Some Might Say

"Some Might Say" was the earliest song written for (What's the Story) Morning Glory?. NME later described it as the first song Noel Gallagher wrote after moving from Manchester to London.^[6] Writing about the song in 2025, Louder reported that Gallagher wrote it almost a year before release while living opposite Eden Studios in Chiswick, and recalled that the lyrics were "quite nonsensical" because he had been "quite hammered" while writing them.^[7] The band recorded a demo of the track in July 1994 at Maison Rouge Studios, during the recording of the single "Whatever" with producer Owen Morris.^[8] Gallagher later said he was so excited by the song that it became the only demo he made for Morning Glory.^[7] The original demo version of the song lasts 6:33 while the final version is 5:26 long.

In a 2016 interview, Noel Gallagher said he preferred the demo version of "Some Might Say" over the final version, describing the demo as "dirtier and sleazier" than the Oasis version which is "more Britpop".^[9] He also later called the chorus "brilliant" and said the finished single remained "probably my favourite Oasis song".^[7] The demo version was later released as a bonus track on the Japanese CD single. The track was also inspired by the song "Fuzzy" by Grant Lee Buffalo.^[10] In a 2024 retrospective, Rolling Stone Australia wrote that the released version added a "Britpop gloss" to Gallagher's slower demo, making it "a perfect marriage of Stones swagger and Beatle-esque brightness".^[2] Its b-side "Headshrinker" was the last Oasis track to feature original drummer Tony McCarroll, whose firing was publicly announced on 30 April. 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.^[11][12]

The sleeve artwork was created by Brian Cannon of Microdot. It was shot on 23 January 1995, on the disused platform of Cromford railway station in Derbyshire, England, with much of the imagery being inspired by lyrics taken from the single. The overall 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.^[13]

It features Cannon's father with a wheelbarrow - which he created by welding a wheel and handles onto a sink - full of fish, from the lyrics, "The sink is full of fishes". Cannon's mother is also present, holding a mop, as well as Carla Knox, barmaid of Cannon's local pub.^[13] The silverware on 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 on the platform. 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".^[14] Cannon considers the art to be his favourite of all the Oasis sleeves he designed.^[15]

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!!"^[16] Both Leesa Daniels and Jordan Paramor from Smash Hits gave it a top score of five out of five. Daniels named it "a complete knicker elastic-snapping rock tune",^[17] and said, "This is tremendous. It's one of those tunes where you'll hit the dancefloor, rip all your clothes off and get taken away for being a public nuisance."^[18] In 2024, Paste and Rolling Stone ranked "Some Might Say" number four and number ten, respectively, on their lists of the greatest Oasis songs.^[19][20] In the same year, Rolling Stone Australia ranked the song tenth in its Oasis catalogue and praised the way the single version translated Gallagher's slower demo into a brighter, more anthemic form.^[2]

In later appraisals, the track has been highlighted as a key Oasis single: Paste ranked it fourth in the band’s catalogue in 2024, while Rolling Stone placed it tenth on its 2024 list of the 40 best Oasis songs.^[21][22]

A planned promo video shoot was reportedly abandoned when Liam Gallagher failed to attend; a compilation using pre-existing clips (including "Cigarettes & Alcohol" and "Supersonic") was circulated instead.^[23]

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".^[24][25] He added "Some Might Say"'s B-side, "Acquiesce", was also the song that defined Oasis.^[26] 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.^[2]

"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.^[27] 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.^[28]

"Some Might Say" quickly became a staple of Oasis's live set after its release in April 1995. The band mimed it twice on Top of the Pops that spring: the first performance was Tony McCarroll's final television appearance with Oasis, while the second was Alan White's first with the group.^[6][12] By early 1996, Noel Gallagher was already citing "Some Might Say", alongside "Roll With It" and "Wonderwall", as one of the singles that had helped carry Oasis into the arena circuit by the time of their Earl's Court shows.^[29]

The song remained a regular fixture of the band's set throughout the (What's the Story) Morning Glory? and Be Here Now eras, including the Maine Road shows in April 1996 and the second night at Knebworth in August 1996.^[30][31] "Some Might Say (Live at Knebworth, 11 August '96)" was later included on the official 2021 live release Oasis Knebworth 1996.^[31]

By 2000, however, Noel Gallagher was already hinting at the concentration the song required onstage, saying ahead of the Standing on the Shoulder of Giants tour that "Some Might Say" would still be "good", but that he had to listen to Liam Gallagher singing it rather than simply concentrate on his own playing.^[32] The song nevertheless remained in the set into the Heathen Chemistry period, by which time Oasis were performing it in a lower key to accommodate Liam Gallagher's voice, reflecting Noel Gallagher's later comments that Liam had struggled to sing the song live.^{[33][citation needed]} Reviewing Oasis at Finsbury Park in July 2002, The Independent quoted Liam introducing it with: "Some might say ... that English rock'n'roll is dead. Well, it isn't while I'm alive."^[33]

When Oasis reunited in Cardiff in July 2025, "Some Might Say" returned as one of the early songs in the set, with Radio X describing it as part of the opening run of "powerful renditions" that helped establish the atmosphere of the band's first show together in sixteen years.^[34]

All songs are written by Noel Gallagher except where noted.

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

• "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".