"Bitter Sweet Symphony" is a song by the rock band The Verve, and is the lead track on their third album Urban Hymns. It was released on June 16, 1997 as the first single from the album, charting at #2 on the UK Singles Chart, having been beaten to the #1 spot by "I'll Be Missing You" by Puff Daddy, Faith Evans and 112. The single was released in the U.S. in early 1998. The song also became infamous for the legal controversy surrounding its use of an orchestral sample as its hook.
Later in 1998 a remixed version of Bitter Sweet Symphony appeared in the UK music charts called "Treat Infamy" by "Rest Assured". CDs were pressed and do exist, however due to copyright restrictions this version is no longer available commercially. This version is credited as having been written by Mick Jagger & Keith Richards with additional material by Laurence Nelson, Alastair Johnson & Nick Carter.
Rolling Stone ranked "Bitter Sweet Symphony" as the 382nd best song of all time. In May 2007, NME magazine placed "Bitter Sweet Symphony" at number 18 in its list of the "50 Greatest Indie Anthems Ever." In September 2007, Q published a list of "Top 10 Tracks" as selected via a poll of 50 songwriters; "Bitter Sweet Symphony" is included (the list is presented alphabetically instead of being ranked).
