Best Morrissey/Smiths song?

[tjdee]

Poll question: Best Morrissey/Smiths song?

Ye olde Stephen Patrick writes such fine lyrics...

"Cause people like you make me feel so tired
When will you die?"

"She said I know you and you cannot sing, I said that's nothing you should hear me play piano...."

"Burn down the disco, hang the blessed dj--because the music they constantly play...says nothing to me about my life."

Oh so many. But what is the best?

[flamingyouth]

1. I have several

But my favorites are "There's A Light That Never Goes Out" and "What Difference Does It Make."

"Panic" is high on the list too.

[tjdee]

2. I was going to include "There's a Light"...

but didn't want to put too many Smiths songs, because he's done some good ones solo as well.
I like about 95% of Smiths songs, LOL--like "What Difference Does it Make?" too.

[enigmatic]

3. Reel Around The Fountain

Positively sublime.

[no name no slogan]

8. absolutely

great minds think alike (too bad i didn't finish reading this thread before i posted the lyrics below) :dunce:

[Spider Jerusalem]

4. "Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me" (n/t)

[nine23]

5. Their entire catalogue, so I didn't vote...

They were the soundtrack to my eighties, I still listen to them (and Moz) almost daily, and I think they were/are one of the best bands ever in the history of rock music. (and that INCLUDES the Beatles and the Stones, etc.)

[grace0418]

36. That's what I should've said.

I tried listing out my favorites and had to stop after awhile.

[DeposeTheBoyKing]

6. Um, you mean Seasick, Yet Still Docked

I love that one. Also "Ask," "Tomorrow" and "Pretty Girls Make Graves." Who am I kidding? I love them all!!

[no name no slogan]

7. Reel Around the Fountain

It’s time the tale were told
Of how you took a child
And you made him old

It’s time the tale were told
Of how you took a child
And you made him old
You made him old

Reel around the fountain
Slap me on the patio
I’ll take it now
Oh ...

Fifteen minutes with you
Well, I wouldn’t say no
People said that you were virtually dead
And they were so wrong

Fifteen minutes with you
Oh, I wouldn’t say no
People said that you were easily led
And they were half-right
They ... oh, they were half-right, oh

It’s time the tale were told
Of how you took a child
And you made him old

It’s time that the tale were told
Of how you took a child
And you made him old
You made him old

Reel around the fountain
Slap me on the patio
I’ll take it now
Oh ...

Fifteen minutes with you
Well, I wouldn’t say no
Oh, people see no worth in you
Oh, but I do.
Fifteen minutes with you
Oh, I wouldn’t say no
Oh, people see no worth in you
I do
I ... oh, I do

I dreamt about you last night
And I fell out of bed twice
You can pin and mount me like a butterfly
But take me to the haven of your bed
Was something that you never said
Two lumps, please
You’re the bee’s knees
But so am i

Meet me at the fountain
Shove me on the patio
I’ll take it slowly
Oh ...

Fifteen minutes with you
Oh, I wouldn’t say no
Oh, people see no worth in you
Oh, but I do.
Fifteen minutes with you
Oh, I wouldn’t say no
Oh, people see no worth in you
I do
I ... I do
Oh, oh, I do
Oh, I do
Oh, I do

[distantearlywarning]

9. "Frankly, Mr. Shankly...

...this position I've held - it pays my way but it corrodes my soul...."

This song got me through every crap-tastic corporate job I ever had in my early twenties.

[jonnyblitz]

10. hang the dj or stop me if you think that you've heard this one

before. "how soon is now is" their "freebird" even though i like it..

[Dastard Stepchild]

11. Morrissey solo?

I really enjoy Everyday is Like Sunday and Alsatian Cousin.

:)

[sundog]

12. half a person

sixteen clumsy & shy... that's the story of my life

and i won't share you

and there is a light that never goes out

and agh! there are too many to list :D

[WCGreen]

13. I don't know....Every time I hear there music I get so sad

I just want to brood around and rue the day i was born...

Sigh!!!!!!

[solinvictus]

14. Morrissey/The Smiths

1) The Smiths- "There is a Light That Never Goes Out"
2) Morrissey- "Lucky Lisp"
These were two difficult choices as I love the entire catalog.

[sundog]

15. morrissey solo for me would be suedehead

[Heddi]

22. He did suedehead on his last tour and it was GREAT

And he ended the shows with "There's a Light That Never Goes Out"

perfection

[johnnie]

16. I was never a big fan

I do however like "Unhappy Birthday".

[Heddi]

23. "I'm gonna kill my dog...

