# The Verve's "Bittersweet Symphony"--Wasn't this song recently used in something? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 20, 2005, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-verves-bittersweet-symphony-wasnt-this-song-recently-used-in-something/322600 "2005-09-20T21:10:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2005, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-verves-bittersweet-symphony-wasnt-this-song-recently-used-in-something/322600/1 "2005-09-20T21:10:50Z")
About four months ago, I was going through some CDs that my stepdaughter had left behind when she moved out. I was curious about The Verve so when I found a copy of _Urban Hymns_ I put it in the CD player and pressed ‘play’. The first song on the CD is “Bittersweet Symphony” and it was instantly recognizable to me even though I’d never listened to the band before. It was an epiphanous moment that made me say, _That’s where that song comes from!!_ But now I can’t remember what it was that made it familiar to me. Can anyone else patch up this hole in my memory? ---
**Author:** ![Blalron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/35a633/32.png) [@Blalron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blalron)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2005, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-verves-bittersweet-symphony-wasnt-this-song-recently-used-in-something/322600/2 "2005-09-20T21:15:27Z")
I learned about the song from “Cruel Intentions” but I don’t know if that’s where it first appeared. ---
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2005, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-verves-bittersweet-symphony-wasnt-this-song-recently-used-in-something/322600/3 "2005-09-20T21:17:22Z")
They recently released their greatest hits, “This is Music”. Perhaps you saw an advert for it? ---
**Author:** ![Dahnlor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dahnlor/32/533_2.png) [@Dahnlor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dahnlor)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2005, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-verves-bittersweet-symphony-wasnt-this-song-recently-used-in-something/322600/4 "2005-09-20T21:18:58Z")
It was in a Nike commercial a few years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2005, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-verves-bittersweet-symphony-wasnt-this-song-recently-used-in-something/322600/5 "2005-09-20T21:30:42Z")
I’ve never heard the song myself, but I’m aware that it samples the Rolling Stones’ hit “The Last Time,” prominently enough that Allan Klein, who owns the publishing on the Stones’ '60s material, sued and won the royalties to the Verve song. Perhaps the song sounds familiar because you’ve heard the Stones song? ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2005, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-verves-bittersweet-symphony-wasnt-this-song-recently-used-in-something/322600/6 "2005-09-20T21:39:46Z")
It’s been in other films besides _Cruel Intentions_ - and I think it might’ve cropped up in the last series of _Six Feet Under_ ---
**Author:** ![lorinada](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b5e925/32.png) [@lorinada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorinada)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2005, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-verves-bittersweet-symphony-wasnt-this-song-recently-used-in-something/322600/7 "2005-09-20T21:48:38Z")
I don’t have anything to add to\*\* BtES’s info\*\*, just had to mention that I had this selfsame song playing as I perused the “new posts” so of course I had to stop in. ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2005, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-verves-bittersweet-symphony-wasnt-this-song-recently-used-in-something/322600/8 "2005-09-21T01:39:33Z")
Could it be one of those music compilation CD commercials like Now that’s what I call music or Kid’s Bop? ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2005, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-verves-bittersweet-symphony-wasnt-this-song-recently-used-in-something/322600/9 "2005-09-21T02:29:11Z")
> [@Biffy the Elephant Shrew](#): > > I’ve never heard the song myself, but I’m aware that it samples the Rolling Stones’ hit “The Last Time,” prominently enough that Allan Klein, who owns the publishing on the Stones’ '60s material, sued and won the royalties to the Verve song. Perhaps the song sounds familiar because you’ve heard the Stones song? Well, yes and no. The Verve sampled an orchestral version of a Stones song, not an actual Stones single. Practically nobody (including the Stones themselves) recognized the music as a Rolling Stones song. Considering how many artists the Stones COULD legitimately have sued over the years (Neil Young’s "Mr. Soul was lifted directly from “Satisfaction,” for instance, and Dire Straits’ “Money For Nothing” was directly stolen from “Jumping Jack Flash”), it boggles the mind that they sued the Verve who didn’t steal directly from the Stones at all. ---
**Author:** ![Giant\_Spongess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/94ad74/32.png) [@Giant\_Spongess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giant_Spongess)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2005, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-verves-bittersweet-symphony-wasnt-this-song-recently-used-in-something/322600/10 "2005-09-21T02:53:41Z")
Yes, the song was in a commercial. ---
**Author:** ![klintypooh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3da27b/32.png) [@klintypooh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/klintypooh)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2005, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-verves-bittersweet-symphony-wasnt-this-song-recently-used-in-something/322600/11 "2005-09-21T03:12:15Z")
And you may of heard it being played at the Giants-Saints game just the other night if you watched it. ---
