Morrissey A-Z: "When Last I Spoke to Carol"

I listened to this song while looking at this painting. "To the rescue, nobody ever comes!"
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I really like this one. I like his voice and the music, lots of energy. The words are kind of strange and I don't quite get it but that's okay. It's pretty dramatic with the drums and sort of mariachi vibe of the horns and guitars and then the whistling "lead," and all leading into the
"Black earth upon the casket fell
She had faded to
Something I always knew
To the rescue
Nobody ever comes"

I don't really have to know what it all means, it's like watching a telenovela when your Spanish isn't great but you get the feeling. I think this is another one that I'd really only expect Morrissey to come up with. 8/10
 
When I last spoke to Morrissey, he told me this was his masterpiece. I had to disagree in my mind, but kept it to myself. The beginning of the Latin phase, that culminated in his best album WPINOYB and more I will not say.
 
Love this song - a superb mariachi stomp, giving the album some tonal variety and also allowing for some (melancholy) fun to be had. The flamenco guitars are irresistible (and obviously they were to Moz - World Peace and LIHS are stuffed with Middle Eastern and Spanish influence), and mixed with the strident beat, this makes another great mosh pit song.
The lyrics are pretty strange - detailing a Moz in despair, asking his old friend Carol for advice until she dies and he admits that “nobody ever comes”.
The song is capped off by its best moment - a feverish, rumba crescendo that races towards its conclusion as fast as any of the “rockier” (for want of a better word) tracks here. Exhilarating stuff.
8/10
 
Clearly my favourite album track on Refusal. Its placement on the album in between the three singles whilst still standing out is telling. Great fun once again.
He has so many fun songs this thread is reminding me ;)

8,9
 
this was great live and was played a lot.voice is great on this and has so many good lines.three verses with no chorus and a musical race towards the end which i like,not one i ask alexa to play a lot but when i hear it i realise just how good it actually is.
9 goodbyes/10 carols.
 
Manages to combine raw energy with melancholy. That’s a mean feat. Probably my favorite song off of YoR. It’s really superb. That said, I could do without the snide of “I can’t pretend I feel love for you.”
 
One of my all time favourite tracks from a superb album. A fast, galloping track with Spanish/Mexican 'essence', which is over far too quickly for me. Fantastic drumming, booming bass, great energy & some fun in the lyrics, with, of course, that wonderful voice.
Favourite lines:
"She said: "I've hammered a smile
Across this pasty face of mine
Since the day I was born in 1975.""


Fantastico!
 
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I quote this to my friend called Carol at least once a week. She often rolls her eyes. It’s one of those tracks from YOR that’s place is finely cemented in 2009, and doesn’t go beyond. Good song.
 
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I always considered it one of the better moments on YOR. It’s bouncy and funny and it keeps the energy flowing thanks to Matt’s military drum beats. As pointed out by Thewlis, well positioned in the middle of the album after AYNIM.
 
A cracking song and the drum arrangement is one of my favourites from any solo song.

The music is full of energy, the lyrics are mature and one of the highlights of Years of Refusal.

In the poll on the Hoffman board it ranked 86th from 264 solo songs.
 
Yes, it's bouncy and upbeat, but I'm surprised people find this "fun" or "funny". To me it's clearly a song about suicide and I've always found it deeply tragic. But it's definitely a quality track and a reminder how good Refusal is when it's good.
 
What a kick arse song this is and I was lucky enough to see it played live at the Manchester MEN.

This song is the stand out song along with skull, all you need, and people.
The rest of the album is filled with very average songs . I’ll stick black cloud in as it’s the weekend 😁

How the hell did this not make it as a single .... Oh I recall, the Ubiquitous PARIS😱🤮😠
That song has a lot to answer for.

Would love to see this song live again
And chain 4king gang but back behind bars for a full life sentence...

Happy Friday ... Suckers 🥂🥂🥂
 
I really like this one. I like his voice and the music, lots of energy. The words are kind of strange and I don't quite get it but that's okay. It's pretty dramatic with the drums and sort of mariachi vibe of the horns and guitars and then the whistling "lead," and all leading into the
"Black earth upon the casket fell
She had faded to
Something I always knew
To the rescue
Nobody ever comes"

I don't really have to know what it all means, it's like watching a telenovela when your Spanish isn't great but you get the feeling. I think this is another one that I'd really only expect Morrissey to come up with. 8/10
you dont get it? it's very simple!

she killed herself. she had reached out to him, that is, the singer of the song, but he couldnt help her, because the truth is that even in your darkest hour a person, especially if that person is morrissey, cant pretend to be more than they are. when he says "to the rescue nobody ever comes" he's including himself in that, he never comes to anybody's rescue. and he's accepting of that, of the inadequacy of others to help a person, if it means having to distort the truth.

shit, it's not dostoevsky, darling.
 
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you dont get it? it's very simple!

she killed herself. she had reached out to him, that is, the singer of the song, but he couldnt help her, because the truth is that even in your darkest hour a person, especially if that person is morrissey, cant pretend to be more than they are. when he says "to the rescue nobody ever comes" he's including himself in that, he never comes to anybody's rescue. and he's accepting of that, of the inadequacy of others to help a person, if it means having to distort the truth.

shit, it's not dostoevsky, darling.

That was more or less my interpretation when first hearing the lyrics, but English is not my first language, so I became a bit unsure after reading some of the earlier comments. To me, Carol has clearly been battling depression for a long time and Morrissey, suffering from the same affliction, is unable to help her and too sincere to bring himself to say those empty phrases that people say to "cheer" someone up.

The lyrics are pretty dark, but the song is catchy and energetic and I hope that he will sing it live again in the future.
 
you dont get it? it's very simple!

she killed herself. she had reached out to him, that is, the singer of the song, but he couldnt help her, because the truth is that even in your darkest hour a person, especially if that person is morrissey, cant pretend to be more than they are. when he says "to the rescue nobody ever comes" he's including himself in that, he never comes to anybody's rescue. and he's accepting of that, of the inadequacy of others to help a person, if it means having to distort the truth.

shit, it's not dostoevsky, darling.
So much for nuance.
 
The Toy Selectah remix should probably be included as it was released through official channels (albeit initially rather obscurely - Myspace & Universal Sweden).




Further,
This:




Is meant to be the 'Tijuana' (aka Nortec Collective) version and was asserted to be remixed with 'official' sanction.

Regards,
FWD.
 
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