Love Spreads

"Love Spreads" is a song by British alternative rock group the Stone Roses, released on 21 November 1994 as the first single from their second album, Second Coming. The record reached number two on the UK Singles Chart, the highest peak for any song by the band, as well as number 55 on the US Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart and number 67 on the Canadian RPM 100 Hit Tracks chart. The single also reached the top 10 in Ireland and the top 20 in Sweden. Cover art John Squire designed the "Love Spreads" cover, using a photograph of one of the four stone cherubs on the Newport Bridge in Newport, South Wales. The cherubs on the bridge are modelled after Newport's coat of arms, which contains a cherub with winged sea lions. The cherub design was subsequently used on many pieces of Second Coming merchandise. Lyrics and composition "Love Spreads" is a blues rock song in D minor. Its lyrics are a telling of the Passion of Christ, reinterpreting Jesus as a black woman. In 1995, guitarist John Squire said the lyrics were inspired by British author Rosalind Miles' 1988 book The Women's History of the World. The book examines the roles of women, their representation, and their power through history.