**Author:** ![hey\_alright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/90ced4/32.png) [@hey\_alright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hey_alright)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2005, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-verves-bittersweet-symphony-wasnt-this-song-recently-used-in-something/322600/12 "2005-09-21T03:21:58Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Considering how many artists the Stones COULD legitimately have sued over the years…it boggles the mind that they sued the Verve who didn’t steal directly from the Stones at all. For what it is worth, the Stones themselves didn’t have anything to do with the suit. Klein owns the rights to most of the Stones 60’s stuff, and brought the suit himself. ---
**Author:** ![Millit\_the\_Frail](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/51bf81/32.png) [@Millit\_the\_Frail](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Millit_the_Frail)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2005, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-verves-bittersweet-symphony-wasnt-this-song-recently-used-in-something/322600/13 "2005-09-21T03:58:12Z")
> [@Fern Forest](#): > > Could it be one of those music compilation CD commercials like Now that’s what I call music or Kid’s Bop? Kids Bop? Now I’d consider paying cold hard cash to hear some preteens karaoke-ing _“Try to make ends meet, you’re a slave to the money, then you die.”_ ---
**Author:** ![goitazi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e9a140/32.png) [@goitazi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/goitazi)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2005, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-verves-bittersweet-symphony-wasnt-this-song-recently-used-in-something/322600/14 "2005-09-21T04:08:16Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally Posted by Millit the Frail_ > Kids Bop? Now I’d consider paying cold hard cash to hear some preteens karaoke-ing “Try to make ends meet, you’re a slave to the money, then you die.” Don’t know about the Verve, but Kids Bop does do Modest Mouse’s “Float On.” Would you pay cold hard cash to hear them yell “I backed my car into a cop car the other day (YEAH!!)”? ---
**Author:** ![Millit\_the\_Frail](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/51bf81/32.png) [@Millit\_the\_Frail](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Millit_the_Frail)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2005, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-verves-bittersweet-symphony-wasnt-this-song-recently-used-in-something/322600/15 "2005-09-21T04:15:23Z")
> [@goitazi](#): > > Don’t know about the Verve, but Kids Bop does do Modest Mouse’s “Float On.” Would you pay cold hard cash to hear them yell “I backed my car into a cop car the other day (YEAH!!)”? That’s soooo weird. I’m fascinated by the whole Kids Bop phenomenon, in a morbid sort of way. Why sell recordings of kids singing karaoke? Why the hell don’t the people who are paying for these things just listen to Modest Mouse/The Verve/whomever? Are they censored? Is that why they sell? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2005, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-verves-bittersweet-symphony-wasnt-this-song-recently-used-in-something/322600/16 "2005-09-21T04:25:58Z")
> [@Spectre of Pithecanthropus](#): > > About four months ago, I was going through some CDs that my stepdaughter had left behind when she moved out. I was curious about The Verve so when I found a copy of _Urban Hymns_ I put it in the CD player and pressed ‘play’. > > The first song on the CD is “Bittersweet Symphony” and it was instantly recognizable to me even though I’d never listened to the band before. It was an epiphanous moment that made me say, _That’s where that song comes from!!_ > > But now I can’t remember what it was that made it familiar to me. Can anyone else patch up this hole in my memory? Honestly, it’s probably one of the most recycled modern songs. I’ve heard it used in many different commercials, as part of numerous movie and TV soundtracks. In many sports montages, and in radio segues. The damn song is everywhere. Sorry I can’t be more specific, but you could have heard this track literally anywhere. ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2005, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-verves-bittersweet-symphony-wasnt-this-song-recently-used-in-something/322600/17 "2005-09-21T04:31:22Z")
Didn’t the fellow who sued The Verve in essence win the song itself, and he promptly sold it out for commercial use all over? I know he won the royalties for it, but I thought he got “all future earnings” on it too? He pretty much destroyed the competition because they borrowed from a song he owned without permission. (Still pretty harsh in my book.) ---
**Author:** ![hey\_alright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/90ced4/32.png) [@hey\_alright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hey_alright)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2005, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-verves-bittersweet-symphony-wasnt-this-song-recently-used-in-something/322600/18 "2005-09-21T04:55:35Z")
[some information on the legal situation of the song](http://blogs.sun.com/roller/page/plamere/20050414) [and a google search](http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22Bittersweet+Symphony%22+%22Allen+Klein%22&btnG=Google+Search) ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2005, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-verves-bittersweet-symphony-wasnt-this-song-recently-used-in-something/322600/19 "2005-09-21T13:21:17Z")
> [@Dominic Mulligan](#): > > They recently released their greatest hits, “This is Music”. Perhaps you saw an advert for it? No, it’s not that. I just got that one–rather hastily–and was disappointed to find that about half the songs are on the one I alread have. BTW they’re not together anymore, according to my SD. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2005, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-verves-bittersweet-symphony-wasnt-this-song-recently-used-in-something/322600/20 "2005-09-21T13:27:10Z")
> [@Biffy the Elephant Shrew](#): > > I’ve never heard the song myself, but I’m aware that it samples the Rolling Stones’ hit “The Last Time,” prominently enough that Allan Klein, who owns the publishing on the Stones’ '60s material, sued and won the royalties to the Verve song. Perhaps the song sounds familiar because you’ve heard the Stones song? I assure you, I can tell the difference between _The Last Time_ and – well, just about anything else. Though I do find the comment regarding Allen Klein interesting. I didn’t know that. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-verves-bittersweet-symphony-wasnt-this-song-recently-used-in-something/322600.md?page=2)