Morrissey, the lyricist

'I Am Not A Dog On A Chain' has seen some improvements, but these days I think Morrissey is a much better vocalist than he is a lyricist. That's where his real talents lie now - as a vocal performer, and composer of interesting vocal melody lines. In the early-mid Smiths days, the reverse was true - flat vocals, limited range ('Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now' is mostly the same 3 notes repeated over and over), but killer lyrics. There was probably a golden period during the late Smiths years/early solo years when things were pretty much in equal balance.

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Great! If his talent as you say only lies in his voice these days, then we could all drop the opinion that there is such a thing as Morrissey having ‘good’ and ‘bad’ lyrics.

Now finally we could all look forward to his next recordings and enjoy them without our opinions getting in the way of actually listening and hearing the songs!


We’re evolving, people ! We are evolving!



very cool :thumb:
 
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'I Am Not A Dog On A Chain' has seen some improvements, but these days I think Morrissey is a much better vocalist than he is a lyricist. That's where his real talents lie now - as a vocal performer, and composer of interesting vocal melody lines. In the early-mid Smiths days, the reverse was true - flat vocals, limited range ('Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now' is mostly the same 3 notes repeated over and over), but killer lyrics. There was probably a golden period during the late Smiths years/early solo years when things were pretty much in equal balance.
I don't know it if it's this simple but we know in The Smiths era - especially early on - many lyrics were derived from books, films and plays whereas later the words are mainly his own.
 
I don't know it if it's this simple but we know in The Smiths era - especially early on - many lyrics were derived from books, films and plays whereas later the words are mainly his own.

Echoing a word or phrase doesn't shape a song.
 
Are you agreeing or disagreeing that Morrissey used to "borrow" lyrics a lot more in the early Smiths than he did later in his career?

I'm disagreeing that borrowing had an impact on the quality of the song - none of it changed the rhyme scheme, or the way he put the ideas together.
 
:rolleyes:


He doesn’t ‘borrow’


He ......



STEALS !



the whole fvcking show!



:cool:
 
I wasn't scrutinizing every line.

I love him as a lyricist. And I don't think he's over-rated.
words you wont see in other peoples lyrics.
three bar fire.
home for the blind.
crematorium.
alsation.
you sit with your legs spread.
im not the type to boast as you know.
theres probably another 100 of these you could dig out,
 
Morrissey hasn't really written a good line in about fifteen years, but he had two decades of brilliance before that so I can't say I agree with your assertion.
so you keep telling us,so your saying in the last 15 years he hasnt written anything decent,so istanbul is crap,come back to cambden is crap,forgive someone is crap,blue dreamers eyes is crap,mountjoy is crap,i have forgiven jesus is crap,life is a pigsty is crap,you must be very easy to buy for on christmas eve.
 
so you keep telling us,so your saying in the last 15 years he hasnt written anything decent,so istanbul is crap,come back to cambden is crap,forgive someone is crap,blue dreamers eyes is crap,mountjoy is crap,i have forgiven jesus is crap,life is a pigsty is crap,you must be very easy to buy for on christmas eve.
"Come Back to Camden" and "I Have Forgiven Jesus" are more than 15 years old, scary as it is to admit that.
 
"Come Back to Camden" and "I Have Forgiven Jesus" are more than 15 years old, scary as it is to admit that.
only just,we are just into 2021,so you are saying quarry doesnt count but ringleader and beyond does.it was a stupid phrase in the first place.
 
only just,we are just into 2021,so you are saying quarry doesnt count but ringleader and beyond does.it was a stupid phrase in the first place.
It’s not a stupid phrase, its exactly what I meant. I think the lyrics on Quarry are still strong. Ringleader is where things seriously start to tank.
 
please people let’s not fight...


I still maintain that Morrissey has never written a good or bad lyric in his life, they’re all great! they’re all there for the listener to choose from according to their needs, and needs are always changing.
 
It’s not a stupid phrase, its exactly what I meant. I think the lyrics on Quarry are still strong. Ringleader is where things seriously start to tank.
if i didnt like anything a singer did for 15 years i certainly wouldnt be anywhere near one of his fansites,do you just come here for the company.
 
Am I wrong or too often throughout his career the lyrics are the weaker side of his songs?
Don't get me wrong, I love Morrissey, but I think his lyrics are a bit overrated.
Often he's great but too often he's lazy, his words are not enough, repetitive or plain silly, and that ruins many songs in my opinion.
I don't like it when he repeats and repeats and repeats: Love is on its way out. Okay, I agree and then? The lions... yes you've already said that!
Another aspect I don't like is when it is not clear what he's talking about: It's not your birthday anymore... what is it?
What is your opinion?


who smuggled :handpointright::guardsman::handpointleft: in here FFS???
having the Ms and JR trolling here we now have the original dramatic twat himself.🤬
:blushing:
there goes the neighborhood, wigs and tats all around.:blushing:
 
if i didnt like anything a singer did for 15 years i certainly wouldnt be anywhere near one of his fansites,do you just come here for the company.

:straightface:

DID I ASK?????? DID I???????:swear
Do you even know who I am??? IM A TOTALLY UNKNOWN
PUNK ROCK LEGEND!!!!:bow:
gay dudes at the punk rock serbian 'rock concerts' (-:laughing:-) would swoon
at my feet when I played the stupid punk rock song.:censored:


NOW THAT I HAVE INFORMED YOU OF MY LEGENDARY PUNK ROCK STATUS:yum:
NOW THAT YOU KNOW I AM THE GREAT BGVELCRO
RESERVE YOUR OPINON UNTIL I ASK OR HAVE SURFACE
ASK ON MY BEHALF!!!:rage:
ZIP THE MOUTH UNTIL THEN.:swear
 
:straightface:

DID I ASK?????? DID I???????:swear
Do you even know who I am??? IM A TOTALLY UNKNOWN
PUNK ROCK LEGEND!!!!:bow:
gay dudes at the punk rock serbian 'rock concerts' (-:laughing:-) would swoon
at my feet when I played the stupid punk rock song.:censored:


NOW THAT I HAVE INFORMED YOU OF MY LEGENDARY PUNK ROCK STATUS:yum:
NOW THAT YOU KNOW I AM THE GREAT BGVELCRO
RESERVE YOUR OPINON UNTIL I ASK OR HAVE SURFACE
ASK ON MY BEHALF!!!:rage:
ZIP THE MOUTH UNTIL THEN.:swear
iceberg dead ahead sir.
 
Another aspect I don't like is when it is not clear what he's talking about: It's not your birthday anymore... what is it?
What is your opinion?
I actually really like the lyrics to 'Birthday', because it's not entirely clear, and there is room for all sorts of interpretation. Clearly there's something odd, sexual, and borderline rapey going on in the song, but because it's not clearly spelled out it remains quite intriguing whenever I listen to it.

I find that much more interesting than, for example, something quite stark and obvious like 'The Bullfighter Dies'. Yes, it's an amusing sentiment, but there's zero depth there, just Moz choosing various random rhymes for Spanish cities, so it's difficult to engage with on anything other than a very basic surface level.
 
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