Such fucking biting lyrics. This is the PERFECT "I hate you" letter to send to someone on their birthday

I've come to wish you an unhappy birthday
I've come to wish you an unhappy birthday
cause you're evil and you lie
and if you should die
I may feel slightly sad but I won't cry

Loved and lost
and some may say
"When usually it's nothing
Surely you're happy
it should be this way!"
I say "No, I'm gonna kill my dog
and may the lines sag
the lines sag heavy and deep tonight"

I've come to wish you an unhappy birthday
I've come to wish you an unhappy birthday
cause you're evil and you lie
and if you should die
I may feel slightly sad but I won't cry


Loved and lost
and some may say
"When usually it's nothing
Surely you're happy
it should be this way!"
I say "No" and then I shot myself
so drink! drink! drink! and be ill tonight


From:
the one you left behind

[Placebo]

17. Is Morrissey gay?

"Bengali In Platforms"

Bengali, Bengali
Bengali, Bengali
No no no
He does not want to depress you
Oh no no no no no
He only wants to impress you
Oh..
Bengali in platforms
He only wants to embrace your culture
And to be your friend forever
Forever
Bengali, Bengali
Bengali, Bengali
Oh, shelve your Western plans
And understand
That life is hard enough when you belong here
A silver-studded rim that glistens
And an ankle-star that ... blinds me
A lemon sole so very high
Which only reminds me; to tell you
Break the news gently
Break the news to him gently
Shelve your plans; shelve your plans, shelve them
Bengali, Bengali
It's the touchy march of time that binds you
Don't blame me
Don't hate me
Just because I'm the one to tell you
That life is hard enough when you belong here
That life is hard enough when you belong here
Oh...
Shelve your Western plans
Oh...
Shelve your Western plans
'Cause life is hard enough when you belong
Life is hard enough when you belong here
Oh...
Shelve your Western plans
Oh...
Shelve your best friends
'Cause life is hard when you belong here
Oh...
Life is hard enough when you belong

[dhinojosa]

31. Is the pope catholic?

:hi:

[Placebo]

38. omg really???

i neve knew he was for real :P

[Dukkha]

18. There's a Light That Never Goes Out

one of the best love songs IMO


Take me out tonight
Where there's music and there's people
And they're young and alive
Driving in your car
I never never want to go home
Because I haven't got one
Anymore

Take me out tonight
Because I want to see people and I
Want to see life
Driving in your car
Oh, please don't drop me home
Because it's not my home, it's their
Home, and I'm welcome no more


And if a double-decker bus
Crashes into us
To die by your side
Is such a heavenly way to die
And if a ten-ton truck
Kills the both of us
To die by your side
Well, the pleasure - the privilege is mine


Take me out tonight
Take me anywhere, I don't care
I don't care, I don't care
And in the darkened underpass
I thought Oh God, my chance has come at last
(But then a strange fear gripped me and I
Just couldn't ask)


Take me out tonight
Oh, take me anywhere, I don't care
I don't care, I don't care
Driving in your car
I never never want to go home
Because I haven't got one, da ...
Oh, I haven't got one


And if a double-decker bus
Crashes into us
To die by your side
Is such a heavenly way to die
And if a ten-ton truck
Kills the both of us
To die by your side
Well, the pleasure - the privilege is mine


Oh, There Is A Light And It Never Goes Out
There Is A Light And It Never Goes Out
There Is A Light And It Never Goes Out
There Is A Light And It Never Goes Out

[Vox_Reason]

19. Moz and Marr are the 80s version of Waters and Gilmour

Get back together and make more great music while there's still time.

Don't make the mistake that Gilmour and Waters made.

Morrissey is clearly one of the very best lyricists of the last 25 years, and Marr's place in the UK rock god pantheon is equally secure.

Don't miss The The's "Mind Bomb" for more evidence of Marr's greatness.

[Heddi]

26. I love Morrissey lyrics because

they completely capture the essence of teenager-dom and I just love that.

I was a prolific journal writer in my youth. I was solitary, alone, odd, outcast, and I feel like when I listen to his lyrics, he expresses so eloquently what I felt like I went through from 6th-12th grade. And he does it with style and respect :)

[Vox_Reason]

20. Smiths lyrics

I can't resist...

LAST NIGHT I DREAMT SOMEBODY LOVED ME

Last night I dreamt
That somebody loved me
No hope, no harm
Just another false alarm

Last night I felt
Real arms around me
No hope, no harm
Just another false alarm

So, tell me how long
Before the last one ?
And tell me how long
Before the right one ?

The story is old - I KNOW
But it goes on


THAT JOKE ISN'T FUNNY ANYMORE

Park the car at the side of the road
You should know
Time's tide will smother you
And I will too
When you laugh about people who feel so
Very lonely
Their only desire is to die
Well, I'm afraid
It doesn't make me smile
I wish I could laugh

But that joke isn't funny anymore
It's too close to home
And it's too near the bone
It's too close to home
And it's too near the bone
More than you'll ever know ...


