You Were Right (Badly Drawn Boy song)

"You Were Right" is the first single released from English singer-songwriter Badly Drawn Boy's second studio album, Have You Fed the Fish? He recorded the song and album following his work on the soundtrack to the 2002 romantic comedy-drama film About a Boy.[1] The song, written through the process of arranging random words into fluent verses, contains references to several musicians, including Madonna, Frank Sinatra, Jeff Buckley, Kurt Cobain, and John Lennon, as well as Elizabeth II.

"You Were Right"
Single by Badly Drawn Boy
from the album Have You Fed the Fish?
B-side"Last Fruit"
Released14 October 2002 (2002-10-14)
Studio
Length4:49
Label
Songwriter(s)Badly Drawn Boy
Producer(s)
Badly Drawn Boy singles chronology
"Something to Talk About"
(2002)		 "You Were Right"
(2002)		 "Born Again"
(2003)

"You Were Right" was released in the United Kingdom on 14 October 2002, debuting and peaking at number nine on the UK Singles Chart but staying in the top 100 for only three weeks. It remains Badly Drawn Boy's highest-charting single and sole top-10 hit in the UK.[2] On the Eurochart Hot 100, the track charted for one week at number 45. The music video for the song was directed by Simon Henwood.

Background

Badly Drawn Boy first wrote the song when he thought of the phrase 'the night Sinatra died'. He created the melody of the song and presented it to his parents, who responded with indifference, but the singer believed that the song possessed something. After composing the opening line, 'And you were right to bide your time / And not buy into my misery', he then sang random words into a Dictaphone and analysed the results. Once he had arranged the phrases into a pleasing outcome, he met with producer Tom Rothrock and drummer Joey Waronker to set the composition to music.[3] It was recorded at three studios: Cello Studios in Los Angeles, California; the Embassy in Basingstoke, England; and Olympic Studios in London, England.[4]

Lyrical content

Badly Drawn Boy composed the lyric to "You Were Right" by arranging random words into a song that both made sense and reflected upon his life. It eventually resulted in the tribute verse that mentions the deaths of several of Badly Drawn Boy's idols—Kurt Cobain, Jeff Buckley, and John Lennon. He then came up with the line about Madonna, 'I'm turning Madonna down / Calling it my best move',[3] then began to piece the indiscriminate lines together until he achieved the message he wanted the song to send. According to Badly Drawn Boy, the song is about 'not wasting the chance with real life just because you got this opportunity to be a pop star,'[3] and it serves as a 'reminder of what's important and not to lose your marbles'.[5]

Critical reception

AllMusic critic Tom Maginnis wrote that "You Were Right" is an 'ambitiously orchestrated bit of pop music that is equal parts confessional and affirmation', and that Badly Drawn Boy 'manage[d] to pull it all together in a bittersweet, tumultuous swirl, built around a halting mid-tempo beat that combines layers of guitars and strings to which Gough sings with a matter of fact directness that gives emotional weight to his almost free associative soul baring ... All tolled, "You Were Right" reveals a deeply thoughtful songwriter, interweaving mature themes into compelling music that challenges both himself and his listeners'.[5]

Track listings

UK CD single[6][4]

  1. "You Were Right" – 4:49
  2. "Last Fruit" – 4:20
  3. "You Were Right" (live at Glastonbury 2002) – 5:34

UK 7-inch single[7]

A. "You Were Right"
B. "Last Fruit"

Credits and personnel

Credits are taken from the UK CD single liner notes.[4]

Studios

Personnel

Charts
Chart (2002) Peak
position
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[8] 45
Scotland (OCC)[9] 10
UK Singles (OCC)[10] 9
UK Indie (OCC)[11] 1

Release history
Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United Kingdom 14 October 2002
  • 7-inch vinyl
  • CD
[12]
United States 28 October 2002 Triple A radio ARTISTdirect [13]

References
  1. Bainbridge, Luke. "Badly Drawn Boy: 'Music has saved me in a lot of ways'". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  2. "Badly Drawn Boy". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  3. Moss, Corey (7 November 2002). "Badly Drawn Boy Salutes Cobain, Turns Down Madonna". MTV. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  4. You Were Right (UK CD single liner notes). Badly Drawn Boy. Twisted Nerve Records, XL Recordings. 2002. TNXL015CD.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  5. Maginnis, Tom. "Badly Drawn Boy – You Were Right Song Review by Tom Maginnis". AllMusic. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  6. "Badly Drawn Boy – You Were Right [UK CD]". AllMusic. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  7. You Were Right (UK 7-inch single sleeve). Badly Drawn Boy. Twisted Nerve Records, XL Recordings. 2002. TNXL 015.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  8. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 20, no. 45. 2 November 2020. p. 25. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  9. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  10. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  11. "Official Independent Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  12. "New Releases – For Week Starting 14 October 2002: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 12 October 2002. p. 25. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  13. "Going for Adds" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 1476. 25 October 2002. p. 27. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
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