The Changingman

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"The Changingman"
Single by Paul Weller
from the album Stanley Road
Released1995
Recorded1994–1995
Genre
Length4:02
LabelGo! Discs
Songwriter(s)Brendan Lynch, Paul Weller
Producer(s)Paul Weller
Paul Weller singles chronology
"Out of the Sinking"
(1994) 		"The Changingman"
(1995) 		"You Do Something to Me"
(1995)

"The Changingman" is a song released by British singer-songwriter Paul Weller as the lead single from his 1995 album, Stanley Road. It charted at number 7 on the UK Singles Chart.

Background[]

The Changingman was co-written by Brendan Lynch, and performed, written and produced by Paul Weller, who sings and plays guitar, piano and shakers on the record. The song uses samples from the Electric Light Orchestra track 10538 Overture and their cover of In the Hall of the Mountain King. Carleen Anderson provides back-up vocals, as does Steve Cradock and Dr. Robert, who also play the guitar and bass guitar respectively. In addition, Steve White plays drums and Lynch played the Cyremin.[1][2] Weller claimed that the song's title came from the name his daughter Leah gave to one of her dolls, although at the time his friend Terry Rawlings managed a band called that.[2] The song expresses Weller's mantra of breaking things up if they are getting too comfortable; the previous year, he had divorced his wife, Dee C. Lee, breaking up what appeared to the public to be a happy marriage. In an interview with Mojo in 2010, he expressed that this was because there were senses "that things were going too well, we were too happy, too comfortable, everything seemed too nice [and] that for me as a writer and an artist I might lose my edge. I had to break the shape up, re-arrange things", noting that said turmoil supplanted the lyrics of the entire parent album and stated that the lyric 'numbed by the effect, aware of the muse, too in touch with myself, I light the fuse' "was about the process of causing chaos around you".[3]

Chart performance[]

The song peaked at number 7 on the UK Singles Chart, spending four weeks on the chart and becoming his first solo top ten hit.[4]

Music video[]

A music video was produced for the song. It alternates between clips of Weller singing and playing guitar, shots of model Anjela Lauren Smith dancing, and assorted symbols.[5]

Certifications[]

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[6] Silver 200,000double-dagger

double-dagger Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References[]

  1. ^ Stanley Road (Media notes). Paul Weller. Go! Discs.CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b Reed, John (5 November 2009). Paul Weller: My Ever Changing Moods. Omnibus Press. p. 422.
  3. ^ "The Changingman by Paul Weller". Songfacts.
  4. ^ "Paul Weller | full Official Chart History". The Official Charts Company.
  5. ^ "Paul Weller – The Changingman". YouTube.
  6. ^ "British single certifications – Paul Weller – The Changingman". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
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