"Don't Go Away" is a song by English rock band

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environmentBe Here Now'' (1997). Written by

Noel Gallagher Noel Thomas David Gallagher (born 29 May 1967) is an English musician, singer and songwriter. Gallagher is the primary songwriter, lead guitarist and a co-lead vocalist of the rock band Oasis (band), Oasis. After leaving Oasis, he formed Noel ...

, the song was released to radio in the U.S. in September 1997 and as a commercial single only in Japan, peaking at number 49 on the

Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics Statistics (from German language, German: ', "description of a State (polity), state, a country") is the discipline that ...

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 advertis ...

'' Hot 100 Airplay chart and number 15 on the Canadian ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or r⋅min−1) is a unit of rotational speed (or rotational frequency) for rotating machines. One revolution per minute is equivalent to hertz. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 def ...

'' 100 Hit Tracks 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", "Rockin' Chair" and others).McCarrol, Tony (2010). ''Oasis: The Truth'', Blake Publishing, Ultimately, portions of "Don't Go Away" drew comparisons to The Real People's song "Feel the Pain" (which was initially recorded for The Real People's album ''Marshmellow Lane'' in 1992 but the album remained unreleased until 2012).

Liam Gallagher William John Paul Gallagher (born 21 September 1972) is an English singer and songwriter. He is the lead singer and co-founder of the rock band Oasis (band), Oasis and fronted the rock band Beady Eye from 2010 to 2014, before starting a succes ...

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 ( ; May 12, 1928 – February 8, 2023) was an American composer, songwriter, record producer, and pianist who is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential figures of 20th-century popular music. Start ...

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-songwriter and poet. He was a pioneer of the glam rock movement in the early 1970s with his band T. Rex (band), T. Rex. Bolan strongly i ...

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 port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

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. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

on their return to Liverpool at the height of

Beatlemania Beatlemania was the fanaticism surrounding the English rock band the Beatles from 1963 to 1966. The group's popularity grew in the United Kingdom in late 1963, propelled by the singles " Please Please Me", "From Me to You" and " She Loves Yo ...

. 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.

Scruton critique

The song is analysed by philosopher

Roger Scruton Sir Roger Vernon Scruton, (; 27 February 194412 January 2020) was an English philosopher, writer, and social critic who specialised in aesthetics and political philosophy, particularly in the furtherance of Conservatism in the United Kingdom, c ...

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 and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

. "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 the English rock band Oasis, released on 29 August 1994 by Creation Records. The album features Noel Gallagher on lead guitar, backing vocals and as chief songwriter, Liam Gallagher on lead vo ...

''. 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 a ...

'' 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 as well as nominations for ...

on guitar,

Kate Moss Katherine Ann Moss (born 16 January 1974) is an English model. Arriving towards 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 t ...

on tambourine and Liam and Lisa Moorish 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 an English music video director and filmmaker. Originally from Catterick, North Yorkshire, he is based in Los Angeles, California. He has directed music videos for artists such as Britney Spears, Toto, Ba ...

and was filmed on 11 and 12 August 1997 in

Chertsey Chertsey is a town in the Borough of Runnymede, Surrey, England, southwest of central London. It grew up around Chertsey Abbey, founded in AD 666 by Earconwald, St Erkenwald, and gained a municipal charter, market charter from Henry I of Engla ...

and London, UK.

Track listing

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, thoug ...

– lead guitar, acoustic guitar * Paul Arthurs – rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar * Paul McGuigan – bass * Alan White – drums Additional musicians *Mike Rowe –

electric piano An electric piano is a musical instrument that has a piano-style musical keyboard, where sound is produced by means of mechanical hammers striking metal strings or reeds or wire tines, which leads to vibrations which are then converted into ele ...

* 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 and zinc, in proportions which can be varied to achieve different colours and mechanical, electrical, acoustic and chemical properties, but copper typically has the larger proportion, generally copper and zinc. I ...

arrangements

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

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

Notes

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