Replace quotes with open and close html tags

I have the following string:

'something can go here' and there some more text 'then some more here'

That I would like to become:

<pre>something can go here</pre> and there some more text <pre>then some more here</pre>

I know you can do:

 str_replace($replace, $with, $from);

But as both ends are the same symbol thats not going to work, what is the best way to get around this?