Паның қайтысы

1993 single by the Waterboys

"The Return of Pan" is a song by British band the Waterboys, released in May 1993 by Geffen Records as the lead single from their sixth studio album, Dream Harder (1993). It was written by Mike Scott, and produced by Scott and Bill Price. The song reached No. 24 in the UK Singles Chart and No. 10 on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.

"The Return of Pan" is the Waterboys' second ode to the Greek deity, following "The Pan Within", a track from their third studio album This Is the Sea (1985). Speaking of the musical similarities between the two songs, Scott told NME in 1993, "It's the same chord sequence, and those chords signify 'Pan' to me." Speaking of the song's lyrical influence, Scott revealed to NME in 1993, "He's a really great guy, yeah, but everybody's got a bit of Pan in them, and it's all about finding the Pan in yourself. Pan is wildness, freedom, the natural world, a sense of abandonment – the very opposite, really, of modern urban living. I'm non denominational, but I'm interested in all religions. I believe there's one creator, but there are gods for different aspects of creation, and Pan represents a particular aspect."

The 12 inch and CD formats of the single included an acoustic demo version of "The Return of Pan", recorded in Scott's front room, as a hidden fourth track.

Upon its release as a single, Everett True of Melody Maker noted that "The Return of Pan" "possesses a certain windswept epic feel that I figured Mike Scott had lost after This Is the Sea". He added, "I'm not saying I actively enjoy Bill Price's BMP production, I'm not saying this isn't anything but an ordinary to good song buoyed up by bracing guitars but hell. This isn't too bad at all." The Accrington Observer awarded the single a five out of five star rating. The reviewer described the "typically majestic track" as a "a much slower version" of the band's 1985 track "The Pan Within" from This Is the Sea and added that it "is arguably the best single of the year so far". George Byrne of the Irish Independent criticised the track for "sounding for all the world like a Chris de Burgh song played with a middling degree of urgency". He added, "It's 1993 and Mike Scott is singing about ancient gods with cloven hooves not even the crusties will fall for that." Johnny Dee of NME was also negative in his review, calling it "fraggle cack from the bowels of Hippyhell". In the US, Larry Flick of Billboard described the song as a "tough, well produced track that neatly balances raucous electric guitars with the Celtic folk the band has long made a specialty". Randy Clark of Cash Box wrote, "This single from the upcoming Waterboys album could have just as easily appeared on an Al Stewart record. Just add a bigger beat and a lengthy, screaming guitar solo." In a review of Dream Harder, CD Review commented, "'The Return of Pan' finds [Scott] singing about mythological gods and although romanticism is neat stuff, it's most effective when shaded with a touch of reality." Audio noted the song "point[s] to Scott's fondness for other kinds of supreme beings".