“Cast No Shadow” by Oasis
This song was written by Noel Gallagher about his friend Richard Ashcroft, former frontman of the highly-successful 1990’s Britpop group The Verve. It is said to be in response to a song The Verve released about Noel Gallagher a short time earlier entitled “A Northern Soul”.
Neither of these songs are meant to be diss tracks. Indeed Noel said that Richard was close to tears when he played him “Cast No Shadow”, and their friendship lasted for decades after these songs were released.
However, let’s just say that in both cases the writers may not have been overly concerned with portraying the subject of the song in a positive light per se, choosing authenticity and getting a message across over discretion.
That being said, “Cast No Shadow” depicts Richard Ashcroft as a tormented soul. On one hand he is portrayed as the “every man” who is “walk(ing) along the open road of love and life, surviving if he can”, which sounds like it can be any of a number of us. But in the refrain, we see that his “words” are equated with “weight(s)” which “bound” him. And he also seems to be someone who is obligated to a life which he does not truly desire. Moreover the chorus states that he had “his soul” taken from him and that his ‘pride was stolen’. And in both cases, what these terms can allude cannot be anything positive.
Song’s Title
That brings us to the title of the song, which is present at the refrain and chorus and states “as he faced the sun he cast no shadow”. There is no definitive way based on the lyrics of this song to ascertain what this metaphor means specifically. However, given the aforementioned comments which lead up to this statement, chances are it is not anything positive and likely alludes to the idea of Ashcroft not getting his proper due in life.
What Noel Gallagher has said about “Cast No Shadow”
In fact when further elaborating on the meaning of the song, Noel Gallagher explained that Ashcroft indeed inspired the song. According to him, Ashcroft wasn’t living a happy life and he therefore decided to pen this classic for him. Below is a statement from Gallagher about the meaning of “Cast No Shadow”:
In a 1995 interview Gallagher had with Select Magazine, he added more flesh to the above statement. According to him, Ashcroft almost cried when he first played “Cast No Shadow” to him. He went on to say that in addition to the song being inspired by Ashcroft, it is in a way telling the stories of all “his friends who are in groups”. According to him, he and his friends find themselves “bound with the weight of all the words” they have to say.
So even though this track may appear introspective on the surface, it is actually very interpersonal.
When did Oasis release “Cast No Shadow”?
The band released this classic through Creation Records on 2 October 1995. It was as part of their iconic second studio album titled (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?
Who wrote “Cast No Shadow”?
The song was written and produced by Noel Gallagher, with him being assisted on the production side by Owen Morris.
Has Richard Ashcroft ever said anything about this song?
Yes, he has. Ashcroft once referred to this classic as one of Noel’s best songs, though he also admits that he is not sure what the titular phrase actually means. Ashcroft’s personal theory is that it may allude to himself being “so thin” that his body was unable to cast any shadow.
Noteworthy Info: Interestingly enough Noel Gallagher and Richard Ashcroft did eventually get into a beef in 2018, almost 25 years after “Cast No Shadow” was released. And even more interestingly, Noel’s well-known enemy, his brother and former Oasis band mate Liam Gallagher, was also involved in the beef (on the side of Ashcroft).
Cast No Shadow is about this interview “John Lennon interviewed by Gloria Emerson“ everyone who faces the Sun casts a shadow . Joihn Lennons true shadow could`nt be cast . As they took his Soul (music) They stole his pride . John Lennons pride was taken by what the News papers were saying about John “` a long haired drugged hippie . “` Noel Gallagher come to Liverpool for his Lyrics . Every Line in the song makes sense . It`s about John Lennon on his campaign for Peace . Bound with all the words he tried to say . Was John Lennon saying “I`m on a campaign for peace
my take on this song is a bit different. i believe yes this song is about a tormented soul who doesn’t know who he truly is. “as he faced the sun he cast no shadow”, i interpret this lyric as someone trying to escape all these people and places who took his soul and pride but he can’t truly escape because he doesn’t know who he is, thats why he has no shadow. “heres a thought for every man who tries to understand whats in his hands”, he is still trying to figure out who he is through life and love but he was “chained to all the places that he never wished to stay” and that took his identity away from him and he is still trying to find it. this is a sad song to me.
Interesting. Noel was on a roll in the mid 90’s with all these amazing lyrics that kept everyone guessing and talking about Oasis. I would also add that it alludes to lyricists trying to be transparent in the face of their perceived image and hype xD
I think the song is based on Noel’s life at the time of the albums recording. He was ending a relationship in San Francisco. He was on the outs with his band. He may be talking about the hurt from all the relationships in his life going wrong. He was invisible to the woman he wanted to be in a relationship with. His band mates did not care about his wishes enough to behave properly, and as his fame grew he felt as though he was disappearing under the weight of all of it. Hence the line” As he faced the sun (stardom) he cast no shadow (he was losing himself to it all).
I’m probably way off, but that’s how I interpret the song.
He stood in the light with his words of pain and truth and had no darkness or shadow to cast left. That’s how I interpret this.