I am surprised by the range of comments on this one, as if we are all listening to a different song!I suppose our differing interpretations of Kick The Bride Down The Aisle highlight Morrissey's honed skill for managing to load a heavy dose of ambiguity into his lyrics.
Given Morrissey's propensity for penning a fair few songs about the Middle East at this stage in his career (something I could, to be honest, largely do without), I always assumed this song was relating to arranged marriages and what we in the West largely consider as outdated gender stereotypes/roles. Lines such as ''It's the best you can do for everyone's sake' and a line (which I assumed to be from the bride's perspective) 'I know so much more than I'm willing to say' seemed to point me in this direction; a poor, bright and capable girl married off to a dull life, while her, husband who is expected to be the sole breadwinner, is now breaking 'his back in pursuit of a living wage.' While the tides of change have washed over most of us, this couple, this society, hasn't changed, they are 'that stretch of the beach that the tide doesn't reach.' Eventually this girl, knowing no better, accepts her station in her life, lazing and grazing for the rest of her days.
I admit that lines such as 'she just wants a slave' weaken the above argument - but I too assumed that this poor girl has been conditioned to think in such a way, through family, custom and tradition; that she was following the herd because she just knew no better and never thought of breaking the chain. 'Look at that cow in the field, It knows more than your bride knows now' I took as a comment relating to how this poor girl, now a mother, has not used her mind in life and has fulfilled all that was expected of her - a few years down the line she is little more than a teat to the next generation of calves...
Perhaps I have overthought this, but this all jumped out to me at first listen, and that seed stuck!