If I Had a Gun...

"If I Had a Gun..."
Single by Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds
from the album Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds
B-side "I'd Pick You Every Time"
Released 26 December 2011 (2011-12-26)
Format CD single, 7" vinyl, digital download
Genre Rock
Length 4:18
Label Sour Mash
Writer(s) Noel Gallagher
Producer(s) Noel Gallagher, Dave Sardy
Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds singles chronology
"AKA... What a Life!"
(2011)		 "If I Had a Gun..."
(2011)		 "Dream On"
(2012)
Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds track listing

"If I Had a Gun..." is a song by the English rock band Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, written by frontman Noel Gallagher from their self-titled debut studio album Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds (2011). It was released as the third single on 26 December 2011 in all regions bar the United Kingdom. As with the other single releases from Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds singles, Strangeboy Stacey engineered and mixed the B-side. The song impacted US radio on September 13, 2011.[1]

The track features Jon Graboff on second guitar (credited as the Pedal Steel in the sleeve notes).

Background

Written in Lima, Peru and originally intended to be the lead single off the album, "If I Had a Gun..." was passed over in favour of "The Death of You and Me" as Noel thought it sounded too much like Oasis and wanted to make his comeback with a whisper rather than with a bang while describing the song as "emotionally uplifting and up there with the best I've wrote".

The song first surfaced on the Internet when Noel was recorded playing it at a soundcheck in Taiwan in April 2009 during the Asian leg of Oasis' Dig Out Your Soul world tour.

Music video

Filmed in Los Angeles, California, the music video for "If I Had a Gun..." is centred on a wedding ceremony with Noel acting as the priest. During the ceremony a cowboy on a horse arrives and dives into a swimming pool and the bride (Peyton List) follows him and they ride off into the sunset on the horse. Visible at 3:27 are the two women and the "Soulsucker" video camera from the "AKA... What a Life!" music video.

The video appears to be part of a three video story start with "If I Had a Gun" then "The Death of You and Me" and ending with "AKA... What a Life!" as all the videos begin where the other one finished but the videos weren't released in chronological form as the singles came out in a different order.

At the end of the video Noel pulls up in a van outside the same diner he's featured in in the video for "The Death of You and Me" and in the background as he's walking toward the door is a preview of "Shoot a Hole into the Sun," the remixed version of "If I Had a Gun...," from his forthcoming 2012 collaboration album with Amorphous Androgynous. Directed and produced by Mike Bruce, with producers Blake West and Camille LaBry of United Film House.

Chart performance and reception

As of the chart week ending 21 January 2012, 'If I Had a Gun' had peaked at number 95 in the UK Singles Chart. It was very successful in Japan, peaking at number two on the Japan Hot 100, on the week of 29 October 2011 (and stayed on the chart for many weeks before and after).[2] It ranked at number 77 on the end-of-the-year chart of the Japan Hot 100.[3]

For much of 6 May 2012 and 7 May 2012, "If I Had a Gun" was the #1 Trending Topic worldwide on Twitter. The Trending Topic originated in Buenos Aires, Argentina during Noel Gallagher's concert there on the night of 6 May 2012.[4]

Track listing

  1. "If I Had a Gun..." - 4:18
  2. "I'd Pick You Every Time" - 2:11
  1. "If I Had a Gun..." - 4:18
  2. "I'd Pick You Every Time" - 2:11
  3. "If I Had a Gun..." (music video) - 4:47

References

  1. ↑ "AllAccess.com Alternative eWeekly". AllAccess. September 6, 2011. Retrieved July 3, 2016.
  2. ↑
  3. ↑ "Japan Hot 100:Year-End". Billboard—Japan. Prometheus Global Media. 2011. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
  4. ↑ "If I Had a Gun - trend explained". What The Trend. 7 May 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
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