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For What It's Worth (Liam Gallagher song)

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"For What It's Worth"
Single by Liam Gallagher
from the album As You Were
ReleasedAugust 10, 2017 (2017-08-10)
Genre
Length4:11
LabelWarner
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Dan Grech-Marguerat
Liam Gallagher singles chronology
"Chinatown"
(2017) 		"For What It's Worth"
(2017) 		"Greedy Soul"
(2017)
Music video
"For What It's Worth" (Lyric Video) on YouTube

"For What It's Worth" is a song by the English singer-songwriter Liam Gallagher from his debut solo album As You Were. The song, a pop rock apology ballad, was written by Gallagher alongside Simon Aldred. Gallagher described the song's lyrics as an "apology to whoever", as opposed to dedicating the apology to anyone in specific. It was released on August 9, 2017 as the third single from As You Were, alongside an accompanying lyric video. The song received positive reviews from music critics, who praised the maturity of its lyrics and its catchiness.

Background and release

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After the break-up of Beady Eye, Liam Gallagher decided to return to recording music following a period of time off.[1] He wrote "For What It's Worth" alongside Simon Aldred of the band Cherry Ghost, wanting a "regretful but not desperate" apology song.[2][3] On August 9, 2017, Gallagher posted an a cappella snippet of the song to his Twitter account, following an August 7 tweet where he suggested a new song would be released soon.[4][5] The next day, "For What It's Worth" was released for digital download and streaming as the third single off As You Were, following "Wall of Glass" and "Chinatown". An accompanying lyric video for the song was simultaneously released.[6][7]

Composition and lyrics

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"I think it’s one of the great songs I’ve sung on, ever. I’ve pissed off a lot of people and I’ve hurt a lot of people. And I’d like to dedicate this song to them. And that’s it — and we move on. I’m not gonna keep saying “sorry” for the rest of me life. It happened. I’ve not killed anyone. It’s to everyone in the universe who I’ve pissed off or let down. But it’s certainly not just about Noel or anyone. It could be about my kids, my mum, my ex-missus, anyone. It’s about a lot of people."

—Liam Gallagher on the meaning of "For What It's Worth" for Variety.[8]

"For What It's Worth" is a "mid-tempo" pop rock and Britpop ballad.[9][10] Composed in C major,[11] the song's instrumentation consists primarily of acoustic guitar alongside piano, strings and a "steady backbeat", with an electric guitar riff cutting through the track at regular intervals.[6][12][13] Various music critics compared the sound of "For What It's Worth" to songs by Oasis, particularly "Don't Look Back in Anger";[a] Gallagher himself even referred to it as the "most Oasis-y song on the album".[6]

Lyrically, Gallagher has described "For What It's Worth" as an "apology to whoever", acknowledging that he's "pissed a lot of people off" but saying he's "not gonna write a song for each and every one of them".[18] Nonetheless, Anna Gaca of Spin surmised that the lyric "Let's not pretend you were ever searching for saints" referred to Gallagher's ex-wife Nicole Appleton, a member of the girl group All Saints,[19] and Dave Simpson of The Guardian noted that the song is "reputedly" an apology towards her in specific.[3]

Critical reception

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"For What It's Worth" received positive reviews from music critics, with Chris Deville of Stereogum remarking that Gallagher's performance "reminds us that he's still one of our great living rock 'n' roll singers".[9] Singer-songwriter Robbie Williams called it his favorite song of 2017, saying that "it's universal and speaks straight to the heart".[20] Similarly, Jill Lawless of the Associated Press praised the song for showing "hints of a new maturity" for Gallagher.[21] Various critics have also compared the song favorably to those released by his brother and former bandmate Noel Gallagher, with Richard Smirke of Billboard saying that the song "came close to equalling Noel's finest efforts".[22][23] Leonie Cooper of NME conceded that the song, while not clever, didn't need to be in lieu of being catchy.[14] Following the reunion of Oasis, Thom Donovan of American Songwriter named "For What It's Worth" one of Gallagher's four best solo songs.[17]

