Don't Go Away
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"Don't Go Away" is a song by English
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band
Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.” The location of oases has been of critical imp ...
from their third album, '' Be Here Now'' (1997). Written by Noel Gallagher, the song was released as a commercial single only in Japan, peaking at number 48 on the
Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan and Western music. It started as, which was founded by Sōkō Koike in Nov ...
chart, and as a promotional single in the United States and Canada. The track reached number 35 on the US ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' Hot 100 Airplay chart and number 15 on the Canadian ''
RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...
'' Top Singles chart in late 1997.


Background and composition

Although "Don't Go Away" appears for the first time in 1997, its origins date back to 1993, when Oasis spent time with the Real People at their studio in Liverpool. "Don't Go Away" was included in a batch of songs written under the wing of the Griffiths brothers (which also included "Columbia", "
Rock 'n' Roll Star "Rock 'n' Roll Star" is a song by English rock band Oasis. It is the opening track from their debut album, ''Definitely Maybe'' (1994). Like the majority of the band's songs from this era, it was written by lead guitarist Noel Gallagher, who ...
", "Rockin' Chair" and others).McCarrol, Tony (2010). ''Oasis: The Truth'',
Blake Publishing John Blake (born 6 November 1948) is an English publisher and former journalist. ''John Blake Publishing'' was acquired by Bonnier Publishing in May 2016. Blake joined ''Soho Friday'', launched in November 2018, a venture with Richard Johnson ...
,
Liam Gallagher claims to have cried while recording the song, as a result of dwelling on "a certain thing". He said, in a 1997 interview, "I just thought 'fuck that, I can't be singing this song' and I had to go away and sort myself out". Listening back to the song he admits to being very proud of his vocal performance. In a 1997 interview promoting '' Be Here Now'', Noel Gallagher had the following to say about the song: "It's a very sad song about not wanting to lose someone you're close to. The middle eight I made up on the spot – I never had that lyric until the day we recorded it: 'Me and you, what's going on?/ All we seem to know is how to show/ The feelings that are wrong.' It's after a row. Quite bleak." "We put
Burt Bacharach Burt Freeman Bacharach ( ; born May 12, 1928) is an American composer, songwriter, record producer and pianist who composed hundreds of pop songs from the late 1950s through the 1980s, many in collaboration with lyricist Hal David. A six-time Gra ...
horns on because he was the master of break-up songs. I did all the string arrangements. I tried to keep them as simple as possible. I like the way Marc Bolan used them on ' Children of the Revolution'. People do remember string parts as separate hooklines, you know. You just don't want to use them slushily."


Artwork

The cover of the single features the old
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
Speke Airport Liverpool John Lennon Airport is an international airport in Liverpool, England, on the estuary of the River Mersey south-east of Liverpool city centre. Scheduled domestic, European, North African and Middle Eastern services are operated f ...
building. The airport is famous as the scene at which thousands of hysterical fans greeted
The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
on their return to Liverpool at the height of
Beatlemania Beatlemania was the fanaticism surrounding the English rock band the Beatles in the 1960s. The group's popularity grew in the United Kingdom throughout 1963, propelled by the singles "Please Please Me", "From Me to You" and "She Loves You". By ...
. Derelict at the time, it has now been turned into a
hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...
. The aeroplane is an Avro Lancastrian.


Scruton critique

The song is analysed by philosopher Roger Scruton in his book ''Modern Culture'', in particular with reference to the line: "Damn my education, I can't find the words to say / About the things caught in my mind". Scruton writes, "Here, encrypted within the routine protest, is a more strangulated cry—a protest against the impossibility of protest. Trapped as he is in a culture that treats articulate utterance as a capitulation to the adult world, the singer can find no words to express what most deeply concerns him. Something is lacking in his world—but he cannot say what. He excites his fans to every kind of artificial ecstasy, knowing that nothing will be changed for them or him, that the void will always remain unfilled".


B-sides

The live version of "
Cigarettes & Alcohol "Cigarettes & Alcohol" is a song by English rock band Oasis, written by Noel Gallagher. It was released on 10 October 1994 as the fourth and final single from their debut album ''Definitely Maybe'' (1994), and their second to enter the UK top te ...
" was recorded 14 December 1997 at the G-MEX Exhibition Centre in Oasis' home town of
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
. "Sad Song" originally appeared as a bonus track on the vinyl release of the first Oasis album, '' Definitely Maybe''. It also appeared on the Japanese CD edition of ''Definitely Maybe''. The 'Warchild' version of "Fade Away" is from '' The Help Album'' recorded in September 1995. It features Noel on vocals, and guests
Johnny Depp John Christopher Depp II (born June 9, 1963) is an American actor and musician. He is the recipient of multiple accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to nominations for three Academy Award ...
on guitar,
Kate Moss Katherine Ann Moss (born 16 January 1974) is a British model. Arriving at the end of the "supermodel era", Moss rose to fame in the early 1990s as part of the heroin chic fashion trend. Her collaborations with Calvin Klein brought her to fas ...
on tambourine and Liam and
Lisa Moorish Lisa Moorish (born 16 January 1972)A life on the edge
(Miranda Sawyer, ''
on backing vocals. All proceeds from that track went to Warchild Charities.


Music video

The video to "Don't Go Away" shows the band in a house whilst changing sizes. One part of the video shows many versions of Liam Gallagher floating whilst holding an umbrella. The video was directed by Nigel Dick and was filmed on 11 and 12 August 1997 in Chertsey and London, UK.


Track listings

US promo CD # "Don't Go Away" – 4:48 Japanese CD single # "Don't Go Away" – 4:43 # "Cigarettes & Alcohol" (live) – 4:58 # "Sad Song" – 4:16 # "Fade Away" (Warchild version) – 4:08


Personnel

Oasis * Liam Gallagher – lead vocals,
tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though ...
* Noel Gallagher – lead guitar, acoustic guitar * Paul Arthurs – rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar *
Paul McGuigan Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...
– bass * Alan White – drums Additional musicians *Mike Rowe –
electric piano An electric piano is a musical instrument which produces sounds when a performer presses the keys of a piano-style musical keyboard. Pressing keys causes mechanical hammers to strike metal strings, metal reeds or wire tines, leading to vibrations ...
* Nick Ingman
string String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...
and
brass Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other with ...
arrangements


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Release history


Cover versions

Kate Rusby recorded the song for her 2019 album ''Philosophers, Poets & Kings''. Rusby had previously performed the song live on Jo Whiley's BBC Radio show in 2016.


References

{{Authority control 1997 songs 1997 singles Epic Records singles Music videos directed by Nigel Dick Oasis (band) songs Song recordings produced by Noel Gallagher Songs written by Noel Gallagher Sony Music Entertainment Japan singles