Glycerine is one of the most well-known songs by the British rock band Bush. Gavin Rossdale wrote the song in 1993, about his then-girlfriend, Suze DeMarchi as stated in an interview with Howard Stern. Released in 1995 as the fourth single from their debut album, Sixteen Stone, the song became a major hit, especially in the United States. It’s recognised for its stripped-back arrangement, featuring mostly lead vocalist and guitarist Gavin Rossdale’s raw vocals and simple guitar playing, accompanied by a string section in some parts of the song.
The song’s melody is both haunting and intimate, giving it an emotional weight. Unlike many rock songs of the time, Glycerine doesn’t rely on heavy drums or complex arrangements, which helps emphasise the raw lyrics and mood. The lyrics explore themes of love, frustration, and longing, with a certain ambiguity in their meaning, allowing listeners to interpret them in different ways.
One of the song’s standout elements is its title, Glycerine. While it’s not explicitly mentioned in the lyrics, Rossdale explained that the word symbolises something that’s both sweet and volatile, like relationships often are. The song was a commercial success, peaking at No. 28 on the Billboard Hot 100 and reaching No. 1 on the US Modern Rock Tracks chart.
The music video for Glycerine is equally iconic, filmed in one continuous shot in black and white, featuring Rossdale standing in the rain, playing his guitar. The simplicity of the video mirrors the stripped-back feel of the song itself, making it memorable in the grunge and post-grunge era.
“We used the usual limiters and compressors – I believe I was using Audio Design Compressors at the time, and I recall that Empirical Labs released the Distressor that year. We rented one, and I used it to compress Gavin’s vocals,” Winstanley explains. “I liked it so much that we bought two for West Side Studios straight away. We didn’t rely on many effects. The guitars are dry. For microphones, I likely used a Sennheiser 421, a Shure 57, and a room mic for some ambience.”
It is unusual to find an Empirical Labs Distressor used for the lead vocal but given it chameleon like abilities enabling it to emulate the classic 1176 and LA-2A compressors that came before it, it is surprising we do not see this more often.
Sixteen Stone, released in December 1994, eventually climbed to Number 4 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, with Glycerine breaking into the Top 30 on the Billboard Hot 100. In November 2023, the track was featured in a 21-song greatest hits collection titled Loaded: The Greatest Hits 1994-2023. Glycerine remains one of Bush’s signature tracks and is often seen as a defining song of the mid-90s alternative rock scene
