Some Might Say

"Some Might Say"
"Some Might Say"
Single by Oasis
from the album (What's the Story) Morning Glory?
B-side	"Talk Tonight"; "Acquiesce"; "Headshrinker";
Released	24 April 1995
Recorded	February 1995
Studio	Loco, Wales
Genre	Britpop; rock;
Length	5:28
Label	Creation
Songwriter(s)	Noel Gallagher
Producer(s)	Owen Morris; Noel Gallagher;
Oasis singles chronology
(What's the Story) Morning Glory? track listing
	12 tracks "Hello"; "Roll with It"; "Wonderwall"; "Don't Look Back in Anger"; "Hey Now!"; Untitled; "Some Might Say"; "Cast No Shadow"; "She's Electric"; "Morning Glory"; Untitled; "Champagne Supernova";
Music video
	"Oasis - Some Might Say (Official HD Remastered Video)" on YouTube

"Some Might Say" is a song by the English rock band Oasis. It was released as the first single on 24 April 1995 by Creation 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 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.^[2] 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 ahead 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 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.^[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.

Single artwork

The sleeve artwork was created by Brian Cannon of Microdot. It shot on the disused platform of Cromford railway station in Derbyshire, England. The 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.^[5]

It features Cannon's father with a 'sink wheelbarrow' full of fish, from the lyrics, "The sink is full of fishes". His mother with mop. Carla Knox, barmaid of his local pub.^[5] The silverware on the 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. 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".^[6] Cannon considers the art to be his favourite of all the Oasis sleeves he designed.^[7]

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!!"^[8] In 2024, Paste and Rolling Stone ranked "Some Might Say" number four and number ten, respectively, on their lists of the greatest Oasis songs.^[9]^[10]

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 Gibson 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 "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.^[11] 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.^[12]

Track listings

All songs are written by Noel Gallagher except where noted.

United Kingdom

CD single (CRESCD 204)^[13]

"Some Might Say"
"Talk Tonight"
"Acquiesce"
"Headshrinker"

7-inch and cassette single (CRE 204, CRECS 204)^[14]^[15]

"Some Might Say"
"Talk Tonight"

12-inch single (CRE 204T)^[16]

A1. "Some Might Say"

B1. "Talk Tonight"

B2. "Acquiesce"

Australia

CD single (HES 664059 2)^[17]

"Some Might Say"
"Listen Up"
"Bring It On Down" (live)

Japan

CD single (ESCA 6251)^[18]

"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

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. "Acquiesce" was released as part of the Stop the Clocks EP in promotion of their compilation album, Stop the Clocks.

Personnel

Liam Gallagher – vocals, tambourine
Noel Gallagher – lead guitar, backing vocals
Paul Arthurs – rhythm guitar
Paul McGuigan – bass
Tony McCarroll – drums and percussion

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1995)	Peak position
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)^[19]	33
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)^[20]	3
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)^[21]	9
Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)^[22]	3
Ireland (IRMA)^[23]	3
Japan (Oricon)^[24]	43
Netherlands (Single Tip)^[25]	10
Scotland (OCC)^[26]	1
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)^[27]	7
UK Singles (OCC)^[28]	1

Year-end charts

Chart (1995)	Position
Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)^[29]	38
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)^[30]	84
UK Singles (OCC)^[31]	31

Certifications


Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)^[32]	Platinum	600,000^‡
^‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Ref.
United Kingdom	24 April 1995	7-inch vinyl CD cassette	Creation	^[33]
Japan	13 July 1995	CD	Epic Japan	^[24]

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".