The Meaning Behind “Lucky Man” by The Verve and How It Might Be Richard Ashcroft’s Definitive Song

When The Verve released Urban Hymns in 1997, it marked the end of an era and the end of a great band.

Though the Wigan group always existed adjacently to Britpop, their third studio album offered the era’s last anthem, “Bitter Sweet Symphony.” That song is The Verve’s most popular. But Richard Ashcroft’s definitive song might be another gem from Urban Hymns, “Lucky Man.”

Check the Meaning

Ashcroft said his wife Kate Radley inspired “Lucky Man.” The song distills the moment a relationship moves beyond the newness phase and each person becomes more real and “raw” with one another.

Happiness, more or less
It’s just a change in me, something in my liberty
Oh, my, my
Happiness, coming and going
I watch you look at me
Watch my fever grow and I know just where I am

The singer told Radio 2’s Chris Evans the song expresses a kind of freedom. The freedom of comfortability in a meaningful relationship—beyond what he calls the “peacock” dance of early love.

But how many corners do I have to turn?
How many times do I have to learn
All the love I have is in my mind
But I’m a lucky man
With fire in my hands

A Definitive Song

“Bitter Sweet Symphony” became The Verve’s definitive song by way of its extraordinary success. But a royalty dispute over The Rolling Stones’ sample used to create Ashcroft’s biggest hit cast a shadow over the triumph.

Ashcroft wrote “Bitter Sweet Symphony” using a looped orchestral sample of The Rolling Stones song “The Last Time.” However, the sample wasn’t cleared properly leading to Ashcroft losing all rights to his signature song.

In 2019, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards finally returned the publishing rights to Ashcroft. The announcement arrived as he received an Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music.

A year earlier, Ashcroft told Songfacts he’s yet to write his definitive song. But “Lucky Man” might be that song for him.

Said Ashcroft, “The definitive Richard Ashcroft song will be when the cream of a particular emotion or a particular scenario in the human condition plays out, and that song mirrors it.”

For him, songs bottle the most powerful feelings. Something to revisit when the feeling is lost. “So, if it happens to be ‘Lucky Man’ for that feeling of transcendence, of liberty within yourself, your body, your partner in life, you can actually fleetingly feel that moment and you want to put it in a bottle,” he said. “And that’s what music’s about. It should be about capturing those moments for yourself and then the listener can put it on over and over again, if they want.”

This Could Be the Last Time

“Lucky Man” reached the UK Top 10 and was well-received in the United States, too. Casual fans might mistake The Verve for having only one hit song, but Urban Hymns is a true masterpiece.

Producers Chris Potter and Martin “Youth” Glover led the album through many starts and stops. Like most of The Verve’s existence, it happened amidst internal tumult. The band briefly broke up while promoting their second album A Northern Soul (1995). Then they reformed without lead guitarist Nick McCabe. Though Ashcroft continued with his remaining bandmates, bassist Simon Jones and drummer Peter Salisbury, Urban Hymns started as a Richard Ashcroft solo album. Childhood friend Simon Tong joined to fill McCabe’s vacancy.

While the band worked, McCabe’s absence left a giant sonic hole in The Verve’s sound. So Ashcroft invited the guitarist back and reworked several tracks with McCabe’s wall-of-sound dreamscapes.

The songwriting on Urban Hymns elicits a more direct, commercial appeal than The Verve’s earlier psychedelic-leaning albums. The new combination of sounds resulted in the band’s first No. 1 album.

Catching the Butterfly

“Lucky Man” represented The Verve’s musical progression away from the free-form jams comprising earlier releases.

Nick McCabe eschewed licks for effects pedals and acted as Richard Ashcroft’s creative foil. The rub between the two worked long enough for a single, blockbuster album. Then it was over.

The Verve imploded under the weight of success and broke up for the second time. They reunited for a fourth studio album, Forth, then broke up for the third time.

Though Ashcroft still searches for his definitive song, “Lucky Man” endures, capturing the magic of his powerful band before the feeling was lost. It echoes The Verve’s on-again, off-again career.

Thankfully, someone was around then to hit the record button.

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