Some Might Say

Background

The track was inspired by the Small Faces and/or T-Rex. 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 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 the only song from (What's the Story) Morning Glory? for which Noel Gallagher recorded a demo. 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. The demo version of the song lasts 6:47, while the final version is only 5:28 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".

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.

"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.

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.

The song also appears on Stop the Clocks, as do two of the B-sides. Surprisingly, this means that the "Some Might Say" single contains the fourth largest number of tracks to appear on Stop the Clocks of any Oasis release (after Definitely Maybe, Morning Glory and The Masterplan). Therefore, more songs from this single ended up on Stop the Clocks than Don't Believe the Truth (2 songs), Standing on the Shoulder of Giants, Heathen Chemistry (1 song each) and Be Here Now (no songs from this album appear on Stop the Clocks).

Appearances in other media

Personnel

Track listings

All songs written by Noel Gallagher except where noted.

In the UK

1. "Some Might Say" - 5:28
2. "Talk Tonight" - 4:21
3. "Acquiesce" - 4:24
4. "Headshrinker" - 4:38

1. "Some Might Say" - 5:28
2. "Talk Tonight" - 4:21

1. "Some Might Say" - 5:28
2. "Talk Tonight" - 4:21
3. "Acquiesce" - 4:24

1. "Some Might Say" - 5:28
2. "Talk Tonight" - 4:21

In Japan

1. "Some Might Say" - 5:27
2. "Talk Tonight" - 4:21
3. "Acquiesce" - 4:24
4. "Headshrinker" - 4:39
5. "Some Might Say" (demo) - 6:47
6. "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" (Lennon–McCartney) - 2:16

In Australia

CD HES 664059-2

1. "Some Might Say"
2. "Listen Up"
3. "Bring It On Down" (live)

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.