Kick them when they fall down

It was dark as I drove the point home
And on cold leather seats
Well, it suddenly struck me
I just might die with a smile on my
Face after all

I've seen this happen in other people's lives
And now it's happening in mine...


I KNOW IT'S OVER

Oh Mother, I can feel the soil falling over my head
And as I climb into an empty bed
Oh well--enough said
I know it's over - still I cling
I don't know where else I can go
Oh ...
Oh Mother, I can feel the soil falling over my head
See, the sea wants to take me
The knife wants to slit me
Do you think you can help me?
Sad veiled bride, please be happy
Handsome groom, give her room
Loud, loutish lover, treat her kindly
(Though she needs you
More than she loves you)
And I know it's over - still I cling
I don't know where else I can go
Over and over and over and over
Over and over, la ...
I know it's over
And it never really began
But in my heart it was so real
And you even spoke to me, and said:
"If you're so funny
Then why are you on your own tonight?
And if you're so clever
Then why are you on your own tonight?
If you're so very entertaining
Then why are you on your own tonight?
If you're so very good-looking
Why do you sleep alone tonight?
I know ...
'Cause tonight is just like any other night
That's why you're on your own tonight
With your triumphs and your charms
While they're in each other's arms..."
It's so easy to laugh
It's so easy to hate
It takes strength to be gentle and kind
Over, over, over, over
It's so easy to laugh
It's so easy to hate
It takes guts to be gentle and kind
Over, over
Love is Natural and Real
But not for you, my love
Not tonight, my love
Love is Natural and Real
But not for such as you and I, my love
Oh Mother, I can feel
The soil falling over my head...

[NMMNG]

21. How Soon is Now

...So you go and you stand on your own
And you leave on your own, and you go home
And you cry and you want to die.

And you say it's gonna happen now
Well when exactly do you mean?
See I've already waited too long, and all my hope is gone


The Love Spit Love remake of the song is quite good as well.

[aaronbees]

24. Panic...

"I wonder to myself,
could life ever be sane again?"

[Heddi]

25. I say "Late Night, Maudlin St" because

it's like reading a diary entry. So personal and just so great. I know he took alot of lines from a book, but I don't know. That's just a super song. I can identify alot with Moz lyrics because I was the solitary, disaffected youth who looked longingly at those who had affection in their lives. I think Maudlin Street, to me, sums up the heartaches of adolescence better than any other song I can think of


"I can list the detail of everything you ever wore or said
or how you stood the day
as we spent the last night on Maudlin Street
"goodbye house, forever!"...."

"When I sleep with that picture of you framed beside my bed
oh it's childish and it's silly
but I think it's you
in my room
by the bed
oh, I told you it was silly..."

"In pain, and ashamed
With never time to say
those special things ..."

---

I think There's A Light That Never Goes Out captures this longing sentiment as well

"And in a darkened underpass I thought
"Oh God! My chance has come at last"
but then a strange fear gripped me and I just couldn't ask..."

----

How Soon is Now:

"Well you say it's gonna happen "now"
but when exactly do you mean?"

"So you leave on your own
and you go on your own
and you go home
and you cry
and you want to die"
---

These Things Take Time

"Oh, the alcoholic afternoons
When we sat in your rooms
They meant more to me
Than any, than any living thing on earth
They had more worth
Than any living thing on earth "

---

"And if you have five seconds to spare
Then I'll tell you the story of my life :
Sixteen, clumsy and shy..."

"And you never knew
How much I really liked you
Because I never even told you
Oh, and I meant to ..."

[Pystoff]

27. They never had a best song and neither did he

From Doctor David Thorpe:

The Smiths:
Thousands of pale nerds have found a savior in this man Morrissey.

The Smiths, if you’ve never heard of them, were just a tornado of teenage repression, bad pseudo-literate jokes, failed attempts at witty turns of phrase, and Morrissey’s pained, tuneless holler. The appeal of The Smiths was the fact that it could make just about any angst-filled teenager feel better about himself because Morrissey was so much more pathetic than he could ever hope to be. Although Morrissey is often hailed as the poet laureate of whiny crybaby rock, many of his lyrics are as unintentionally hilarious as the 1975 melodramatic blaxploitation film “The Black Gestapo.” Here is a delightful example from his vegetarian tour-de-force “Meat Is Murder”:

Heifer whines could be human cries Closer comes the screaming knife This beautiful creature must die This beautiful creature must die A death for no reason And death for no reason… is murder.

Well, his clumsy poetry has me convinced. Morrissey, I promise you that I will never again butcher a live cow for no reason. The generally accepted highlight of the Smiths’ small catalogue of releases is the 1986 album “The Queen Is Dead,” on which Morrissey cleverly toys with his reputation as a gloomy, morose, self-pitying nerd by singing songs about being a gloomy, morose, self-pitying nerd. He’s perhaps the only rock star ever to namedrop both Keats and Yeats in the same song while at the same time misspelling the song title (“Cemetry Gates”). Score a point for intellectualism.