Live performances

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On August 14, 2017, Gallagher performed "For What It's Worth" on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, in his US television debut as a solo artist.[16][24] A week later, on August 24, 2017, he released a live recording of the song from Air Studios to his YouTube channel, containing his usual live band combined with a "tasteful" string section.[25][26] On October 6, 2017, Gallagher performed "For What It's Worth" as part of his appearance on The Graham Norton Show.[27] He later included the song in the setlist of various 2017–2018 tours in support of As You Were.[28][29][30] On June 29, 2019, Gallagher performed the song as part of his setlist during the 2019 Glastonbury Festival.[31]

Credits and personnel

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Credits are adapted from liner notes of As You Were.[32]

Charts

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Chart performance for "For What It's Worth"
Chart (2017) Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Flanders)[33] 32
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Wallonia)[34] 30
Czech Republic Modern Rock (IFPI)[35] 8
Ireland (IRMA)[36] 91
Scotland (OCC)[37] 19
UK Singles (OCC)[38] 33
UK Singles Downloads (OCC)[39] 26

Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[40] Gold 400,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

[edit]
Release history for "For What It's Worth"
Region Date Format(s) Label Ref.
Various August 10, 2017
Warner [7]
United States August 21, 2017 Modern rock radio [41]
Italy September 8, 2017 Radio airplay [42]

Notes

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  1. ^ Attributed to Stereogum's Chris Deville,[9] Vulture's Frank Guan,[11] Rolling Stone's Jon Blistein,[12] NME's Leonie Cooper,[14] PopMatters' Paul Carr,[15] BrooklynVegan's Bill Pearis,[16] and American Songwriter's Thom Donovan.[17]

