Behind the Meaning of the Song That Inspired George Harrison, “Something in the Way She Moves”

We all have that one person that brings a sense of comfort to us. That feeling is so universal that one of James Taylor‘s signature songs was written about that idea. Check out the meaning behind “Something in the Way She Moves,” below.

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Behind the Meaning

There’s something in the way she moves
Or looks my way, or calls my name
That seems to leave this troubled world behind
If I’m feeling down and blue
Or troubled by some foolish game
She always seems to make me change my mind

“The song is about an early girlfriend and the calm you feel in the presence of someone who knows you really well,” Taylor once said of this track.

Knowing that, the lyrics become fairly self-explanatory. Taylor has many songs that capture specific feelings using simple language. This is one such song.

And I feel fine anytime she’s around me now
She’s around me now
Almost all the time
And if I’m well you can tell she’s been with me now
She’s been with me now quite a long, long time
And I feel fine

In the chorus, Taylor sings about finding solace in that one special person and needing her presence around as much as possible. It’s a universal idea that Taylor develops plainly and poignantly in this song.

This Taylor track would go on to inspire George Harrison to write “Something.” That Beatles classic borrows the song title in its opening line.

“When I heard George Harrison used the title for the opening words of ‘Something,’ I was thrilled,” Taylor once said. “I didn’t feel like I was being poached at all — besides, ‘Something in the Way She Moves’ quotes the Beatles’ ‘I Feel Fine’: ‘She’s around me almost all the time/And I feel fine.’”

(Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)