Don’t Look Back in Anger
Producers
[Verse 1]
Slip inside the eye of your mind
Don't you know you might find
A better place to play?
You said that you'd never been
But all the things that you've seen
Slowly fade away
[Pre-Chorus]
So I start a revolution from my bed
'Cause you said the brains I had went to my head
Step outside, summertime's in bloom
Stand up beside the fireplace
Take that look from off your face
You ain't ever gonna burn my heart out
[Chorus]
And so, Sally can wait
She knows it's too late as we're walkin' on by
Her soul slides away
But "Don't look back in anger," I heard you say
[Verse 2]
Take me to the place where you go
Where nobody knows
If it's night or day
Please don't put your life in the hands
Of a rock 'n' roll band
Who'll throw it all away
I'm gonna start a revolution from my bed
'Cause you said the brains I had went to my head
Step outside, 'cause summertime's in bloom
Stand up beside the fireplace
Take that look from off your face
'Cause you ain't ever gonna burn my heart out
[Chorus]
And so, Sally can wait
She knows it's too late as she's walking on by
My soul slides away
But "Don't look back in anger," I heard you say
[Guitar Solo]
[Chorus]
So, Sally can wait
She knows it's too late as we're walking on by
Her soul slides away
But "Don't look back in anger," I heard you say
So, Sally can wait
She knows it's too late as she's walking on by
My soul slides away
But "Don't look back in anger
Don't look back in anger"
I heard you say
About
“Don’t Look Back in Anger” was released as the fourth single off of (What’s The Story) Morning Glory?, February 19th 1996. In 2006, it was included in the “Best Of”-compilation Stop The Clocks and in 2010 it was included in the singles collection Time Flies… 1994-2009.
Noel Gallagher also admits that he was under the influence of illegal substances when he wrote the song and to this day he claims he does not know what the lyrics mean.
In late May 2017, the song became a symbol for the Manchester’s spirit and resistance following the terrorist attacks during an Ariana Grande concert, when a crowd of Mancunians started singing it, at the end of a minute of silence to honour the victims of the attack.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
Noel on the song’s creation:
I went up to The Manor when Paul Weller was recording Stanley Road and that’s when I did my bit on Walking On Guilded Splinters. He played me his song, Wings Of Speed, and that was the feel I tried to get on Don’t Look Back In Anger. I did it live for the first time at Sheffield Arena. Should people put their lives in the hands of a rock n’ roll band? If it’s us then, yeah, I think they can.
Noel on the song’s meaning:
It’s about not being upset about the things you might have said or done yesterday, which is quite appropriate at the moment. It’s about looking forward rather than looking back. I hate people who look back on the past or talk about what might have been.
Noel has described it as “a cross between “All the Young Dudes” and [something] The Beatles might have done.”
Noel: “I don’t actually know anybody called Sally. It’s just a word that fit, y'know, might as well throw a girl’s name in there. It’s gotta guarantee somebody a shag off a bird called Sally, hasn’t it?”
Noel told Uncut in 2007 that he was trying to come up with lyrics for the music he’d written when Liam asked him if he had just sung “So Sally can wait.” He hadn’t, but loved the line and it inspired him to finish the song.
Noel also acknowledges that lines from the song – most noticeably “gonna start a revolution from my bed” – were taken from a cassette tape containing John Lennon’s memoirs.
- 1.Hello
- 2.Roll with It
- 3.Wonderwall
- 4.Don’t Look Back in Anger
- 5.Hey Now!
- 10.Morning Glory
- 13.Talk Tonight
- 14.Acquiesce
- 15.Headshrinker
- 17.Rockin’ Chair
- 18.Step Out
- 21.Round Are Way
- 22.The Swamp Song
- 23.The Masterplan
- 36.Hey Now (Demo)