I Am the Resurrection


"I Am the Resurrection" is a song by the Stone Roses and the final song on the UK version of their The [Stone Roses (album)|debut album].
The last four minutes of the song is an instrumental outro. The single was released on 30 March 1992, and reached number 33 on the UK Singles Chart. It was the second of two singles released from their debut album while the band were estranged from their label Silvertone. Physical copies of the single are no longer pressed and have become extremely difficult to come by.

Background

Regarding the song's origin, drummer Reni revealed the track originated when bassist Mani played the riff of The Beatles' "Taxman" backwards. Reni said, "Mani would play the riff backwards during sound-checks and we played along over the top for a laugh. Finally we said, Let's do this joke-song properly and see what happens."

Artwork

John Squire designed the "I Am the Resurrection" cover, continuing the Jackson Pollock-influenced theme of singles from The Stone Roses.

Legacy

Q magazine placed it at number 10 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks.
NME magazine placed "I Am the Resurrection" at number 8 in its list of the 50 Greatest Indie Anthems Ever. NME also placed it at number 100 in its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Religious and Messianic language

Biblical scholar James Crossley has noted the biblical language throughout the song, where the singer takes on the role of a Christ-like or God-like figure. In addition to the title alluding to John 11, he argues that there are references to stubbornness and repentance found in the prophetic literature of the Old Testament, which repeatedly uses the language of "turning" to God, and persistence and redemption in the New Testament, which uses the language of knocking at doors. In Crossley's view, the song partly functions as "a story of God and Israel/humanity in the Bible" but now "applied to a human relationship".

Track listings

7-inch vinyl, cassette
  1. "I Am the Resurrection"
  2. "I Am the Resurrection"
12-inch vinyl
  1. "I Am the Resurrection" by Simon Harris
  2. "I Am the Resurrection"
  3. "Fools Gold"
CD
  1. "I Am the Resurrection" by Simon Harris
  2. "I Am the Resurrection"
  3. "I Am the Resurrection"
  4. "Fools Gold"