Listen Up

**DayturaDreamer** · Posted: Tue May 27, 2008 2:33 pm Post subject: Listen Up

An absolute classic. ANY other band (past or present) could have released this as a single and it would have been hailed as one of their top 3 songs. This fully illustrates the greatness and perfection of Noel Gallagher's songwriting as he can put an all-time classic such as this on a b-side.

MTV Unplugged http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0q_dlPjJnU
Toronto 2006 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SaODmSF1pTA

Noel spoke about it in 1998:

"That's one of my favourites. I remember writing the lyrics in the kitchen at Masion Rouge (Fulham recording studio). I was living in Chiswick at the time, while the rest of them were at The Columbia Hotel. So I went home early, about 8pm to write some lyrics. So everyone said, "Right, midday tomorrow". I got there at 11.30am, started messing around with these lyrics. An hour goes past, then another, and another, and another. They turn up at 8pm looking like they've still been up. It was the night they got barred from The Columbia for f.ucking decimating the gaff. So I spent eight hours in the kitchen at Maison Rouge writing lyrics, and Ive never forgiven them.

Although I suppose it worked out well in a way 'cos the ones I had at 11.45am were f.ucking dreadful. I like the line "I don't believe in magic, 'cos life is automatic". I think it means something but I'm not quite sure what.

I remember Liam going, "That f.ucking guitar break's too long, nothing happens and it's the same riff going round and round." And 'cos I'm a stubborn c.unt, I was going, "No, it's right". And then when I was mastering it the other day, four I decided he was right, so I edited four bars out! He was round our house the other day so I played it to him and he went "That sounds better than the original." I went "(cough) Yeah I edited it....." He went "WHAT? AFTER ALL THESE F.UCKING YEARS NOW YOURE ADMITTING YOU WERE WRONG??!!" Hehe! He thinks I'm a c.unt now."

Noel's songwriting notebook of 1993 also included a song called Listen Up, which is generally considered to be an entirely different, unrelated song. I suspect the song in his notebook is the music that is Listen Up as we know it, he only ever said he re-wrote the lyrics in the studio, rather than the song in it's entirety.

Great song and great lyrics.