Each month, The Spectator takes an in-depth look at a past song or album, whether it was released a few years ago or decades ago. This month, we revisit the fifth single from Oasis’s album, “(What’s the Story) Morning Glory?”
Written by the Oasis’s lead guitarist, Noel Gallagher, “Don’t Look Back in Anger” became the band’s second UK number-one single. According to the Fatherly media brand, it “is the best song of the ‘90s because it sounds like a soundtrack from what the kids were feeling,” – uncertainty and precariousness for the falling state of Britain’s monarchy after Princess Diana and Prince Charles’ scandal.
Ironically, Oasis’ lead singer, Liam Gallagher, did not sing this song (apart from the collective last chorus), so Noel’s shockingly euphonious single shocked listeners as it skyrocketed to a hit number one song. From the first seven major forté piano chords, followed by a classic electric guitar riff, “Don’t Look Back in Anger” immediately evokes memories and nostalgia with its first few bars. The intertwining and gradual transition from piano to guitar to drums mimics rewinding to the past, making the listener aware they are in for a heck of an emotional journey.
Noel Gallagher’s melodious and instantaneous fortissimo belt of “Slip inside the eye of your mind” reads as a line of poetry, reflecting the commencement of a journey back to memories. Every single line that follows is a continuation of the gripping story of Noel’s ex-partner Sally and the regrets he had in their relationship. Feeling betrayed, Noel exclaims, “I’m gonna start a revolution from my bed, Cos you said the brains I had went to my head,” ensnaring the idea that love is a whirlpool of emotions – including anger that causes radical emotions and actions. Lyrics that are true and too specific to this story of lovesickness provide an authenticity to “Don’t Look Back in Anger” – something that most rock songs lack.
When their relationship ends, Noel notes, “She knows it’s too late as we’re walking on by, Her soul slides away.” Although Oasis is a rock band, a true poetic nature and lyricism are revealed through a metaphor of Sally subtly slipping away. The ultimate message of living by Sally’s line “Don’t look back in anger” is an ode to his love for her and an inspiring perspective that resonates with everyday listeners.
The unique melancholic-rock genre of the song is portrayed through typical rock band instruments playing an arrangement of major and minor sounds, alternating between adagio and allegro tempos, which mimics the bittersweetness of the song and Noel and Sally’s story. Every vibrato strike of the electric guitar acts as the gut-wrenching feeling of lovesickness and longing to relive the past, while every andante bar of drumming sways the song back to reminiscing on the positive memories of their relationship.
When the other band members join Noel to sing the last couple of choruses, their raw collective belt emphasizes the yearning for past experiences and positive memories – a final emotional outburst to invoke the bitter side of not looking back in anger.
On the other hand, the final bars of music tell a story on their own: lento guitar strums demonstrate a strenuous acceptance of the past being gone, gulping away the dreams of traveling back in time. Yet, the final hits of the drums convey a sweet return to the present, illustrating how learning not to look back in anger allows a sense of serenity upon reflection.
