"Get Here" is a pop ballad

Ballad

A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...

 written by American singer/songwriter Brenda Russell

Brenda Russell

Brenda Russell is an American-Canadian singer-songwriter and keyboardist. Known for her eclectic musical style, her recordings have encompassed several different genres, including pop, soul, dance, jazz and adult contemporary...

 which became an international hit via a 1990 recording by Oleta Adams

Oleta Adams

Oleta Adams is an American soul, jazz, and gospel singer and pianist.-Biography:Adams was born the daughter of a preacher and was raised with gospel music. In her youth her family moved to Yakima, Washington, which is sometimes shown as her place of birth.Before gaining her opportunity to perform,...

, reaching #4 in the UK and #5 (#8 R&B) in the US.

Brenda Russell had written the song while staying at a penthouse

Penthouse apartment

A penthouse apartment or penthouse is an apartment that is on one of the highest floors of an apartment building. Penthouses are typically differentiated from other apartments by luxury features.-History:...

 in Stockholm

Stockholm

Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...

: the tune came to her as she viewed some hot air balloon

Hot air balloon

The hot air balloon is the oldest successful human-carrying flight technology. It is in a class of aircraft known as balloon aircraft. On November 21, 1783, in Paris, France, the first untethered manned flight was made by Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier and François Laurent d'Arlandes in a hot air...

s 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." 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 the Top 40 on the Billboard R&B charts

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...

.

It was while Oleta Adams was visiting Stockholm that she heard the original Brenda Russell version of "Get Here" playing in a record store and was sufficiently impressed with the song to record it for her 1990 debut album Circle of One. Adams' "Get Here" was issued as a single - after two previous tracks from Circle of One had been released to scant notice - in November 1990; world events at this time gave the song a resonance as an anthem for the US troops in the Gulf War

Gulf War

The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...

 - underscored by the lyrics: "You can reach me by caravan

Camel train

A camel train is a series of camels carrying goods or passengers in a group as part of a regular or semi-regular service between two points. Although they rarely travelled faster than the walking speed of a man, camels' ability to handle harsh conditions made camel trains a vital part of...

|Cross the desert

Desert

A desert is a landscape or region that receives an extremely low amount of precipitation, less than enough to support growth of most plants. Most deserts have an average annual precipitation of less than...

 like an Arab man" - which impelled Adams' single into the Top Ten of the Billboard Hot 100

Billboard Hot 100

The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

 in the spring of 1991 .

A signature number of Justin Guarini

Justin Guarini

Justin Guarini is an American singer/songwriter and actor who rose to fame in 2002 as the first runner-up on the debut season of the television show American Idol.-Background:...

 during season #1 of American Idol

American Idol (Season 1)

The first season of American Idol premiered on June 11, 2002 and continued until September 4, 2002. It was won by Kelly Clarkson...

 and included on the Justin Guarini

Justin Guarini (album)

Justin Guarini is the self-titled debut album from American Idol runner-up Justin Guarini. It was released by RCA Records on June 10, 2003.- Background :...

album, "Get Here" has also been recorded by Vanessa Amorosi

Vanessa Amorosi

Vanessa Amorosi is an Australian singer-songwriter and recording artist. Her combined album and single sales have reached over 2 million worldwide.-Early life:...

, Paul Anka

Paul Anka

Paul Albert Anka, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and actor.Anka first became famous as a teen idol in the late 1950s and 1960s with hit songs like "Diana'", "Lonely Boy", and "Put Your Head on My Shoulder"...

, David Archuleta

David Archuleta

David Archuleta, is a former United States Air Force Airman of Okinawan stationary troops and is currently an American male kickboxer.-Biography:...

, Alexia Gardner, Patti LuPone

Patti LuPone

Patti Ann LuPone is an American singer and actress, known for her Tony Award-winning performances as Eva Perón in the 1979 stage musical Evita and as Madame Rose in the 2008 Broadway revival of Gypsy, and for her Olivier Award-winning performance as Fantine in the original London cast of Les...

, Barbara Mandrell

Barbara Mandrell

Barbara Ann Mandrell is an American country music singer best known for a 1970s–1980s series of Top 10 hits and TV shows that helped her become one of country's most successful female vocalists of the 1970s and 1980s...

, Omar Chakil (who wrote French lyrics for his version: "Tu m'as tout donné "), Q featuring Tracey Ackerman

Tracey Ackerman

Tracy Ackerman is a British singer and songwriter. She works with several other British songwriters including Andy Watkins and Paul Wilson of Absolute and Mark Taylor....

, Jennifer Rush

Jennifer Rush

Jennifer Rush is an American/German-based pop/rock singer, best known for the million-selling single "The Power of Love", which she co-wrote and which went on to be covered by Laura Branigan and Celine Dion.-Career:...

, Livingston Taylor

Livingston Taylor

Livingston Taylor is an American singer-songwriter, born in Boston, Massachusetts and raised in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He attended the Westtown School in Pennsylvania...

, Siti Nurhaliza

Siti Nurhaliza

Dato', or occasionally Datin Seri, Siti Nurhaliza binti Tarudin DIMP, JSM, SAP, PMP, AAP is a Malaysian singer, songwriter, record producer, television presenter and businesswoman. To date, she has garnered more than 200 local awards as well as international awards...

 and Jonalyn Viray

Jonalyn Viray

Jonalyn Roxas Viray is a Filipina singer and an occasional actress. She was the first ever Pinoy Pop Superstar Grand Champion...

. A humorous cover, which featured comedy sound effects after each method of transport mentioned, was performed by fictional singer Michelle Coffee in the Peter Kay

Peter Kay

Peter John Kay is an English comedian, writer, actor, director and producer. His work includes That Peter Kay Thing , Phoenix Nights , Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere , Britain's Got the Pop Factor... and other independent productions which have included two sell out tours.-Early career:Peter Kay...

 series Phoenix Nights.

The Beautiful South

The Beautiful South

The Beautiful South were an English alternative rock group formed at the end of the 1980s by two former members of Hull group The Housemartins, Paul Heaton and Dave Hemingway. The duo were initially joined by Sean Welch , Dave Stead and Dave Rotheray , all of whom stayed with the group throughout...

's album Gaze

Gaze (album)

Gaze is The Beautiful South's eighth original album, released in 2003. The release was supported by a tour entitled Gaze With The Beautiful South.-Track listing:# "Pretty" 3:19# "Just A Few Things That I Ain't" 2:47# "Sailing Solo" 3:17# "Life Vs...

included a song with the same title and, partially, similar lyrics - but reversed the theme, with Paul Heaton

Paul Heaton

Paul David Heaton is an English singer-songwriter. He was a member of The Housemartins, who disbanded in 1988, and a member of The Beautiful South, who disbanded in 2007. He is currently pursuing a solo career....

 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

Blackpool

Blackpool is a borough, seaside town, and unitary authority area of Lancashire, in North West England. It is situated along England's west coast by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre estuaries, northwest of Preston, north of Liverpool, and northwest of Manchester...

 sands").

Release history

Country	Date
United Kingdom United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...	January 1, 1991
Germany Germany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Sweden Sweden Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....	February 11,1991
United States United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...	March 15, 1991

Charts

End of year chart (1991)	Position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	80