The Stone Roses’ “I Wanna Be Adored” Lyrics Meaning
The Stone Roses’ classic “I Wanna Be Adored” is rather-simplistic in its approach, as in its lyrics being repetitive. The primary sentiment Ian Brown is expressing throughout is the titular desire to be “adored”. In other words, his sole aim in life is to be idolized by the masses.
The premise of him making this assertion is based on the concept of him already having ‘sold his soul’ in the metaphorical sense. This would insinuate that he perceives the aforementioned craving as an aspiration which is spiritually corrupt. Indeed selling his soul to achieve this goal is not necessary since he already more or less acknowledges that he is evil. Thus he has no reservations in overtly striving for a reality which, succinctly put, he knows is wrong.
All of this is meant to point back to the idea of the desire for adoration being tantamount to wanting to be worshiped, and such a longing being a sin. That is to say that what the singer is actually relaying is that he does not want to be adored. But this is the track’s foundational meaning, as in one which the listener may not pick up on unless he or she actually researches the history of the song. For on the surface, what “I Wanna Be Adored” reads like is as if the singer, despite recognizing the aspiration as being immoral, still wants to achieve the titular result.
When was “I Wanna Be Adored” released?
Silvertone Records is the label behind the release of this song. They did so on 2 September 1991, also issuing it as the fifth single from the band’s debut album, which was entitled “The Stone Roses”.
Writing Credits for “I Wanna Be Adored”
“I Wanna Be Adored” was written by the band’s lead singer Ian Brown along with guitarist John Squire.
And the track was produced by John Leckie.
Appearance in Films/TV Shows
Over the years, this classic has been featured on a couple of movies and TV shows, including the following:
- “Welcome to Sarajevo” (1997)
- “Green Street” (2005)
- “American Horror Story” (2016)
Metallica covers “I Wanna Be Adored”
In 2019, metal legends Metallica honored the Stone Roses by performing a cover version of “I Wanna Be Adored” live. The performance took place on June 18, 2019 in Manchester, England.
