Country House

by

Blur

Edit

"Country House" is a song by the English alternative rock band Blur. It was released as the lead single from the band's fourth album The Great Escape on 14 August 1995. "Country House" was the first of two Blur singles to reach number one on the UK Singles Chart (the second being 1997's "Beetlebum"). The song is about a man who retires to an expensive country house to escape the pressures of the city. In an interview for the South Bank Show, Damon Albarn explained that it was inspired by former Blur manager Dave Balfe, who left Blur's label Food Records and bought a house in the country. The cover art features an image of Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria (the image is horizontally flipped).

The song received a great deal of attention when Blur's label Food Records moved the original release date to be on the same day as Oasis's "Roll with It". The British media had already reported an intense rivalry between the two bands and this clash of releases was seen as a battle for the number one spot. "Country House" won Blur the Battle of Britpop ("Roll with It" coming in at No. 2 and having marginally fewer sales) but The Great Escape was beaten by Oasis's album (What's the Story) Morning Glory on sales. Incidentally, "Country House" features the lines "He's got morning glory/And life's a different story" which is largely assumed to have been a jab at Oasis. However, Blur actually recorded the song before Oasis had completed, let alone released, the Morning Glory album. With dance act Jamiroquai also having recorded a song named "Morning Glory" in 1994, it is possible that may have been the influence behind that line, while some have suggested that the line was a jibe at Julian Cope (who, like Dave Balfe, was formerly a member of The Teardrop Explodes), who was known for using LSD. It may, however, simply have been a reference to waking up with an erection (an event for which "morning glory" is a British slang expression).