"Don't Go Away" is a song by English rock 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 Noel Thomas David Gallagher (born 29 May 1967) is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. He was the chief songwriter, lead guitarist, and co-lead vocalist of the rock band Oasis until their split in 2009. After leaving Oasis, he formed ...

, 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 i ...

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 adverti ...

Hot 100 Airplay The Radio Songs chart (previously named Hot 100 Airplay until 2014 and Top 40 Radio Monitor until 1991) is released weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and measures the airplay of songs being played on radio stations throughout the United States acro ...

chart and number 15 on the Canadian '' RPM'' 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 The Real People are an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1988. The band currently consists of Anthony "Tony" Griffiths (bass guitar, vocals), Chris Griffiths (guitar, vocals), Martin Lappin (guitar) and Tony McGuigan (drums). Formed i ...

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, wh ...

", "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 William John Paul Gallagher (born 21 September 1972) is an English singer and songwriter. He achieved fame as the lead vocalist of the rock band Oasis from 1991 to 2009, and later fronted the rock band Beady Eye from 2009 to 2014, before starti ...

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 Gr ...

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 Marc Bolan ( ; born Mark Feld; 30 September 1947 – 16 September 1977) was an English guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was a pioneer of the glam rock movement in the early 1970s with his band T. Rex. Bolan was posthumously inducted in ...

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 status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

Speke Airport 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" ...

. 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 re ...

. The aeroplane is an

Avro Lancastrian The Avro 691 Lancastrian was a Canadian and British passenger and mail transport aircraft of the 1940s and 1950s developed from the Avro Lancaster heavy bomber. The Lancaster was named after Lancaster, Lancashire; a Lancastrian is an inhabita ...

Scruton critique

The song is analysed by philosopher

Roger Scruton Sir Roger Vernon Scruton (; 27 February 194412 January 2020) was an English philosopher and writer who specialised in aesthetics and political philosophy, particularly in the furtherance of traditionalist conservative views. Editor from 1982 ...

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" 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 ...

. "Sad Song" originally appeared as a bonus track on the vinyl release of the first Oasis album, ''

Definitely Maybe ''Definitely Maybe'' is the debut studio album by English rock band Oasis, released by Creation Records on 29 August 1994. Oasis booked Monnow Valley Studio near Rockfield in late 1993 to record the album and worked with producer Dave Batchel ...

''. It also appeared on the Japanese CD edition of ''Definitely Maybe''. The 'Warchild' version of "Fade Away" is from ''

The Help Album ''The Help Album'' is a 1995 charity album to raise funds for the War Child charity, which provided aid to war-stricken areas, such as Bosnia and Herzegovina. All the songs were recorded in a single day. The album features British and Irish ar ...

'' 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 List of awards and nominations received by Johnny Depp, multiple accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Awa ...

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 Nigel Dick (born 21 March 1953) is a British music video and film director, writer and musician from Catterick, England, now based in Los Angeles, California. He directed the Britney Spears videos " ...Baby One More Time" and " Oops!... I Did I ...

and was filmed on 11 and 12 August 1997 in

Chertsey Chertsey is a town in the Borough of Runnymede, Surrey, England, south-west of central London. It grew up round Chertsey Abbey, founded in 666 CE, and gained a market charter from Henry I. A bridge across the River Thames first appeared in t ...

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 *

– 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, tho ...

– lead guitar, acoustic guitar *

Paul Arthurs Paul Benjamin Arthurs (born 23 June 1965), known professionally as Bonehead, is an English musician. He is best known as the rhythm guitarist, occasional keyboardist and co-founder of the rock band Oasis. Early life Paul Benjamin Arthurs was ...

– rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar * Paul McGuigan – 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 Nicholas Ingman (born 29 April 1948) is an English arranger, composer and conductor in the commercial music field. His collaborators include Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, Björk, and the British X-factor. Born and educated in London, Ingman moved ...

– string 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 wi ...

arrangements

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

Cover versions

Kate Rusby Kate Anna Rusby (born 4 December 1973) is an English folk singer-songwriter from Penistone, West Riding of Yorkshire, England. Sometimes called the "Barnsley Nightingale", she has headlined various British folk festivals, and is one of the be ...

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