While we're talking about the possibility that Liam and Noel were getting on circa 2014-2015, here's a little known fact about We're On Our Way Now: according to a q&a in 2021 promoting his Back The Way We Came album, Noel wrote that song about eight years previously, around the time of Chasing Yesterday.
I have always been convinced that the song is Noel reflecting on his regrets over how Oasis ended. But for the longest time, it seemed strange to me that he would be so deep in his feelings about the split by 2021 when the song was released.
Remember what might have been
Had I walked you home and said I'll see you later
This to me is a clear metaphor for the ending of the 2009 tour. What if I'd just seen it through those last two gigs? What if we could have called it "see you later" instead of "goodbye"? If Noel wrote this in 2014, a lot of pieces slide into place. There's the relative recency of the split and the rumoured beginnings of reconciliation, of course, which fit the emotional space the song occupies. But there's other lines that fit with who Liam was and what was going on in his life in 2014 much better than in 2021.
Having the time of your lifŠµ
But when you take those pills, does it make it better?
The start of this verse refers to being "stood on top of the world" so arguably it might be about when Oasis was at their height anyway. But the partying and drugs are still a pressing concern in the song's present, which fit Liam much better in 2014 when he was crashing out than in 2021 when he'd cut down on all that dramatically.
There's also the references to the subject of the song being hounded and disparaged by others.
I'm worn out
'Cause with every little trick they try to drag you down
You don't know why
By 2021, Liam's media image was pretty good, thanks to the work of his partner and manager, Debbie Gwyther. But back in 2014, it was at an all time low following the reveal that he had fathered a child outside of his marriage to Nicole Appleton, the break down of that marriage in favour of a separate affair with Debbie, and the break up of Beady Eye. In 2021, it would be strange for Noel to fixate on Liam being "dragged down" by the press, but back in 2014 it makes absolute perfect sense.
In my opinion, the fact that Noel sat on this song for eight years and never even made a demo suggests that it was too personal and revealing for him to think about sharing it for a really long time. By the time he did release it, situations had changed enough that the original meaning wasn't as obvious. Plus, of course, all the death and afterlife metaphors put some distance between him and the truth because a lot of people took them literally. But it's fascinating to me that he was playing that song for years and years just for himself before he finally released it to the public.
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