Noel Gallagher claims to have written the song whilst suffering from food poisoning when he first moved to London. His mother Peggy would phone him to check on him and repeatedly told him to ensure he was eating properly. This spurred Gallagher to cook himself a proper English Sunday dinner, which resulted in a bout of food poisoning. In a 1997 interview promoting Be Here Now, Noel Gallagher had the following to say: "It starts, 'Made a meal and threw it up on Sunday'. When I first moved to London me mam kept on ringing up and asking was I eating properly. Yes, Mam. So I tried to cook a Sunday roast and puked up for two days with food poisoning. It was back to Pot Noodles after that."

The title for the song most likely comes from the song "Stand by Me", which was covered by the Gallaghers' idol John Lennon. In a characteristic example of Noel Gallagher lifting elements from songs of which he is fond, the rousing sequence of chord changes between the repeated chorus lyrics 'Stand By me/Nobody knows the way it's gonna be' bears a remarkable similarity to a similar chord sequence in David Bowie's "All the Young Dudes", acknowledged by Gallagher: "It's a bit like "Live Forever", I suppose, with a touch of "All the Young Dudes" in the background—though I made sure I changed the chords." It has also been noted, however, that the song is similar to "Don't Look Back in Anger".

(Wikipedia)

Made a meal and threw it up on Sunday
I've got a lot of things to learn
Said I would and I'll be leaving one day
Before my heart starts to burn

So what's the matter with you
Sing me something new
Don't you know the cold and wind and rain don't know
They only seem to come and go away

Times are hard when things have got no meaning
I've found a key upon the floor
Maybe you and I will not believe in
The things we find behind the door

So what's the matter with you
Sing me something new
Don't you know the cold and wind and rain don't know
They only seem to come and go away

Stand by me
Nobody knows the way it's gonna be
Stand by me
Nobody knows the way it's gonna be
Stand by me
Nobody knows the way it's gonna be
Stand by me
Nobody knows
Yeah nobody knows the way it's gonna be

If your leaving will you take me with you
I'm tired of talking on my phone
There is one thing I can never give you
My heart will never be your home

So what's the matter with you
Sing me something new
Don't you know the cold and wind and rain don't know
They only seem to come and go away

Stand by me
Nobody knows the way it's gonna be
Stand by me
Nobody knows the way it's gonna be
Stand by me
Nobody knows the way it's gonna be
Stand by me
Nobody knows
Yeah nobody knows the way it's gonna be

The way it's gonna be, yeah
Maybe I can see, yeah
But don't you know the cold and wind and rain don't know
They only seem to come and go away

Stand by me
Nobody knows the way it's gonna be
Stand by me
Nobody knows the way it's gonna be
Stand by me
Nobody knows the way it's gonna be
Stand by me
Nobody knows
Yeah God only knows the way it's gonna be