Sources

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  1. ^ Runtagh, Jordan (October 25, 2017). "Liam Gallagher Talks Debut Solo Album 'As You Were'". People. Retrieved August 19, 2024.
  2. ^ Lanham, Tom (October 5, 2017). "Liam Gallagher Chats about As You Were and His Hope for a Reunion with Brother Noel". Paste. Retrieved August 19, 2024.
  3. ^ a b Lovell, Lucy (August 10, 2017). "Fans react to Liam Gallagher's new track For What It's Worth - including a former Oasis bandmate". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved August 19, 2024.
  4. ^ Gaca, Anna (August 9, 2017). "Liam Gallagher Teases New Song "For What It's Worth"". Spin. Retrieved August 19, 2024.
  5. ^ Britton, Luke (August 9, 2017). "Liam Gallagher teases new song 'For What It's Worth' with a cappella version". NME. Retrieved August 19, 2024.
  6. ^ a b c Cirisano, Tatiana (August 10, 2017). "Listen To Liam Gallagher's 'Oasis-y' New Single 'For What It's Worth'". Billboard. Retrieved August 19, 2024.
  7. ^ a b Britton, Luke (August 10, 2017). "Watch Liam Gallagher's lyric video for new single 'For What It's Worth'". NME. Retrieved August 19, 2024.
  8. ^ Willman, Chris (October 6, 2017). "Liam Gallagher Talks About Going Solo, With Cockiness and Regret: 'I AM Oasis'". Variety. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  9. ^ a b c Deville, Chris (August 10, 2017). "Liam Gallagher – "For What It's Worth"". Stereogum. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  10. ^ Kohn, Daniel (October 5, 2017). "Liam Gallagher: As You Were". Paste. Retrieved August 19, 2024.
  11. ^ a b Guan, Frank (August 10, 2017). "Liam Gallagher Sounds Great, and Surprisingly Apologetic on 'For What It's Worth'". Vulture. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  12. ^ a b Blisten, Jon (August 10, 2017). "Hear Liam Gallagher's 'Most Oasis-y Song' on New LP 'For What It's Worth'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  13. ^ Murphy, Sarah (August 9, 2017). ""For What It's Worth"". Exclaim!. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  14. ^ a b Cooper, Leonie (August 10, 2017). "Liam Gallagher's 'For What It's Worth' is a sing-along, Oasis-like ballad – and pretty damn awesome". NME. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  15. ^ Carr, Paul (October 4, 2017). "Liam Gallagher: As You Were". PopMatters. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  16. ^ a b Pearis, Bill (August 15, 2017). "Liam Gallagher performed new single "For What It's Worth" on 'Colbert' (watch)". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  17. ^ a b Donovan, Thom (August 27, 2024). "4 of the Best Liam Gallagher Post-Oasis Songs". American Songwriter. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
  18. ^ O'Neill, Lauren (August 10, 2017). "Liam Gallagher Actually Apologizes on New Song "For What It's Worth"". Vice. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  19. ^ Gaca, Anna (August 10, 2017). "Liam Gallagher – "For What It's Worth"". Spin. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  20. ^ Bassett, Jordan (December 12, 2017). "Robbie Williams on mental health, new biography 'Reveal' and why he wants to perform with Liam". NME. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  21. ^ Lawless, Jill (October 6, 2017). "Review: Liam Gallagher struts his stuff on 'As You Were'". Associated Press. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  22. ^ Petridis, Alexis (October 5, 2017). "Liam Gallagher: As You Were review – motormouth meets the Beatles, again". The Guardian. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  23. ^ Smirke, Richard (July 25, 2018). "Why Noel Gallagher Is Right to Ignore Brother Liam's Attempts to Re-Form Oasis (For Now)". Billboard. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  24. ^ Trendell, Andrew (August 15, 2017). "Watch Liam Gallagher make his solo US TV debut on 'The Late Show' with Stephen Colbert". NME. Retrieved August 19, 2024.
  25. ^ Cook-Wilson, Winston (August 24, 2017). "Video: Liam Gallagher – "For What It's Worth"". Spin. Retrieved August 19, 2024.
  26. ^ Murphy, Sarah (August 23, 2017). ""For What It's Worth" (live video)". Exclaim!. Retrieved August 19, 2024.
  27. ^ Sandwell, Ian (September 21, 2017). "Graham Norton Show to welcome Kate Winslet, Idris Elba, Liam Gallagher and Chris Rock". Digital Spy. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  28. ^ "Liam Gallagher @ Terminal 5 (pics, setlist, video)". BrooklynVegan. November 28, 2017. Retrieved August 19, 2024.
  29. ^ Trendell, Andrew (December 4, 2017). "Liam Gallagher kicks off December UK tour in Leeds". NME. Retrieved August 19, 2024.
  30. ^ "Liam Gallagher & Richard Ashcroft played Central Park SummerStage kickoff (pics)". BrooklynVegan. May 17, 2018. Retrieved August 19, 2024.
  31. ^ Lavin, Will (June 29, 2019). "Liam Gallagher dedicates 'Champagne Supernova' to Keith Flint during blistering Glastonbury set". NME. Retrieved August 19, 2024.
  32. ^ Gallagher, Liam (2017). As You Were (inlay cover). Warner Records.
  33. ^ "Liam Gallagher – For What It's Worth" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved August 19, 2024.
  34. ^ "Liam Gallagher – For What It's Worth" (in French). Ultratip. Retrieved August 19, 2024.
  35. ^ "CZ - Radio - Top 20 Modern Rock - For What It's Worth" (in Czech). IFPI Czech Republic. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
  36. ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Liam Gallagher". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved August 19, 2024.
  37. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 19, 2024.
  38. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 19, 2024.
  39. ^ "Official Singles Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 19, 2024.
  40. ^ "British single certifications – Liam Gallagher – For What It's Worth". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
  41. ^ "Hot New Releases". Hits. August 21, 2017. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  42. ^ Mompellio, Gabriel. "Liam Gallagher – For What It's Worth (Radio Date: 08/09/2017)" (Press release) (in Italian). Italy: Airplay Control. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
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