The verse section for this song was actually written in the mid ‘90s, and there have been several chorus sections kicking around for the last 30 years which I was never happy with. It was also very much a guitar based rock arrangement back then with the rhythm being a bit like the song Wonderwall by Oasis.
I always liked the verse sections and decided that I’d try to write a brand new chorus. It felt like it should have an electronic bluesy feel to the song.
It needed a chorus, and one day out of the blue, I came up with what you hear really quickly. It was far better than any of the previous ones and allowed me to make it big - just as choruses should be!!
The songwriting process is interesting because good songs often go through several drafts before the finished version is ready, and Green Light is no exception. Sections were added, others cut, lyrics changed, timing changed etc and that’s even before getting to the arranging and production stage.
The end section had a repeated chorus, but when listening back, it didn’t add anything to the song so I was brutal and cut it. I think the song works better ending where it does with just the single chorus.
The song was inspired by a night in Derry, Ireland back in 1996. My band had played a Halloween festival in Derry that evening, and I met a girl. We went back to hers for drinks and she had a lamp which had a green bulb in it. We listened to the Stone Roses and stayed up chatting for most of the night until morning time.
To make the song work, I created a story about forbidden love. I.e. a good catholic girl falling for a British guitarist. In the story, they both want the passion but stop themselves. The ‘Green Light’ is both the actual lamp, but also a metaphor for letting something happen.
I love the line ‘take off your dirty clothes, they’re so clean’, just because it's kind of sleazy and has a double meaning.
As I learn more about crafting songs, I feel it's important to introduce hooks wherever possible. In this case it was the IT Crowd sounding keyboard which cuts through throughout the song. Musical hooks can be as important as sung hooks.
Just one more thing. In the production mix, Matt removed all the crash cymbals from the second chorus which was genius as its has a totally different dynamic from the other choruses and set it apart.
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