Some Might Say
"Some Might Say" is a song by the English rock band Oasis. It was released as the first single on 24 April 1995 from their second studio album, (What's the Story) Morning Glory? (1995). The song was written by the band's lead guitarist Noel Gallagher. "Some Might Say" provided Oasis with their first number one on the UK Singles Chart and reached the top 10 in Finland, Iceland, Ireland and Sweden. The song is also the last to feature all 5 original members, as original drummer Tony McCarroll left shortly after the song's release.
"Some Might Say" | ||||
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Single by Oasis | ||||
from the album (What's the Story) Morning Glory? | ||||
B-side |
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Released | 24 April 1995 | |||
Recorded | March 1995 | |||
Studio | Rockfield, Monmouth, Wales | |||
Genre | Britpop, rock[1] | |||
Length | 5:28 | |||
Label | Creation | |||
Songwriter(s) | Noel Gallagher | |||
Producer(s) |
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Oasis singles chronology | ||||
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(What's the Story) Morning Glory? track listing | ||||
12 tracks
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The single release was also named an EP in the Stop the Clocks booklet. It is thus one of the only Oasis singles to officially be also categorised an extended play.
Background
The track was inspired by the song "Fuzzy" by Grant Lee Buffalo.[2] It was the last Oasis track to feature original drummer Tony McCarroll, who was asked to leave the band before the main recording sessions for (What's the Story) Morning Glory? when tensions arose between McCarroll and Noel Gallagher. The rest of the tracks on the album feature his replacement Alan White on drums. Oasis performed the song on two episodes of Top of the Pops, the first being McCarroll's final performance with the band and the second being White's first.
Demo
"Some Might Say" was one of three songs from (What's the Story) Morning Glory? for which Noel Gallagher recorded a demo (The others being She's Electric and Hey Now). He recorded it with producer Owen Morris, who was at the time in Wales recording The Verve's A Northern Soul album; Noel used The Verve's equipment in the studio, playing guitar, the bass and the drums himself. However, no bits from the demo were eventually used in the album version; Noel played the demo to the band who then re-recorded everything, speeding up the tempo.[3] The demo version of the song lasts 6:33 while the final version is 5:26 long.
Noel Gallagher says he prefers the demo version of "Some Might Say" to the final version, describing the demo as "dirtier and sleazier" than the Oasis version which is "more Britpop".[4]
The demo version was later released as a bonus track on the Japanese CD single.
Album artwork
The sleeve artwork, shot at Cromford railway station in Derbyshire, England, features art director Brian Cannon's father with wheelbarrow and his mother with mop. Also pictured are Matthew Sankey, Cannon's aide and Carla Knox, barmaid of his local pub (whose inclusion, Cannon has since admitted, was because he "fancied" her). Liam Gallagher can be seen on the bridge whilst Noel can be viewed with a watering can. Cannon himself rates this piece amongst his greatest works. The wheelbarrow is a play on the lyrics of the song, "The sink is full of fishes", and the silverware falling on the woman's head near Noel is a play on the lyric, "She's got dirty dishes on her brain." The homeless man may also be a reference to the lyrics of the song, "Standing at the station, in need of education in the rain", as the sign near him says "Education Please".
Promotional video
The planned promo video for the song was cancelled due to Liam not turning up for the shoot. Instead, a makeshift video was created using footage from the "Cigarettes & Alcohol", US "Supersonic" and UK "Whatever" videos. Noel Gallagher gave the Les Paul guitar he plays in the music video to Gerry Mckay, Gallagher's doppelgänger in the official Oasis tribute band, No Way Sis.
Track information
In an interview promoting the compilation album, Stop the Clocks, Noel stated that "Some Might Say" is the 'archetypical Oasis song' and 'defines what Oasis is'. Noel added later in the interview that along with "Some Might Say", its B-side, "Acquiesce", was also the song that defined Oasis. In the 2003 documentary Live Forever: The Rise and Fall of Brit Pop, journalist Jon Savage recalls watching Oasis perform Some Might Say for the first time on Top of the Pops with tears in his eyes as he believed it marked a turning point in British culture, coinciding with the May local elections where the then-Conservative Government of John Major were trounced in the local elections.
