Released 18 September 1995 | Format CD, Cassette | |
Recorded 1995 Loco Studios, Wales Studio Olympics Studios, London Genre Symphonic rock, Britpop Length 5:28 (album version)
4:02 (radio edit) | ||
"History" is a song by English rock band The Verve, and is featured on their second album, A Northern Soul. It was released 18 September 1995 as the third and final single from the album, charting at #24 in the UK Singles Chart (see 1995 in British music). The song is notable for being released after the band's sudden first break up (the sign on the CD1 cover reads 'all farewells should be sudden'). In 2014, NME ranked it at number 312 on their list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
Contents
Composition and lyrics
The song begins with a string intro that is very similar to the intro of "Mind Games" by John Lennon. This was the first song by the band to feature strings (a formula that would later be used for several Urban Hymns singles). The opening lyrics of the song are based on the first two stanzas of William Blake's poem, London. The song is quite melancholic, with Melody Maker describing it as "an epic, windswept symphony of strings, flailing vocals and staggeringly bitter sentiments". It has been claimed the song was written about Ashcroft's split with his girlfriend, although Ashcroft denied this.
The clapping featured on History was performed by Liam Gallagher.
There was no original music video filmed for the single, probably because the band had already split when the single was released. Instead an official compilation of clips from The Verve's previous music videos was created by Ashcroft.
Track listings
- History (Radio Edit)
- Back On My Feet Again
- On Your Own (Acoustic)
- Monkey Magic (Brainstorm Mix)
- History (Album Version)
- Grey Skies
- Life's Not A Rehearsal
- History (Radio Edit)
- Back On My Feet Again
- History (Radio Edit)