The sound of The Stone Roses changed dramatically in the two years between the release of their debut single and their second single, “Sally Cinnamon”. Although they would still be largely unknown outside of Manchester for another couple of years, the song would be the band’s first release to enter any chart, peaking at #3 in the U.K. Indie Chart (Official Charts). The single would also be the last Roses track to feature original bassist Pete Garner.
The high energy punk rush of “So Young” was absent from the Roses’ sophomore effort. Instead, “Sally Cinnamon” was characterized by John Squire’s 60’s inspired jangly guitar tone. The guitars in this song remind me a lot of the band The Byrds. The song also saw Ian Brown abandon his horrible wailing vocal style used in “So Young” in favor of a far softer and more melodic approach to singing. The simple melody of “Sally Cinnamon” also makes it so that it is one of the few Roses songs that Brown can consistently nail when performing live.
Unlike most other Roses singles, which would feature lyrical input from John Squire, the lyrics of “Sally Cinnamon” were penned wholly by Ian Brown. The song employs lots of childlike phrases that can be heard in lines such as “Pop, pop, pop, pop, blow, blow bubblegum, you taste of cherryade” and “You have something here to show me from what you are made, of sugar and spice and all things nice”. These lines work to give the song a nice light and innocent feel. Lyrically, “Sally Cinnamon” is a love song. In the first few verses, the narrator speaks of a woman named Sally who pulls them out of a sadness and brightens their life. There is a bit of a twist in the last verse and chorus when it is revealed that the rest of the song was part of a letter written by a woman about her lover that was picked up and read by a stranger in a train station.
“Sally Cinnamon” is possibly the Roses’ most covered song. While scouring through the discographies of different British bands on youtube, I will usually come across a “Sally Cinnamon” cover at some point. I particularly remember enjoying a cover of the song by The Libertines, featuring just frontman Pete Doherty singing and playing an acoustic guitar. I believe a “Sally Cinnamon” cover was the first material by The Stone Roses that I ever heard. I was watching a documentary about the band Oasis and archival footage was shown of guitarist Noel Gallagher playing the opening riff of the song in the background of a rehearsal. I thought it was just a catchy little jam being played during practice. I had no idea about the great song the riff came from. After discovering the Roses a couple of months later, I returned to the documentary primarily to watch that scene again.
Although I don’t think it compares to later releases, I still love Sally Cinnamon. The youthful and carefree lyrics combined with the shimmering guitars are always delightful to listen to. In my opinion, it’s the first song to really capture the magic of what the Roses had in the late 80’s.
Next week, I’ll be talking about the first track in which The Stone Roses display their love of using the word “stone” in songs: “Elephant Stone”.
I liked how you talked about the stylistic differences between this song and their last song. I also liked how you focused on the instrumentals and mentioned how they would change in the future.
I personally have never listened to The Stone Roses but I definitely am going to give it a listen after reading this. You used very descriptive words and stated verses that almost sung to me in a sense. I am a huge fan of British bands (like the Beatles of course) and am inferring that The Stone Roses has a similar play style. With such a flooded hip/hop rap culture in young society now a days, I think it is important to listen to less digital music.
I have never heard of the Stone Roses or listened to their music but I will definitely need to look into their music! I really like your insight into the songs on the meanings of the lines and what you would change in them. I will definitely read in the future!