“Once” by Liam Gallagher
In the song “Once”, Liam Gallagher of Oasis fame is lamenting about the current state of his relationship with the addressee (who is presumably his brother Noel Gallagher). Back in the day, they were not as materially-prosperous as they currently are. But at the same time the love was stronger between the two of them.
Liam partly attributes this to the pair currently being more ‘free’. And whereas he does not go into much detail about what this specifically means, he seems to allude to the idea that actually achieving their earlier goals somehow caused them to drift apart. And in the chorus he also insinuates that in the past, the addressee was generally more-agreeable, though they did not consciously bring about the unfavorable changes in their disposition.
Ultimately, Liam seems to come to the realization that the magic present in the earlier days of their union is something that cannot be reclaimed. And that brings us to the title of the track (“Once”). Gallagher puts forth a philosophy stating “you only get to do it once”. And within the context of the song, this would point to something tantamount to the singer believing that true love is a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence – or at least it is within the parameters of a particular relationship. That is to say that once the love has been lost in a relationship, it can never fully be regained. But once again, due to the ambiguity of the lyrics, it can also be argued that he is talking about there only being one true love in life, period.
Conclusion
So the song concludes on a note where, once again, he is reminiscing and in the process obviously missing the affection he and the addressee used to share. But there is no stated effort to reclaim the past. Rather the singer’s personal understanding of the reality of true love is that “you only get to do it once”.
Facts about “Once”
- On 26 July 2019, “Once” became the third single released from Liam Gallagher’s 2019 album entitled Why Me? Why Not. “Shockwave” was the first single this album produced. The second was “The River“.
- According to Liam Gallagher, this track happens to be “one of the best songs (he’s) ever written”.
- “Once” was written by Liam Gallagher in addition to the track’s producer, Andrew Wyatt.
The song is about stardom. He’s singing to his brother.
This song is about how the British should give Ireland back to the Irish once Brexit goes through. Break down the borders of oppression and imperialism. You only get to do this Once. Liam is Irish and he knows the craic. Gerry Adams wears LG pajamas.
Best comment ever.
I would say the song is more general. The addressee is the person’s partner, lover who in the past was more agreeable because there were less worries. Now they have to do mundane things like clean to the pool, take the kids to school. You only get to do it once is about youth or about life more generally. There’s no going back and you only get one shot at this thing. Life is a dream and it’s on loan.
Lamenting my lost youth in this song
My brother died last year. We had a hard childhood from an area close to the Gallagher’s. We fell out a lot. Worked together for a time, drifted apart got back together. Worked with each other again. We had a deep brotherly love that came from knowing each other and our family experience from the day he was born. I heard this song and saw the video days after he died. It was instant comfort for me. So for me, the song, the meaning of the words are whatever you want them to be, for you.
For me, this song is about the youth. About careless nights you could drink-through with your buddies and you felt like the world is yours. And then responsibilities came and maybe you started a family, maybe you lost your old friends and relationships. And you will never feel the same as in your early 20s with a bottle of wine coming from the right side, with the guitar in hand, and with some girl’s pair of eyes watching you lustfully. Now you know everything has consequences. Oh, all those nights… you only get to do it once.
But it’s really maybe just my point of view at the song. I’m 24 and I’m starting to feel my best party times will soon be gone and the years are passing by faster and faster. So maybe I just projected it to this magnificent song. 🙂
About an ex gf going down on him and asking to do it again in the morning and he’s like nah