Perhaps the most hilarious chapter in the Smiths’ existence is the inevitable solo-project mayhem that ensued when they split up. Morrissey continued to be Morrissey, and released many terrible, self-indulgent solo albums over the years; in other words, he's sort of like Sting except nobody actually buys his records. Well, actually, Sting never reinvented himself as a homosexual rockabilly greaser, and Sting never lost his record deal due to a total lack of interest from anybody other than a fanatical (and totally unexplainable) Latino following. Johnny Marr, the guitarist of The Smiths (and the only mitigating factor that made Morrissey anything but totally unbearable) has finally come out of the studio-musician woodwork with his recent “Johnny Marr and the Healers” project. Unfortunately for all the fans who had their hopes pinned on him, the album was eerily reminiscent of such hideous 90s guitarist-side-projects like The Seahorses and Hurricane #1. Johnny himself decided that he’d sing in his new band; tragically, he sounds a lot like Steve Miller.

[dhinojosa]

30. "Sting never reinvented himself as a homosexual rockabilly greaser"

Damn, WTF? This dude is harsh. :rofl:

[Pystoff]

32. Hehe yes he is and I love the guy for it

Go to....http://www.somethingawful.com/index.htm
Then click on your band sucks and enjoy his slaughterings for yourself hehe.

He nailed The Smiths and Morrissey if you ask me because thye both suck and are the biggest whiners in the history or rock. That stuff self nueters if you listen to it long enough.

[Placebo]

41. BOO

:thumbsdown:

[Pystoff]

42. Oh please don't boo me

Or I'll whine and cry for 3 minutes like a Smith's or Morrissey song LMAO.

[dhinojosa]

28. Smiths: Big Mouth Strikes Again/Morrissey: Tomorrow

but those songs always change. :)

[Trigger Hippie]

29. My fav is "Half a Person"

Call me morbid, call me pale
I've spent six years on your trail
Six long years
On your trail

Call me morbid, call me pale
I've spent six years on your trail
Six full years of my life on your trail


And if you have five seconds to spare
Then I'll tell you the story of my life :
Sixteen, clumsy and shy
I went to London and I
I booked myself in at the Y ... W.C.A.
I said : "I like it here - can I stay ?
I like it here - can I stay ?
Do you have a vacancy
For a Back-scrubber?"


She was left behind, and sour
And she wrote to me, equally dour
She said : "In the days when you were
Hopelessly poor
I just liked you more..."


And if you have five seconds to spare
Then I'll tell you the story of my life :
Sixteen, clumsy and shy
I went to London and I
I booked myself in at the Y ... W.C.A.
I said : "I like it here - can I stay ?
I like it here - can I stay ?
And do you have a vacancy
For a Back-scrubber ?"


Call me morbid, call me pale
I've spent too long on your trail
Far too long
Chasing your tail
Oh ...


And if you have five seconds to spare
Then I'll tell you the story of my life :
Sixteen, clumsy and shy
That's the story of my life
Sixteen, clumsy and shy
The story of my life
That's the story of my life
That's the story of my life
That's the story of my life
The story of my life
That's the story of my life
That's the story of my life
That's the story of my life
That's the story of my life
That's the story of my life
That's the story ...

[ksilvas]

33. "London" n/t

[AlCzervik]

34. Interesting Drug and Hair dresser on Fire.

[grace0418]

35. I could never pick just one but "Back to the Old House" on Hatful

of Hollow is a particular favorite of mine. "How Soon is Now?" of course, a classic. There is a Light that Never Goes Out, This Charming Man, Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now, Bigmouth Strikes Again, The Boy With The Thorn In His Side, William It Was Really Nothing, Ask, Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before, Suedehead, Every Day is Like Sunday, Piccadilly Palare, Interesting Drug, November Spawned A Monster, Sing Your Life, Our Frank...

Oh I just have to stop.

[Avalux]

37. Not on your list -

"There is a Light". My favorite. :hi:

[4_Legs_Good]

39. "Meat is Murder"

I'm not much of a fan of the Smiths or Morrissey, but MiM is a really cool song with a cool hook.

david

[djeseru]

40. "How Soon is Now" changed my life.

Never went back to mainstream music after hearing it. I really like "The Headmaster Ritual" as well as the lyrics to "Shelia Take a Bow."

[steely]

43. I like How soon is Now

didja ever hear how Soho used it in Hippychick? (they got sued of course) Wierd juxtaposition between styles. Smiths mixed into an old school techno - hiphop.

don't mean to change the subject, but was just talking about this today.

[Chovexani]

44. My favorite is How Soon is Now

I love the synths in that song.

(insert obligatory SRK squeal)