Columbia (song)

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""Columbia""
Song by Oasis
from the album Definitely Maybe
Released	1994
Recorded	1993
Genre	Britpop
Length	6:17
Label	Creation Records
Writer(s)	Noel Gallagher
Producer(s)	Oasis, The Real People & Mark Coyle
Definitely Maybe track listing
Up in the Sky (4)	""Columbia"" (5)	Supersonic (6)

"Columbia" is a song by Britpop band Oasis. Noel Gallagher is credited with having written it.

Columbia originally existed as an instrumental number played at early Oasis gigs, before a "trippy" set of lyrics were written for it. The song was first recorded in the spring of 1993 as part of Oasis' Live Demonstration demo tape, which they made with the help of Chris and Tony Griffiths of The Real People. An edited version of the demo was released on a limited edition white label promo 12" in December 1993. As a result, this became the first Oasis song played on BBC Radio 1, adding to the growing buzz surrounding the band. This version was also released as a b-side on the "Supersonic" single.

The track was re-recorded in 1994 and featured on Oasis' debut album, Definitely Maybe. It has gone on to become one of Oasis' most popular and enduring songs.

Though Noel is credited with the song, and has claimed on several occasions to have written the lyrics, both Liam Gallagher and Chris Griffiths have claimed to have penned lyrics. Gallagher claims to have written the chorus and Griffiths the verse. Griffiths was also given a songwriting credit on "Rockin' Chair", which was released as a b-side to "Roll With It" and included on the Masterplan compilation.

The track was named after the Columbia Hotel in Liverpool, which the band stayed in and were subsequently banned from.

Although the song is over six minutes, it is only made up of 3 chords(Amaj, Dmaj, Cmaj) played in repetition. An interview on Oasis' Definitely Maybe DVD has described it as the definitive Oasis song.

Even though Oasis are not known as a shoegazing band, Columbia is a good example of the shoegazing genre.