About
No Regrets was released as the second single from I've Been Expecting You on 30 November 1998, paired as a double A-side with Antmusic. Written by Robbie Williams and Guy Chambers, the song reached number four on the UK Singles Chart and earned silver certification for sales exceeding 200,000 copies. It featured guest vocals from Neil Tennant of Pet Shop Boys and Neil Hannon of The Divine Comedy.
The track is widely regarded as Williams’ reflection on his departure from Take That and the emotional fallout that followed. Musically sombre and lyrically direct, it captures the mix of regret, anger and closure that marked his early solo years. Tennant contributed the echoing backing lines and later praised the lyric “I didn’t lose my mind, it was mine to give away,” which Williams considered one of his finest.
It’s not me having a go at them. It’s me saying I’m sorry for all of us in that situation. It’s a song that puts everything into place for me.Robbie Williams
The single received critical acclaim for its emotional honesty and orchestral production. The NME called it “confessional pop at its most powerful,” while *Q* described it as “a cathartic reckoning between past and present selves.” During the Progress Live tour in 2011, Williams performed the song with Take That, changing the final lyric from “dead” to “alive,” symbolising reconciliation.
The accompanying video, directed by Pedro Romhany, presents Williams as a film star spiralling into self-destruction, intercut with surreal imagery and a burning field sequence. Its closing shot of the singer walking away from the flames became one of his defining visuals of the 1990s.
Lyrics
Where we all change
And we'd live our lives together
And not estranged
I didn't lose my mind it was
Mine to give away
Couldn't stay to watch me cry
You didn't have the time
So I softly slip away
No regrets they don't work
No regrets now they only hurt
Sing me a love song
Drop me a line
Suppose it's just a point of view
But they tell me I'm doing fine
I know from the outside
When they all stare
We looked good for each other
Some people said
Felt things were going wrong
When you didn't like my mother
It was all in your head
I don't want to hate but that's
All you've left me with
A bitter aftertaste and a fantasy of
How we all could live
No regrets they don't work
No regrets now they only hurt
We've been told you stay up late
I know they're still talking
You're far too short to carry weight
The demons in your head
Return the videos they're late
If I could just stop hating you
Goodbye
I'd feel sorry for us instead
Remember the photographs insane
The ones where we all laugh so lame
We were having the time of our lives
Well thank you it was a real blast
No regrets they don't work
No regrets now they only hurt
We've been told you've stayed out late
Write me a love song
You're far too short to carry weight
Drop me a line
Return the videos they're late
Suppose it's just a point of view
Goodbye
But they tell me I'm doing fine
Everything I wanted to be
Every time I walked away
Every time you told me to leave
I just wanted to stay
Every time you looked at me
And every time you smiled
I felt so vacant
You treat me like a child
I loved the way we used to laugh
I loved the way we used to smile
Often I sit down and think of you
For a while
Then it passes me by and I think of
Someone else instead
I guess the love we once had is officially
Dead
Credits
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Vocalist
Robbie Williams -
Songwriter
Robbie Williams, Guy Chambers