On August 17, 1996, Supergrass played at the V Festival in Chelmsford, England. As they ripped into “Alright,” their biggest hit, the crowd surged and heaved, creating waves as far as the eye could see. The song had been released just over 12 months earlier and had turned into a rallying cry for the youth of England. Danny Goffey, Mick Quinn, and brothers Gaz and Rob Coombes had recorded the biggest hit of their career. The band pulled in elements of The Kinks, Jimi Hendrix, The Buzzcocks, and The Undertones, while adding their own spin. Let’s look at the meaning behind “Alright” by Supergrass.
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We are young
We run green
Keep our teeth nice and clean
See our friends, see the sights
Feel alright
I Should Coco
It’s hard to understand Supergrass. They were just kids, but they could really play. They were a perfect mix of everything you love about classic rock, yet they were their own animal entirely. They were amazingly tight and yet sloppy at the same time. They didn’t seem to have any agenda, yet they were very focused and seemed to know exactly what they were supposed to do. A four-piece drum set, a bass player who had amazing, unique backing vocals, and a frontman who made it all look easy. A keyboard player who always played just the right part for the song. It was one of those bands that just wouldn’t be right if you took any one piece away. Sam Williams of The Mystics discovered the young band in a music shop in Oxford, UK. He wanted to get them in the studio and capture what was going on just the way they were. Their youthful energy and anything-goes enthusiasm sparked the success of their debut album, I Should Coco.
We wake up, we go out
Smoke a fag, put it out
See our friends, see the sights
Feel alright
It Started on a “Knackered” Piano
“It started at Danny’s house, where his parents had this knackered piano,” Gaz Coombes told Q magazine in 2011. “One of us started bashing out those chords. We went to the pub and knocked out the lyrics in 10 minutes. The song became our calling card, but I don’t think it was calculated. We were a gang of teenagers, and this was us remembering the innocence of being 13 before we’d delved into the rock ‘n’ roll world. We didn’t know it would be a hit, but we got back from our first tour of the States, and suddenly, old ladies were recognizing us on the street.”
Are we like you?
I can’t be sure
Of the scene, as she turns
We are strange in our worlds
A Bulletproof Backing Track
“I knew the backing track for ‘Alright’ was bulletproof,” bassist Quinn told Q. “I’ve got a distinct memory of staring at the two-inch turning around while that backing track was playing and thinking, ‘that’s a bulletproof backing track. That’s gonna be enormous. That’s gonna light people up.’ Even when we had it as a demo, there was something about it. It was so simplistic and stuck in your head.”
But we are young. We get by
Can’t go mad, ain’t got time
Sleep around if we like
But we’re alright
The Guitar Solo
“I think Danny and Gaz cooked up the verse and the chorus. They’ll always argue about who came up with that piano,” Quinn told Uncut magazine. “Then, I came along and said, ‘Well, you need a middle eight.’ And I took it to G, and Gaz did that very rock and roll solo over the top, and then I came up with the idea of doing that Peter Green bending solo and Gaz came up with a harmony for that. We always wrote a lot of lyrics in the pub as we were recording.”
Got some cash
Bought some wheels
Took it out
‘Cross the fields
Lost control, hit a wall
But we’re alright
“It wasn’t written as an anthem. It isn’t supposed to be a rally cry for our generation,” Gaz Coombes said. “The stuff about We are young / We run green …’ isn’t about being 19, but really 13 or 14, and just discovering girls and drinking. It’s meant to be lighthearted and a bit of a laugh, not at all a rebellious call to arms.” And as Goffey remembers, “It certainly wasn’t written in a very summery vibe. It was written in a cottage where the heating had packed up, and we were trying to build fires to keep warm.”
Are we like you?
I can’t be sure
Of the scene, as she turns
We are strange in our worlds
A Featured Song
The song has been featured in movies, television shows, and countless commercials. In 2010, rapper Travie McCoy updated the song with the help of Bruno Mars, Jonathan Yip, Jeremy Reeves, Philip Lawrence, and Ray Romulus as “We’ll Be Alright.” In 2023, Rakuten used the song in a Super Bowl spot featuring Alicia Silverstone, reprising her role as Cher from the movie Clueless.
But we are young
We run green
Keep our teeth nice and clean
See our friends, see the sights
Feel alright
Hey, Hey, We’re Supergrass
The music video for “Alright” caught the eye of producer/director Steven Spielberg. Rumors began sprouting up that a Monkees-styled project was in the works for the band. Supergrass later denied it. However, they did confirm that there was a meeting with Spielberg. The band was focused on making their next album and couldn’t commit to the time required to do such a project.
Are we like you?
I can’t be sure.
Of the scene, as she turns
We are strange in our world
But we are young
We run green
Keep our teeth nice and clean
See our friends, see the sights
Feel alright
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Photo by J. Quinton/WireImage