"Some Might Say" was the 31st biggest selling single of 1995 in the UK. It has sold over 458,000 copies the UK as of April 2015.[5]
There is a banner at Etihad Stadium that reads "Some might say we will find a brighter day" in reference the lyrics of the song.[6]
Track listings
All songs written by Noel Gallagher except where noted.
UK
CD CRESCD 204
- "Some Might Say" - 5:28
- "Talk Tonight" - 4:21
- "Acquiesce" - 4:24
- "Headshrinker" - 4:38
7" CRE 204
- "Some Might Say" - 5:28
- "Talk Tonight" - 4:21
12" CRE 204T
- "Some Might Say" - 5:28
- "Talk Tonight" - 4:21
- "Acquiesce" - 4:24
Cassette CRECS 204
- "Some Might Say" - 5:28
- "Talk Tonight" - 4:21
Japan
CD ESCA-6251
- "Some Might Say" - 5:27
- "Talk Tonight" - 4:21
- "Acquiesce" - 4:24
- "Headshrinker" - 4:39
- "Some Might Say" (demo) - 6:47
- "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" (Lennon–McCartney) - 2:16
Australia
CD HES 664059-2
- "Some Might Say"
- "Listen Up"
- "Bring It On Down" (live)
- To date, the Japanese "Some Might Say" demo has not been released in any other format.
B-sides
All of the single's B-sides were included in The Masterplan album. "Talk Tonight", is one of many acoustic B-side tracks sung by Noel. It was inspired by the near-breakup of the band in Los Angeles in autumn 1994, when Noel walked out without telling anyone and headed for San Francisco. Noel was inspired to write the song after he met a girl while in San Francisco and talked to her for hours about his troubles with the band and life.
The B-side "Acquiesce" was released as part of the Stop the Clocks EP in promotion of their compilation album, Stop the Clocks.
Personnel
Charts
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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Certifications
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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United Kingdom (BPI)[18] | Platinum | 600,000![]() |
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Appearances in other media
- "Some Might Say" is a playable track in both Guitar Hero World Tour and the European version of Guitar Hero: On Tour. The song, as it appears on Guitar Hero, is the full version without the early fade from the album edit, which is not available on any other official or promotional Oasis release.
- It is played in an episode of Jonathan Creek, "The Reconstituted Corpse".
References
- https://www.allmusic.com/album/whats-the-story-morning-glory-mw0000176500
- "Oasis - '(What's The Story) Morning Glory?' Track by Track with Noel Gallagher [25th Anniversary". Retrieved 5 October 2020.
- "Noel Gallagher and Fran Healy from Travis on the Some Might Say demo 9th April 2016". Retrieved 15 April 2016.
- "Noel Gallagher and Fran Healy from Travis on the Some Might Say demo 9th April 2016". Retrieved 15 April 2016.
- "Number 1 today in 1995: Oasis score their first chart-topper". officialcharts.com.
- Winter, Henry (30 April 2012). "Manchester City return to Premier League summit after Vincent Kompany's goal secures victory over United". The Telegraph. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
- "Ultratop.be – Oasis – Some Might Say" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
- "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 12 no. 20. 20 May 1995. p. 20. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
- Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 951-31-2503-3.
- "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (18.6. '95 – 24.6. '95)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 16 June 1995. p. 24. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
- "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Some Might Say". Irish Singles Chart.
- "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
- "Swedishcharts.com – Oasis – Some Might Say". Singles Top 100.
- "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
- "Árslistinn 1995". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 2 January 1996. p. 16. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
- "Årslista Singlar, 1995" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
- "Top 100 Singles 1995". Music Week. 13 January 1996. p. 9.
- "British single certifications – Oasis – Some Might Say". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 2 July 2019. Select singles in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type Some Might Say in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.