‘Bitter Sweet Symphony’ is a song by the English rock band the Verve, from their third studio album, Urban Hymns (1997). It was produced by Youth and released on 16 June 1997 as the album's lead single. The song is based on a sample from a 1965 version of the Rolling Stones song ‘The Last Time’ by the Andrew Oldham Orchestra. The Verve added strings, guitar, percussion and vocals. The music video features Ashcroft walking down a busy pavement in Hoxton, London, bumping into passersby. It was played frequently on music channels and was nominated for Video of the Year, Best Group Video, and Best Alternative Video at the 1998 MTV Video Music Awards.
‘Bitter Sweet Symphony’ reached number two on the UK Singles Chart, and stayed on the chart for three months. It was released in the US in March 1998 by Virgin Records America, reaching number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was named Rolling Stone and NME Single of the Year and was nominated for Best British Single at the 1998 Brit Awards. In 1999, it was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rock Song. ‘Bitter Sweet Symphony’ is considered one of the defining songs of the Britpop era and has been named one of the greatest songs of the decade by several publications. Rolling Stone included ‘Bitter Sweet Symphony’ in two editions of its "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".
‘Bitter Sweet Symphony’ is based on a sample of a 1965 orchestral version of the Rolling Stones song "The Last Time" by the Andrew Oldham Orchestra. The group was formed by Andrew Loog Oldham, the former producer and manager of the Rolling Stones, who enlisted musicians to create symphonic versions of Rolling Stones songs. The strings in the sample were written and arranged by David Whitaker. The Verve songwriter Richard Ashcroft heard the Andrew Oldham Orchestra version of "The Last Time" and thought it could be "turned into something outrageous". The Verve sampled and looped four bars, then added dozens more tracks, including strings, guitar, percussion and several layers of vocals from Ashcroft. Ashcroft said he imagined "something that opened up into a prairie-music kind of sound", similar to the work of the Italian composer Ennio Morricone, and that "the song started morphing into this wall of sound, a concise piece of incredible pop music". He likened the use of the sample to the golden age of hip hop: "To take something but really twist it and fuck it up into something else. Take it and use your imagination."
The Verve negotiated rights to use the ‘Last Time’ sample from the copyright holder, Decca Records. However, they did not obtain permission from the Rolling Stones' former manager, Allen Klein, who owned the copyrights to their pre-1970 songs, including ‘The Last Time’. When ‘Bitter Sweet Symphony’ was about to be released as a single, Klein, then the head of ABKCO Records, refused clearance for the sample, saying the Verve had used a larger portion than agreed. According to the Verve's guitarist, Nick McCabe, the dispute depended not on the sample but Ashcroft's vocal melody, which a musicologist determined was a half-time version of the Rolling Stones' ‘Last Time’ melody.
Following a lawsuit, the Verve relinquished all royalties to Klein and the songwriting credits were changed to Jagger–Richards. Ashcroft received $1,000. His co-manager, John Kennedy, described it as "one of the toughest deals in music history". According to the Verve's bassist, Simon Jones, the Verve were told they would be given half the royalties, but when the single began selling well, they were instructed to relinquish 100% of the royalties or remove it from sale. Asked in 1999 whether he believed the situation was fair, Richards said: "I'm out of whack here, this is serious lawyer shit. If the Verve can write a better song, they can keep the money." David Whitaker, who wrote the string line in the ‘Last Time’ sample, said in 2001: "The whole thing just makes one a bit sick, really."
In early 2019, Ashcroft's managers approached Jody Klein. He connected them to the Rolling Stones' manager, Joyce Smyth, who agreed to speak to Jagger and Richards. That April, ABKCO, Jagger and Richards agreed to return the ‘Bitter Sweet Symphony’ royalties and songwriting credits to Ashcroft. Ashcroft announced the agreement in May, when he received the Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers, and Authors. He said it was a "kind and magnanimous" move, and said: "I never had a personal beef with the Stones. They've always been the greatest rock and roll band in the world. It's been a fantastic development. It's life-affirming in a way." In a statement, the Rolling Stones said they acknowledged the financial and emotional cost of "having to surrender the composition of one of your own songs".
Labels – Hut, Virgin
Songwriter – Richard Ashcroft
Producers – Martin "Youth" Glover, The Verve
SONG LYRICS
[Verse 1]'Cause it's a bitter sweet symphony that's life
Trying to make ends meet, you're a slave to money then you die
I'll take you down the only road I've ever been down
You know the one that takes you to the places
Where all the veins meet, yeah
[Chorus]
No change, I can change
I can change, I can change
But I'm here in my mould
I am here in my mould
But I'm a million different people from one day to the next
I can't change my mould
No, no, no, no, no, no, no
(Have you ever been down?)
[Verse 2]
Well I've never prayed, but tonight I'm on my knees, yeah
I need to hear some sounds that recognize the pain in me, yeah
I let the melody shine, let it cleanse my mind, I feel free now
But the airwaves are clean and there's nobody singing to me now
[Chorus]
No change, I can change
I can change, I can change
But I'm here in my mould
I am here in my mould
And I'm a million different people from one day to the next
I can't change my mould
No, no, no, no, no
Have you ever been down?
I can't change it you know, I can't change it
[Verse 3]
'Cause it's a bitter sweet symphony, that's life
Trying to make ends meet
Trying to find some money, then you die
I'll take you down the only road I've ever been down
You know the one that takes you to the places
Where all the veins meet, yeah
[Chorus]
You know I can change, I can change
I can change, I can change
But I'm here in my mould
I am here in my mould
And I'm a million different people from one day to the next
I can't change my mould, no, no, no, no, no
I can't change my mould, no, no, no, no, no
I can't change my mould, no, no, no, no, no
You've gotta change my mould, no, no, no
(It's just sex and violence, melody and silence)
(It's just sex and violence, melody and violence)
(It's just sex and silence, melody and silence)
(I'll take you down the only road I've ever been down)
(It's just sex and violence, melody and silence)
(I'll take you down the only road I've ever been down)
(It's just sex and violence, melody and violence)
Been down
Ever been down
(I can't change my mould, no, no, no, no, no)
(It's just sex and violence, melody and violence)
Ever been down
(I can't change my mould, no, no, no, no, no)
Ever been down
Ever been down
Have you ever been down?
Have you ever been down?
Have you ever been down?