Oasis’ sixth album Don’t Believe the Truth was released in 2005 and it was around that time that I really got into the habit of watching music television as soon as I woke up and went downstairs to the living room. ‘Lyla’, the first single from the record, was always playing on there. And it was supposedly a very big deal that this Oasis band was back with a new single and an album that was to drop soon. At the time I was 10 and don’t think I properly knew who Oasis were. I don’t think I remember caring that much about this song then either. In fact, I much preferred ‘The Importance of Being Idle’ which was released after. Then ‘Lyla’ was part of the soundtrack of FIFA 06, and after repeated listens I came to realise that it definitely deserved its number one spot in the charts.

So what’s it about? Well, knowing Noel Gallagher’s tendency to write a lot of nonsensical lyrics (which he admits himself) it’s probably safe to say that it’s about nothing very important. It’s about a larger than life character called Lyla, who is the sister of Sally from ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger’, and the narrator of the track just seems to be in awe of her. She’s the queen of everything, and everyone, and you, and yours, and mine. Despite the lack of lyrical substance, it still has a universal feel about it. Something that we can all relate to. Gallagher got that down to a tee on Definitely Maybe and Morning Glory, and ‘Lyla’ is very reminiscent of songs you would find on there. It’s probably why it did so well and became one of their most loved singles.

It’s a proper bouncer; it stays in one key for the majority of the song which provides this real drone-like quality, and Liam Gallagher sounds great on the vocal here too. Noel Gallagher’s fantastic on the backing harmony vocals, and I’ve always thought that the highlight is when he elongates the last ‘fall’ before the track goes into the ending ‘Hey Lyla’ section. That part was always repeated during the loading screens in the FIFA game so that got embedded in my head for a long time.

And that’s it. The ‘L’s’ are done. Thank you for joining me on this journey. It’s been five months which is the longest time I’ve spent on any letter with a regular schedule. I’ll take a bit of a break from here. This year’s been strange but this blog has been one of the main things keeping me intact. I don’t want to start becoming sick of it though. Need to come in fresh when it’s time for the M’s. So take care of yourselves, stay safe. I’ll see you on the other side.