Noel Gallagher Says He "Couldn't Give a Flying F**k" About Lyrics

Noel Gallagher in his career has written a lot of songs that are important to a lot of people.

The former Oasis guitarist and writer of hit songs like "Wonderwall," "Champagne Supernova," "Don't Look Back in Anger," "Live Forever" and many others was once called "the greatest songwriter of his generation" by longtime Beatles producer George Martin. So it still surprises fans when Gallagher downplays his own lyrics.

"All my favorite songs of all-time, I couldn't give a s--t what the lyrics are," Gallagher told Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich on Ulrich's It's Electric BBC Radio show. "I couldn't give a flying f--k what any of them are singing about at all. It means nothing to me. They're just words that you sing to serve the melody that makes you feel good. That's it. I couldn't care less."

Gallagher made the comments after being prodded by Ulrich about how he writes songs. The High Flying Bird's frontman described himself as a "technophobe," who doesn't record demos by himself. He says that if he comes up with anything good, he'll remember it and put it to tape in the studio when he's actually making an album.

"The words will come," Gallagher described. "I'll have a fair idea of what half the first verse is and a bit of the chorus. And then it's just a case of getting in a quiet room and then kind of nailing it, really." 

In the past, Gallagher has maintained that he doesn't know what many of his lyrics are referring to, even after decades of singing them. 

Gallagher also said he "cannot grasp" how some people write music to previously written words.   

Ulrich agreed, saying he knows of other artists who write words before melodies and "the lyrics become this kind of clunky, forced thing, where it's like trying to tell a story." 

While Gallagher may not understand his own lyrics, it doesn't mean his Oasis catalog isn't important to him. 

After first going solo, Oasis songs made up about half of Gallagher's live set. Now, three albums in to his solo career following last year's Who Built the Moon?, Gallagher says the number of Oasis songs in his set has dwindled, but will never disappear. 

"Those [Oasis] songs got me to where I am now," Gallagher told Ulrich. "I wouldn't be that arrogant to go out and not perform at least five or six. I like to songs anyway."

He says he's really happy with what Oasis's accomplished, but he also appreciated the "calm" of being a solo artist.

Watch the full segment above.


Photo: Getty Images

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