One Love

Anytime you want me
Anytime at all
Anytime you need me
All you gotta do is call

Anytime you want me
Anytime at all
Anytime you need me
All you gotta do is call

I'm no dog I'm a dolphin
I just don't live in the sea
You feel my flow and you flood my brain
Show me your vision, your wild apparition
And sink to the depths of your soul

One love, we don't need another love
One love, one heart and one soul
You can have it all
Easy, easy

Anytime you want me
Anytime at all
Anytime you need me
All you gotta do is call

You put me one step clear of the chain gang
And two miles over the line
Oh all the scenes I saw left me wanting more
Show me your vision your wild apparition
And sink to the depths of your soul

One love, we don't need another love
One love, one heart and one soul

Your fruit's in season
And these feet fall sure and sound*
And what goes up must come down
Turns into dust, or turns into stone

Lyrics by:
Squire / Brown

Music by:
Squire

Written:
1989

Personnel:
John Squire (guitar)
Ian Brown (vocals)
Gary Mounfield (bass)
Alan Wren (drums)

Produced by:
John Leckie

Format:
Released May 1990:
One Love (7" Version) / Something's Burning (7" Version) (Silvertone, ORE DJ 17, 7" promo)

Released July 1990:
One Love / Something's Burning (Silvertone, ORE CD 17, CD)
One Love / Something's Burning (Silvertone, ORE C 17, cassette)
One Love (7" version) / Something's Burning (7" version) (Silvertone, ORE 17, 7")
One Love (7" version) / Something's Burning (7" version) (Silvertone, ORE 17, 7" with postcard)
One Love (12" version) / Something's Burning (12" version) (Silvertone, ORE T 17, 12")
One Love (12" version) / Something's Burning (12" version) (Silvertone, ORE Z 17, 12" with print)
One Love (12" version) / Something's Burning (12" version) / One Love (7" version) (Silvertone, 1399-2-JS, US Digipak CD)
One Love (12" version) / Something's Burning (12" version) / One Love (7" version) (Silvertone, 1399-1-JD, US CD)
One Love (7" version) / Something's Burning (7" version) (Silvertone, ZB43685, Spanish 7")
One Love (12" version) / Something's Burning (12" version) (Silvertone, ZD43686, German CD)
One Love (12" version) / Something's Burning (12" version) (Silvertone, ZT43686, German 12")
One Love (7" version) / Something's Burning (7" version) (Silvertone, ORE 17, Australian 7")

Released 1990:
One Love (7" version) / One Love (12" version) / Something's Burning (Alfa-Silvertone, ALCB-103, Japanese CD)
One Love (12" version) / Something's Burning (12" version) / One Love (7" version) (Silvertone, 1399-4-JD, Canadian cassette)

Released 1992:
One Love / Something's Burning (Silvertone, ZD43686, German CD from Maxi Collection)

UK chart details:
One Love (Silvertone ORE 17) entered the charts on 14th July 1990, spending 7 weeks in the charts and reaching a highest position of 4.

Also available on:
The Complete Stone Roses (3.40)
Turns Into Stone (7.45)
The Very Best Of The Stone Roses (3.37)

First live performance:
Copenhagen Patrol (15 May 1990)

Artwork details:
The One Love artwork is from 'One Love' (1990), cellulose and paper, sand and oil on calico, 18" x 18"

Details:
The Stone Roses disliked traditional gigs, preferring to stage their own events, reminiscent of the early Acid House scene. This attitude led to the staging of a performance at Spike Island on 27th May 1990, a gathering of approximately 27,000 people. The event suffered greatly from sound problems and bad organisation by those under the employee of Gareth Evans, yet has become legendary, a Woodstock for the baggy generation. The band had demonstrated that indie bands could play gigs on a scale more commonly associated with acts such as U2 or Queen. The band followed Spike Island with another big gig at Glasgow Green, and in July had released their final single for Silvertone, One Love. It reached Number 4 in the UK charts, the Roses' highest chart placing to date, although musically it was something of an anti climax after the high-water mark of Fool's Gold. After the release of One Love, things quickly began to unravel for the band. It was to be the Roses' last original release for four years, as they entered a protracted legal battle to get out of their deal with Silvertone. The band quickly lost the momentum they had built up following their debut album, and disappeared from public view. The 'egg' (that Mani compared the tightness of the band to, with others unsuccessfully trying to get in) was soon to show cracks upon the band's return. Ian has since stated that the One Love single was a mistake, claiming the chorus was not strong enough:

