"Lyla" is a song by the English rock band Oasis. It was released in May 2005 as the first single from their sixth studio album, Don't Believe the Truth (2005). "Lyla" was the band's first single following the departure of their long-time drummer Alan White, and replaced by Ringo Starr's son and the Who drummer Zak Starkey as an additional drummer of the band.
The song was written by Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher, who has varyingly described the track as "specifically designed for pogoing", "annoyingly catchy", and the "poppiest thing since Roll with It". Noting the varied influences of the song, Gallagher said that it was "The Soundtrack Of Our Lives doing the Who on Skol in a psychedelic city in the sky (or something)".
Noel Gallagher says that the song existed in an early form as a song called "Sing" and dated from the Heathen Chemistry era. He also says that the title for the final song should have been "Smiler", but was changed seeing as guitarist Gem Archer's previous band, Heavy Stereo, also had a song called "Smiler". Noel has also joked with the fact that the Lyla in the song is actually the sister of the Sally mentioned in the Oasis single "Don't Look Back in Anger". He also said that the song is a "love song", being about Sally's sister.
Originally, Noel was dismissive of the song, saying that "Lyla" "isn't even the fifth best track on the album". The song had existed as a demo since the early recording sessions for the album but was all but forgotten until practically the last minute. However, Noel later admitted that he "didn't know how good it was 'til the first night we played it live", while Liam Gallagher said that he loved the "guitars, the drums, and the vocals" of the song. In a 2006 interview, Noel framed that shift more broadly, saying: "Like Lyla for instance, I thought, `well that's pretty good' and then when people heard it they were going, `F***ing hell that's incredible'".
In a June 2005 interview with The Daily Telegraph, Gallagher acknowledged another musical reference point when he described "Lyla" as the latest in a line of Oasis songs that "steal", saying that in this case it borrowed from the Rolling Stones' "Street Fighting Man". In the 2006 Uncut interview, he also said that the song might have been started after he had listened to the Who's "Armenia, City in the Sky", and added that "it's about a heroine", with the line "catch the silver star" possibly taken from the Woodstock film.
"Lyla" was released in Japan on 11 May 2005 and in the United Kingdom and Australia five days later, on 16 May. It became the band's seventh UK number one when it reached top spot on the UK Singles Chart during its first week of release. The song also debuted at number 31 on the US Modern Rock Tracks chart, peaking at number 19. It also appeared on the US Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart at number eight. It was the first Oasis song to appear on any US singles chart since 2000, when "Go Let It Out" reached number 14 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart. Sony's insistence that "Lyla" be released as the first single from the album helped to fuel the tension between the band and their record label, which led to Oasis not renewing their contract with the record label following the release of Don't Believe the Truth.
When performing on the UK music chart show Top of the Pops, Liam, who was forced to mime to the music, made no secret of the fact, walking away from the microphone with his mouth closed mid-way through lines that he was supposedly 'singing'. It would be Liam's last performance on the programme before its demise in late 2006. However, Noel and the rest of the band would return in August 2005 to perform "The Importance of Being Idle" and later in 2009 to perform their last ever released single "Falling Down". Liam performed the song for the first time as a solo artist at Hackney Round Chapel (where the music video to "Lyla" was filmed) on 5 June 2019.
The music video was directed by Tim Qualtrough. The video features a woman in a flat being harassed by two men, who are eventually made to leave; one of the garages outside her flat then opens and she finds herself at a masquerade ball where Oasis are performing the song. The Round Chapel in Hackney was used as a filming location, and the title character was played by Katrine De Candole.
The song was included on the soundtrack of the football video game FIFA 06.