10 Radio-Friendly Songs About Drugs

3. Morning Glory - Oasis

“All your dreams are made, when you’re chained to the mirror and the razor blade” - incredibly, Noel Gallagher isn’t singing about getting rid of his five o’clock shadow on this one, but rather his complicated relationship with cocaine.

The Oasis songwriter has never been one to shy away from his past excesses, even claiming at one point that “if there were gold medals for taking drugs for England I would have won a shitload”. Even without any prior knowledge of Gallagher’s debaucherous tendencies, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what he’s on about with this one.

The title track from the band’s humungous second album, it’s still a staple of alternative radio station playlists around the world.

But beneath the bravado and the bluster, the song also addresses the realisation that sooner or later you have to “wake up” from that kind of self-destructive behaviour, or risk seeing your life pass you by.

From the swaggering, hulking riff, to the trademark snarl of Liam’s vocal delivery, this is the quintessential Britpop party anthem, and in those halcyon days of the mid 90s, Oasis were kings and hedonism was the mission statement.

Far from being a love letter to cocaine, however, Morning Glory packs a much more nuanced and powerful message.