Dave Simpson: The 'One Love' single was a mistake, wasn't it ?
Ian: "I agree. The chorus wasn't strong enough. We tried for an anthem. We wanted to cover all bases and ended up covering none."
(Ian Brown speaking to Uncut magazine, February 1998)

The band had a choice between versions by John Leckie and Adrian Sherwood. They rightly, in my opinion, chose the former. They also chose wisely in not playing One Love after Reni left as his beat was crucial to the song.

The line "You feel my flow and you flood my brain" has its origin in John's Gospel. From 'Is Jesus the Christ ?' (John 7: 25 - 52):

On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive."
(John 7: 37 - 39)

This passage of the Bible expresses God's desire that streams of living water of His love flow out from one's heart, from the depths within oneself ("And sink to the depths of your soul"). We are told that by this statement, Jesus meant the Spirit. In 'Jesus Taken Up Into Heaven' (Acts 1: 1 - 11), the apostles are told by Jesus that they will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on them ("Show me your vision your wild apparition"). After speaking to the apostles, Jesus is taken up into Heaven.

They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. "Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky ? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven."
(Acts: 1: 10 - 11)

In this passage the apostles are being told that "what goes up must come down".

The lyrics appear to be an amalgamation of 'One Love' ("One love, one heart. Let's get together and feel alright") by Bob Marley and 'All I've Got To Do' by The Beatles (particularly those in bold):

Whenever I want you around, yeah.
All I gotta do,
Is call you on the phone,
And you'll come running home,
Yeah, that's all I gotta do.

And when I, I want to kiss you, yeah.
All I gotta do,
Is whisper in your ear
The words you long to hear,
And I'll be kissin' you.

And the same goes for me,
Whenever you want me at all.
I'll be here, yes I will, whenever you call.
You just gotta call on me, yeah,
You just gotta call on me.

And when I, I want to kiss you, yeah.
All I gotta do,
Is call you on the phone,
And you'll come running home,
Yeah, that's all I gotta do.

And the same goes for me,
Whenever you want me at all.
I'll be here, yes I will, whenever you call.
You just gotta call on me, yeah,
You just gotta call on me.

The first photo below by Pennie Smith, from the One Love video shoot may - given Squire's fondness for recreating famous works of art - be attempting to create a vertical version of 'Reclining Bacchante' by Felix Trutat (1824 - 1848). In both of these, the head of an onlooker (Ian) admires a figure who is on display (Bacchante / Squire, both oblivious to the gaze of the onlooker at their side).

The painting 'One Love' had to be changed for the single cover artwork due to the band seeing a resemblance to a swastika:

"That's another favourite. My brother (Matt Squire) photographed it and it was a little out of focus, I wasn't happy with it, but the deadline had gone for the artwork. The band were adamant that it looked like a swastika, so we had to change it. Someone's released the shirt now - I've seen people wearing it and I don't think 'What's the c*** doing with a swastika on his chest ?' That was inspired by the Italia 90 logo and a Duckham's oil can. It's one of the few I took the time to paint on a canvas and stretch over a frame. A lot of the others are on bits of calico and stuffed in boxes. This one's in a large, plywood storage box near Morecambe with all my other possessions."
(John Squire speaking to Select Magazine, November 1997).

* I think that Ian ambiguously pronounces the line "And these feet fall sure and sound" as "And these people sure and sound".

4th May 1990 - One Love video stills:

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