On This Day In Oasis History 3

On This Day In Oasis History 3 - "D'You Know What I Mean?" was the first single from their third album Be Here Now. In the UK, its highest chart position was #1. The song was written by Noel Gallagher.

At the time "D'You Know What I Mean" was released, Oasis were at the height of their fame, and as a result, the single, along with the album, was highly anticipated. Upon its release it was critically and commercially successful, but as was the case with Be Here Now, once the hype died down, the single was seen as bloated and indulgent, embellished with lyrics and guitar parts played backwards and strange morse code and helicopter sound effects. All Music Guide labelled it "Oasis' first boring single".

The song also exhibits some of Noel Gallagher's less admirable songwriting qualities. Many of the lyrics are meaningless and cliched, while the guitar chords on both the verse and the chorus are essentially the same as the chords used for the verse in the Oasis single "Wonderwall" (Em7/G/Dsus4/Asus).

However, the song also shows more of Noel's influences. While the lyrics may seem inane and banal, reference are included to Bob Dylan ("Blood on the tracks must be mine") and The Beatles ("Fool on the hill and I feel fine"). The song also features Led Zeppelin's "wall of guitar" sound as well as a drum loop from N.W.A.

The Morse code in the background translates to include such sayings as "Bugger All", "Pork Pies" and "Strawberry Fields Forever."

However, despite the critical coldness to the A-side, one of the B-sides, "Stay Young", has become a popular Oasis song, so much so that fans voted it onto the B-sides collection The Masterplan - one of only two B-sides from the Be Here Now period which made the album. The song was originally intended to be the "Digsy's Dinner" of Be Here Now (the lighthearted novelty track, such as "She's Electric"), until Noel set it aside in favour of "Magic Pie". Gallagher claims not to be particularly fond of the track.

Cover Information

The single cover photograph, by Michael Spencer Jones and directed by Brian Cannon of Microdot, was taken in front of the Blind Steps, a staircase in Wigan so called because the run past the Blind Workshop, which can be seen to the left of the shot. The steps can still be found on Darlington Street. The shoot was shrouded in secrecy to protect mass media coverage, but newspaper The Wigan Evening Post got exclusive rights to cover the event and subsequently sold the photo's to the Daily Mirror. At a lunchtime break , Liam Gallagher and sleeve designer Brian Cannon enjoyed a pint of beer in the nearby Crispin Arms pub by Birkett Bank.