The worldwide fame of the British rock band Oasis began with the composition Live Forever, the third single from the debut album Definitely Maybe (1994). And a couple of decades later, in a vote held on the band’s official website, fans named this track the best Oasis song of all time. And the Gallagher brothers themselves share this opinion.
The story of creation and meaning
Noel Gallagher made the first sketches of the future Live Forever in 1991, when he was still working in a construction company and only dreamed of a musical career. One evening he was listening to Exile on Main St. band The Rolling Stone and at the same time strummed a previously composed chord progression on the guitar.
In the process, he noticed that a line from the Rolling Stones song Shine a Light with the words “May the good Lord shine a light on you” fits perfectly into his melody. Noel changed the line to “Maybe I don’t really want to know” and it became the starting point for the song Live Forever. He worked on the rest of the text for several months.
It is believed that Live Forever is a dedication to Peggy, Noel and Lime’s mother. Allegedly, the song refers to her garden, which she carefully looked after. In general, in the composition, Noel expressed his disagreement with the pessimistic ideas that hovered among grunge fans, to whom he himself belonged.
The younger Gallagher explained the main idea of Live Forever this way:
At the time… it was written in the heyday of grunge and all that, and I remember Nirvana had a song called “I Hate Myself and Want to Die” but I was like… “I’m not f***ing with that.” I agree”. Although he himself and all this f***ing nonsense I liked, I do not agree with this … This is f***ing shit. Young people do not need to listen to such nonsense.
Noel has repeatedly argued that Live Forever cannot be considered a direct answer to Nirvana. But at the same time, he agreed that he wrote it with Kurt Cobain in mind. Noel expressed his opinion of him and his worldview as follows:
It seems to me that we are talking about a guy who had everything, and it made him unhappy. And we didn’t have a damn thing, but I still thought that waking up in the morning was the best thing in the world, because you don’t know what night you will end.
Noel considered this the most important line in the song: “We understand what they will never understand.” In it, he wanted to say that real understanding is possible only with old friends.
Recording and release
Noel introduced Live Forever to the members of Oasis in early 1993 and they were fascinated by it. The band recorded the song at Clear Studios in Manchester. A year later, it was released as the third single from Definitely Maybe and immediately brought the band to the attention of music lovers and music critics.
However, not everyone took Live Forever with enthusiasm, which is confirmed by the quote at the end of the article.
Live Forever became the first Oasis song to reach the top 10 in the UK charts. On the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks, she rose to number two. Q magazine readers polling the best song of all time in 2006 ranked Live Forever number one.
Liam Gallagher called Live Forever his favorite Oasis song. In an interview with a reporter from Q, he said:
I think her words still mean something very powerful… Even when we start it now, it always seems to me that we will play better than ever. She makes me think about my mother. It’s also a song that convinces me that I got the best job in the band. I didn’t write it, but I happened to sing it.
Noel is genuinely proud to have composed Live Forever. He said that he always compares his songs with the creations of the rock band The Beatles, and this song deserves to be on a par with them.
Music videos
Two music videos were filmed for Live Forever, one for the UK and one for the US. The first one is available just above in the article, and watch the music video for the American audience now.
Interesting Facts
- The cover of the single Live Forever depicts the house where John Lennon lived as a child.
- The demo version of the song started with an acoustic guitar, but recording director Owen Morris decided it would be better to start the song with a drum beat. He also cut another Noel solo because he thought it sounded too much like Slash from Guns N’ Roses.
Live Forever Lyrics
Maybe I don’t really wanna know
How your garden grows cos I just want to fly
Lately, did you ever feel the pain?
In the morning rain as it soaks you to the bone
Maybe I just want to fly, I want to live, I don’t want to die
Maybe I just want to breathe, maybe I just don’t believe
Maybe you’re the same as me we see things they’ll never see
You and I were gonna live forever
I said maybe I don’t really wanna know
How your garden grows cos I just want to fly
Lately, did you ever feel the pain?
In the morning rain as it soaks you to the bone
Maybe I will never be all the things that I want to be
But now is not the time to cry now’s the time to find out why
I think you’re the same as me we see things they’ll never see you and I
We’re gonna live forever
Maybe I don’t really wanna know
How your garden grows cos I just want to fly
Lately, did you ever feel the pain?
In the morning rain as it soaks you to the bone
Maybe I just want to fly I want to live I don’t want to die
Maybe I just want to breathe maybe I just don’t believe
Maybe you’re the same as me we see things they’ll never see you and I
You and I are gonna live forever
We’re gonna live forever
Song quote
It’s not a song, Mr. Gallagher. This is meditation, moaning, a mantra with an agonizing, furious, brain-breaking melody … Every vowel sound turns into a nasal bubbling … this could awaken the pharaohs
Dominic King
