Thursday 28 July 2011

The Death of You and Me - Noel Gallagher

The video for Noel Gallagher's debut single was posted on YouTube last week and it has already received over 1 million plays, testament to Gallagher's enduring appeal to generations of Oasis fans.

It's taken me until today to watch and listen though - the impact of having a one month old, I am well behind on listening to music.

As someone who fell in love with Oasis at the age of 18 in 1994 I always take an interest in what Noel has to say and play. I've not always enjoyed his releases, 'Standing on the Shoulder of Giants' was abysmal and should have been an EP at best, it turned me off Oasis for some time.


So what is the first single like? (check it out for yourself above)

Well, on first listen it's alright; cheesey guitar intro (not a million miles from The Importance of Being Idle), the lyrics (below) are quite lazy at times (city with pretty and pity), however the chorus lifts the song into a flowing melody and the song improves from there on in.
 
On second listen the melody shines a little brighter and I appreciate the flow of the song a lot more, how the verse tumbles into the chorus. The lyrics are typical Noel; simple and crying out to be sung back at him by the adoring masses; 

let's run away together you and me
forever we'd be free
free to spend our whole lives running
from people who would be
the death of you and me

The lyrics hark back to early Oasis - escapism, dreams and freedom. Think back to the opening track from Definitely Maybe and the first snarling line 'I live my life in the city, there's no easy way out' and then look at the lyrics above; Noel is still dreaming of getting away from it all; the pressures of day-to-day living, working for the man, or working with people you don't want to work with. Unfortunately Liam in this case.

You can'd read too much into Noel's lyrics of course, he wears his heart on his sleeve, he-is-what-he-is and they-are-what-they-are. There is a sign of ageing and maturity in the lines;

high tide, life is getting faster
and no one has the answer
i try to face the day though
in a new way

Noel's voice is sounding great, rising and falling throughout.

In summary, this song his a grower, I find myself humming the melody and wanting to play it again. The outro, like the intro is a little cheesey and could easily have been chopped off. After a few listens I'll give it 3/5. 

The Death of You and Me (Noel Gallagher)
high tide, summer in the city
the kids are looking pretty
but isn't it a pity that the sunshine
is followed by the thunder, with thoughts of going under
and is it any wonder

why the sea is calling out to me
i seem to spend my whole life running
from people who would be
the death of you and me
cause i can feel the storm clouds
sucking up my soul

high tide, life is getting faster
and no one has the answer
i try to face the day though
in a new way
the bottom of a bottle
is every man's apostle
let's run away together

you and me
forever we'd be free
free to spend our whole lives running
from people who would be
the death of you and me
cause i can feel the storm clouds
sucking up my soul

let's run away and see
forever we'd be free
free to spend our whole lives running
from people who would be
the death of you and me
cause i can feel the storm clouds coming

i'm watching my tv, or is it watching me?
i see another new day dawning
it's rising over me, my mortality
and i can feel the storm clouds
sucking up my soul


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