Music history is messy. It’s rarely just about a guy with a guitar and a clean inspiration. Usually, it's about lawsuits, ego, and a healthy dose of "borrowing" from the past. When people talk about the roll with it song, they are usually thinking of the 1995 Britpop anthem by Oasis. But honestly, that’s only half the story. There’s a whole second layer involving Steve Winwood, a massive copyright settlement, and a chart battle that basically defined an entire decade of British culture.
Let’s get the basics out of the way. Oasis released "Roll With It" as the second single from their era-defining album (What's the Story) Morning Glory?. It’s a stomping, no-nonsense rock track. It’s loud. It’s simple. It’s quintessentially Noel Gallagher. But if you listen to the melody of the verses, you might hear a ghost of the 1960s lurking in the background. That ghost has a name: "I'm a Man" by the Spencer Davis Group.
The Plagiarism Row That Cost Noel a Fortune
Noel Gallagher has never been shy about his influences. He famously joked about being a "musical thief," but with the roll with it song, he actually had to pay up. The song’s melody bears a striking resemblance to "I'm a Man," which was co-written by Steve Winwood.
It wasn't just a coincidence.
The similarities were enough that Winwood’s publishers came knocking. Instead of fighting a losing battle in court, Oasis ended up settling. This is why, if you look at the official songwriting credits today, you’ll see Steve Winwood and Jimmy Miller listed alongside Noel Gallagher. It’s a reminder that even the biggest bands in the world aren't immune to the "sounds like" trap. Interestingly, Noel later claimed he didn't even mind because he was such a fan of Winwood’s work anyway. He basically treated the lost royalties as a tribute fee.
Battle of the Bands: Oasis vs. Blur
You can't talk about "Roll With It" without talking about August 14, 1995. This was the "Big Bang" of Britpop. In a move that felt more like a heavyweight boxing match than a record release, Blur moved the release date of their single "Country House" to the exact same day Oasis dropped "Roll With It."
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The UK media went into a total frenzy. It was North vs. South. Working class vs. Middle class.
The evening news actually covered the sales figures like they were reporting on a national election. In the end, Blur won the battle, selling 274,000 copies to Oasis's 216,000. But looking back thirty years later, who won the war? While "Country House" is a great pop song, "Roll With It" became a permanent fixture of stadium singalongs and sports chants. It has a longevity that raw sales numbers can’t measure.
The song itself is kind of a manifesto for the 90s. "You gotta roll with it / You gotta take your time." It’s not deep philosophy. It’s basically advice to stay resilient while everything around you is going slightly mad. Liam Gallagher’s vocal delivery on the track is arguably some of his best work—nasal, arrogant, and somehow completely endearing.
That Infamous Top of the Pops Performance
One of the funniest moments in the history of the roll with it song happened on Top of the Pops. At the time, the show required artists to mime to their tracks. The Gallagher brothers, never ones to follow rules they found stupid, decided to swap roles.
Liam stood behind the guitar. Noel took the microphone.
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They didn't even try to make it look convincing. Liam was frantically strumming a guitar that clearly wasn't plugged into anything, and Noel was over-acting the lead vocals with a smirk on his face. It was a middle finger to the industry, and fans loved them for it. It solidified the image of Oasis as the "people’s band" who didn't take the glitz of television seriously.
Musical Structure: Why It Works
If you sit down with an acoustic guitar to play this track, you'll realize it's built on a very standard 12-bar blues foundation, but pushed through a wall of distorted Vox amplifiers. It’s in the key of B major, which gives it that bright, soaring feeling.
The bridge—the "I think I've got a feeling I've lost inside" part—is where the song actually gets some emotional weight. It breaks up the repetitive stomp of the verses. Noel’s knack for writing "anthems for the masses" is on full display here. He uses simple chords (B, E, A, F#) but arranges them in a way that feels massive.
- Tempo: Approximately 130 BPM.
- Instrumentation: Heavy emphasis on the "wall of sound" guitar layering.
- Vocals: Double-tracked Liam Gallagher lead vocals.
There’s a common misconception that the song is about drugs or a specific girl. Truthfully, Noel has often said he just liked how the words sounded together. He wasn't trying to be Dylan. He was trying to be Slade. He wanted songs that people could roar back at him in a muddy field at Knebworth.
Legacy and What It Means Now
Even though it "lost" the chart battle to Blur, "Roll With It" remains a staple of the Oasis catalog. It’s the song played at Manchester City games. It’s the song played at 2:00 AM in pubs across the UK and Ireland. It represents a specific moment in time when British guitar music was the center of the cultural universe.
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Interestingly, Steve Winwood eventually commented on the whole "I'm a Man" situation. He was quite gracious about it. Most veteran musicians from the 60s realized that the 90s bands were their biggest fans. They weren't trying to steal; they were trying to emulate their heroes.
If you're a songwriter today, the roll with it song serves as a bit of a cautionary tale. Use your influences, but maybe change the melody just a little bit more than Noel did. Or, if you're going to borrow, be prepared to share the paycheck.
The song's enduring appeal lies in its lack of pretension. It doesn't ask you to think. It asks you to feel a bit more confident than you actually are. In a world that feels increasingly complicated, there’s something genuinely therapeutic about a song that tells you to just roll with the chaos and see where you land.
Actionable Takeaways for Music Fans
- Listen to the Original: To understand the DNA of the track, go back and listen to "I'm a Man" by the Spencer Davis Group. You will immediately hear the rhythmic "chug" that Noel borrowed.
- Check the Credits: Always look at the liner notes of 90s Britpop albums. You'll find a surprising number of legendary 60s and 70s artists hidden in the songwriting credits due to legal settlements.
- Watch the Live Versions: Seek out the 1996 Knebworth performance. It captures the song at the absolute peak of its power, played to 125,000 people.
- Understand the Copyright: Use this as a case study in how "interpolation" works in the music industry—where a melody is re-recorded rather than directly sampled.
The story of "Roll With It" is the story of Britpop itself: loud, slightly derivative, highly litigious, but ultimately unforgettable. It reminds us that music is a conversation between generations, even if that conversation sometimes happens via lawyers and royalty checks.