The Drugs Don't Work
The Drugs Do not Work ( English for The drugs do not work ') is the tenth official and most successful single of The Verve in the UK . It was decoupled three weeks before the release of the album Urban Hymns and went straight to first place in the English charts.
description
The Drugs Don't Work is a gentle, sedate rock ballad, which is characterized by a continuous build-up of tension. It starts with a single acoustic guitar and is soon accompanied by a sobbing violin . With the use of the scratchy, warm voice, the violin is complemented by an airy effect guitar . With the second verse , which contains the first title line, a deep string orchestra enters . Only in the second verse do the bass and finally the drums follow in the chorus .
As one of Richard Ashcroft's first self-written songs , it was played at the live concerts for the 1995 album A Northern Soul . In the early version, the singer sings about growing up , while in the final version, getting older is troubling him.
meaning
text
Ashcroft has made several statements to have used illegal intoxicants ; A reference to psychotropic drugs is also conceivable.
The lyrics describe fear of loss, the confrontation with triggering situations (“ But I know I'm on a losing streak, 'cause I passed down my old street… ”) and the mental escape from it, in the hope that the states will not repeat themselves (“ Never coming down down - no more ”).
Video
The video highlights the importance of the song. It begins with the end sequence from the video for Bitter Sweet Symphony , where the band leaves the deliberate, "pre-marked" road because Ashcroft buys feelings at a machine. This creates a reference to the album A Northern Soul , on the back of which Simon Jones buys feelings at the same machine (“ I was buying some feelings from a vending machine ”, from the song Life's An Ocean ). The band then finds itself in a dark room, the band members are shown in color, but most of the shots with Richard Ashcroft are in black and white.
In terms of content, the purchase of feelings as a clear reference to externally supplied substances and experiences (psychotropic drugs, drugs, love, music ...) describes a (temporary) breakout from the constant, uncontrollable process of things (here as a decline into those mental states). “ But I know I see your face again… ”.
status
When it was released on September 1, 1997, the single went straight to number 1 in the UK charts , but was replaced the following week by Elton John's remake of Candle in the Wind . The Drugs Don't Work was the first single ever to top this hit list with a drug related title.
In a study by the American scientist Harry Witchel (research area: physiology, especially medial and cardiovascular relationships , University of Bristol ), The Drugs Don't Work was named "the saddest song in the world" at the end of 2006 . The study was based on a systematic selection of rock songs from the past 50 years. A combination of characteristics of pulse rate , respiratory rate and body temperature served as the evaluation scheme .
The Drugs Don't Work EP
Release # 1
- The Drugs Don't Work (album version)
- Bitter Sweet Symphony (James Lavelle Version)
- The crab
- Stamped
Release # 2
- The Drugs Don't Work (Radio Edit)
- Three steps
- The Drugs Don't Work (demo version)
Publications on "The Verve" sound carriers
- The Drugs Don't Work (Single # 1 & # 2, released September 1, 1997 ; radio and demo version )
- Urban Hymns (album, released September 29, 1997 ; album version )
- This Is Music - The Singles: 1992–1998 (Best-Of-Compilation, released: October 29, 2004 ; album version )
Individual evidence
- ↑ Richard Ashcroft. In: the daily newspaper , Hamburg Aktuell, October 21, 2006
- ↑ Terry Kirby: If You're Happy and You Know It, Listen to Lily. If Not, It's the Verve . ( Memento of the original from September 29, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. The Independent , December 11, 2006
