"Some Might Say" is a song by the English rock band Oasis. It was released by Creation Records as the first single from their second studio album,(What's the Story) Morning Glory? (1995),on 24 April 1995. The song was written by the band's lead guitarist Noel Gallagher. It became the band's first UK number one single,topping the Official Singles Chart for the week of 30 April–6 May 1995 and displacing Take That's "Back for Good".[2] The single was also the last to feature all five original members,as drummer Tony McCarroll was fired shortly after its release.
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.[3] Its b-side "Headshrinker" 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 came to a head 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 in July 1994 at Maison Rouge Studios,during the recording of the single "Whatever" 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 parts 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.[4] 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".[5] The demo version was later released as a bonus track on the Japanese CD single.
Single artwork
The sleeve artwork was created by Brian Cannon of Microdot. It was shot on the disused platform of Cromford railway station in Derbyshire,England,with much of the imagery being inspired by lyrics taken from the single. The overall concept was based on the lyrics,"... standin' at the station,in need of education in the rain";education being required to learn the station was,at the time,disused.[6]
It features Cannon's father with a wheelbarrow - which he created by welding a wheel and handles onto a sink - full of fish,from the lyrics,"The sink is full of fishes". Cannon's mother is also present,holding a mop,as well as Carla Knox,barmaid of Cannon's local pub.[6] The silverware on Knox's head is a play on the lyric,"She's got dirty dishes on her brain." Liam Gallagher can be seen on the bridge whilst Noel can be viewed with a watering can on the platform. Matthew Sankey,Cannon's aide,plays a homeless man,a reference to the lyrics "... the man who cannot shine" and "... the man who lives in hell".[7] Cannon considers the art to be his favourite of all the Oasis sleeves he designed.[8]
Critical reception
David Stubbs from Melody Maker named the song Single of the Week,writing,"'Some Might Say' is Oasis' best yet. Initially,like some,I thought Oasis were merely Mancunian chancers keeping The Stone Roses' seat warm but now I'm utterly hooked on those hooks. This just climbs and climbs and then the way that note just hangs there in the final crescendo and trails off,onward and upward,all the way to heaven...aahhh!!"[9] Both Leesa Daniels and Jordan Paramor from Smash Hits gave it a top score of five out of five. Daniels named it "a complete knicker elastic-snapping rock tune",[10] and said,"This is tremendous. It's one of those tunes where you'll hit the dancefloor,rip all your clothes off and get taken away for being a public nuisance."[11] In 2024,Paste and Rolling Stone ranked "Some Might Say" number four and number ten,respectively,on their lists of the greatest Oasis songs.[12][13]
In later appraisals,the track has been highlighted as a key Oasis single:Paste ranked it fourth in the band’s catalogue in 2024,while Rolling Stone placed it tenth on its 2024 list of the 40 best Oasis songs.[14][15]
Promotional video
A planned promo video shoot was reportedly abandoned when Liam Gallagher failed to attend;a compilation using pre-existing clips (including "Cigarettes &Alcohol" and "Supersonic") was circulated instead.[16]
Track information
In an interview promoting the compilation album Stop the Clocks,Noel stated "Some Might Say" is the "archetypical Oasis song" and "defines what Oasis is". He added "Some Might Say"'s 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.[17] There is a banner at Etihad Stadium that reads "Some might say we will find a brighter day" in reference to a line of the song.[18]
Track listings
All songs are written by Noel Gallagher except where noted.
Most 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. "Acquiesce" was released as part of the Stop the Clocks EP in promotion of their compilation album, Stop the Clocks.
"Headshrinker", a fast tempo punk rockesque track, was apparently written about a girl that Liam was dating at the time, who Noel thought was weird and annoying because she would follow the band everywhere they went. Although rarely performed live, perhaps most famously at their Live by the Sea gig, it became a fan favourite, and in 2022, Liam released it as part of his Down by the River Thames live album recorded in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic caused venue closures. "Listen Up" was originally released as a B-side to "Cigarettes & Alcohol". "Bring It On Down - (Live)", a recording from the band's first ever radio session in 1993, was originally released as a B-side to "Shakermaker". Noel's rendition of the Beatles track "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" was recorded during a radio session in 1995 prior to the release of (What's the Story) Morning Glory?.
"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".
↑ Some Might Say (Australia CD single liner notes). Oasis. Helter Skelter Records. 1995. HES 664059 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
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