"Lyla" is a song by the English rock band Oasis. It was released in May 2005 as the first single from their sixth studio album, Don't Believe the Truth (2005). "Lyla" was the band's first single following the departure of their long-time drummer Alan White, and replaced by Ringo Starr's son and the Who drummer Zak Starkey as an additional drummer of the band.

The song was written by Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher, who has varyingly described the track as "specifically designed for pogoing", "annoyingly catchy", and the "poppiest thing since "Roll with It". Noting the varied influences of the song, Gallagher says that it's "a bit like... The Soundtrack of Our Lives doing the Who on Skol in a psychedelic city in the sky, or something".

Composition

Noel Gallagher says that the song existed in an early form as a song called "Sing" and dated from the Heathen Chemistry-era. He also says that the title for the final song should have been "Smiler", but was changed seeing as guitarist Gem Archer's previous band, Heavy Stereo, also had a song called "Smiler". Noel has also joked with the fact that the Lyla in the song is actually the sister of the Sally mentioned in the Oasis single "Don't Look Back in Anger". Also, he had said that the song is a "love song", being about Sally's sister.

Originally claiming that he was not very fond of the song, Noel has said that "Lyla" "isn't even the fifth best track on the album". The song had existed as a demo since the early recording sessions for the album but was all but forgotten until practically the last minute. However, on the Lock the Box feature on the compilation album Stop the Clocks (2006), Noel admitted that he "didn't realise how good it was until [we] played it live", while Liam Gallagher stated that he loved the "guitars, the drums, and the vocals" of the song.

Release

"Lyla" was released in Japan on 11 May 2005 and in the United Kingdom and Australia five days later, on 16 May.

Track listing

  • Digital download and CD single
  1. "Lyla" – 5:12
  2. "Eyeball Tickler" – 2:47
  3. "Won't Let You Down" – 2:48
  • UK 7-inch single
  1. "Lyla"
  2. "Eyeball Tickler"
  • UK DVD single
  1. "Lyla"
  2. "Lyla" (demo)
  3. "Can You See It Now?" (documentary)

Personnel

  • Liam Gallagher – lead vocals and backing vocals, tambourine
  • Noel Gallagher – lead guitar, acoustic guitar and backing vocals
  • Gem Archer – rhythm guitar and piano
  • Andy Bell – bass
  • Zak Starkey – drums

Charts

Weekly charts

{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

!Chart (2005)

!Peak<br/>position

|-

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!scope="row"|Canada (Nielsen SoundScan)

|4

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!scope="row"|Canada Rock Top 30 (Radio & Records)

|3

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!scope="row"|Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)

|3

|-

|-

|-

|-

!scope="row"|Greece (IFPI)

|9

|-

|-

|-

|-

!scope="row"|Netherlands (Dutch Top 40 Tipparade)

|3

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|}

Year-end charts

{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

!Chart (2005)

!Position

|-

!scope="row"|Italy (FIMI)

|36

|-

!scope="row"|UK Singles (OCC)

|31

|-

!scope="row"|US Modern Rock Tracks (Billboard)

|86

|}

Certifications

Release history

{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders"

!scope="col"|Region

!scope="col"|Date

!scope="col"|Format(s)

!scope="col"|Label(s)

!scope="col"|

|-

!scope="row"|United States

|11 April 2005

|

|rowspan="2"|Epic

|

|-

!scope="row"|Japan

|11 May 2005

|rowspan="2"|CD

|

|-

!scope="row"|Australia

|rowspan="2"|16 May 2005

|Helter Skelter

|

|-

!scope="row"|United Kingdom

|

|Big Brother

|

|}

The song was included on the soundtrack of the football video game FIFA 06.

References