I would have moved on from White Light/White Heat today. But James mentioned that he really liked the softer side of the Velvet Underground, so I thought that we would stay and listen to one of their softest, and in some ways sweetest, songs, “Here She Comes Now.”

It’s a strange title for the song. “If She Ever Comes Now” would make a whole lot more sense. I assume that title is meant to provide the listener to a clue as to the meaning of the song. The singer is just impatient. She is coming. In fact, the implication is that she is so close, he can see her. So he’s saying that he will long for her right up to the moment that he can touch her.

Of course, “Here She Comes Now” must be meant as a response to There She Goes Again off Velvet Underground & Nico. That song was violent — even misogynistic. But it’s also quite honest about the violent feelings that a breakup can cause in anyone — but most especially in a man.

So “Here She Comes Now” is about the joy of love when it comes whereas “There She Goes Again” is about the anguish of when loves goes. They make a nice pair. I prefer “Goes,” although not for the lyrical content. It’s just that the music is better and it has that wonderful double time ending. “Here She Comes Now” was probably an effort to get some radio play. And I recall reading (decades ago) that the song did dip into the Billboard top 200 at some point. Wikipedia doesn’t mention it, so I might be wrong. Also, it was the B-side of “White Light/White Heat.” But it’s not like the Velvet Underground was ever well managed.