Bittersweet Symphony

"Bitter Sweet Symphony"
Single by The Verve
from the album Urban Hymns
Released	16 June 1997 (1997-06-16)
Format	CD 12"
Recorded	1996
Studio	Olympic Studios, London
Genre	Britpop baroque pop
Length	5:58 (album version) 4:33 (radio edit)
Label	Hut
Writer(s)	Mick Jagger Keith Richards Richard Ashcroft See song credits
Producer(s)	Martin "Youth" Glover The Verve
The Verve singles chronology
"History" (1995) "Bitter Sweet Symphony" (1997) "The Drugs Don't Work" (1997)
Music sample "Bitter Sweet Symphony" A sample from "Bitter Sweet Symphony" by The Verve Music video "Bitter Sweet Symphony" on YouTube

"Bitter Sweet Symphony" is a song by British alternative rock band The Verve, and is the lead track on their third studio album, Urban Hymns (1997). It is based on an Andrew Loog Oldham orchestral version of The Rolling Stones' song "The Last Time", from which it samples a main theme, and involved some legal controversy surrounding a plagiarism charge as a result. Consequently, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were added to the songwriting credits. "Bitter Sweet Symphony" was released on 16 June 1997 by Hut Recordings as the first single from the album, reaching number two on the UK Singles Chart and stayed in the chart for three months. The song's momentum built slowly in the US throughout the latter months of 1997, ultimately leading to a CD single release on 3 March 1998 by Virgin Records America, helping the song to reach number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100.

MTV played the video of the song frequently. In it, Richard Ashcroft sings the song while walking down a busy London pavement, oblivious to what is going on around and refusing to change his stride or direction throughout. At the 1998 Brit Awards, "Bitter Sweet Symphony" was nominated for Best British Single, and at the 1998 MTV Video Music Awards, the song was nominated for Video of the Year, Best Group Video, and Best Alternative Video. In 1999, the song was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rock Song.