "Walnut Tree", this song was mixed by Andy Green. "Snowed Under" also titles the band's debut album, with the line "someone who understands your hopes and fears". ; Walnut Tree The lyrics talk about waiting for someone under a walnut tree, but Rice-Oxley has not given this meaning. It appeared on the Music from the OC: Mix 2 soundtrack. James Sanger is credited on this song for his contributions at his studios in France.

Music video

The video is directed by Corin Hardy. As of November 2025, the music video has been viewed over 900,000,000 times on YouTube.

Cover art

The cover art, designed by Madefire and Alex Lake, represents maple leaves falling, as on the music video. It also relates to the themes of the B-sides, "Walnut Tree" and "Snowed Under". Although neither of these songs appear on the Hopes and Fears album, they are relatively well known due to live performances and soundtracks. The letters reading "KEANE" are also in the background, featuring the red leaves.

Live performances

Keane's signature song, the group have played "Somewhere Only We Know" at many concerts, including at Live 8 in Hyde Park, London, along with the single "Bedshaped", in 2005, and at Glastonbury in 2024.

Track listings

Enhanced CD single Catalogue number: CID849

The CD included two different wallpapers for the PC and the official UK release music video.

1. "Somewhere Only We Know" – 3:58
2. "Snowed Under" – 3:51
3. "Walnut Tree" – 3:40
4. "Somewhere Only We Know" (CD-ROM video) – 3:56

UK 7-inch vinyl Catalogue number: IS849

1. "Somewhere Only We Know"
2. "Snowed Under"

UK 3-inch pocket CD Released 19 July 2004. It included links for download polyphonic and real ringtones.

1. "Somewhere Only We Know"
2. "Snowed Under"

Alternative versions

German enhanced CD single Released 26 March 2004.

1. "Somewhere Only We Know"
2. "Snowed Under"

Spanish enhanced CD single Released 16 April 2004.

1. "Somewhere Only We Know"
2. "Walnut Tree"
3. "Somewhere Only We Know" (video)

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

Lily Allen version

• Parlophone
• Richard Hughes
• Tim Rice-Oxley

In 2013, English singer Lily Allen released a cover version of the song. It was released on 10 November 2013 in the United Kingdom as a digital download through Parlophone and Regal Recordings. The song was selected as the soundtrack to the John Lewis 2013 Christmas advertisement. The song reached number one in the UK Singles Chart, becoming her third number-one single. It is included on Allen's third studio album, Sheezus.

A portion of the proceeds from the sales of the single were donated to Save the Children's Philippine Typhoon Appeal campaign.

Allen's version of the song was used for the trailer of The Little Prince (2015), which was shown in French. It was also used on an advertisement by Brazilian telecommunications company Vivo in 2015.

The Labour Party used this version in a campaign video for the 2017 UK general election.

Music video

The video for the song is a composite made by editor Chris Morris of the John Lewis "The Bear and the Hare" Christmas advert, directed by Elliot Dear and Yves Geleyn, and its making-of video, directed by Jake & Josh (Jacob Hopewell & Josh Hine), allowing the song to run to its full length.

Commercial performance

On 24 November 2013, "Somewhere Only We Know" reached number one in the UK Singles Chart, thus becoming Allen's third number-one single following "Smile" (2006) and "The Fear" (2009).

In total the single sold over 600,000 copies. According to the BPI, the single was awarded a gold disc in January 2014, representing 400,000 sales. The song was included on the album Now 86! which sold more than 1.1 million copies to become the UK's best-selling album of 2013.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from CD single liner notes.

• Tom Chaplin – songwriter
• Richard Hughes – songwriter
• Tim Rice-Oxley – songwriter
• Lily Allen – lead vocals
• Paul Beard – producer, arranger, mixer, piano, percussion, programming
• Paul Sayer – acoustic guitar
• James Banbury – string arrangement
• Joe Kearns – engineer and mixer
• Andy Cook – assistant
• Will Hicks – assistant
• Matt Dougthy – assistant
• Jason Elliot – additional programming
• Stuart Hawkes – mastering

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

In popular culture

"Somewhere Only We Know" appeared on Season 1 Episode 2 of ABC's medical drama Grey's Anatomy in 2005, and has since been associated with the show. The Keane recording was also included in the trailers for the Alejandro Agresti's 2006 film The Lake House and the soundtracks of the 2009 film He's Just Not That Into You, the 2011 Disney animated film Winnie the Pooh (with Pooh's Hundred Acre Wood inspired by Ashdown Forest in East Sussex, the same county where the song is set), and the 2012 film LOL. Darren Criss performed a cover of the song as character Blaine Anderson in Season 2 Episode 18 of the TV series Glee.

References

References

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