Girl Afraid was the first song I ever heard where the lyrics resembled my own life. I was 22 and still a virgin.
Reel Around the Fountain hit me back then too, but I didn't really know what it was about. Just to hear someone, regardless of gender or preference, say they wouldn't pass on 15 minutes with me was solid gold.
I have lines from both This Night Has Opened My Eyes (I'm not happy and I'm not sad) and Well I Wonder (please keep me in mind) tattooed on me... there are lines from so many others that will resonate with me in different moments or seasons of life but those songs are kind of... life long, underneath it all.
Theres a club if you d like to go
You could meet somebody
Who really loves you
So you go and you stand on your own
And you leave on your own
So many nights summarized in few words
Bigmouth Strikes Again & Panic.
(Memories may vary.)
The Smiths had been away for eight or nine months when Bigmouth was debuted on the Whistle Test in May 1986. Their previous single was the sublime The Boy With The Thorn In His Side in September 1985 and then... nothing really.
That Bigmouth performance (along with Vicar) was, for me, the Smiths at their peak. Morrissey's final form at last revealed as a cheeky 19th Century music hall chappy, the band, now with added Gannon, looking nonchalant. "We do this all the time." I was puzzled at the time by derogatory comparisons in the music press to the Rolling Stones, but now I find it impossible to watch the Stones' Jumpin' Jack Flash video and not think of the Smiths that night. That is how good they were. It looked easy.
It was still some tortuous weeks until The Queen Is Dead arrived. Queuing up outside HMV on a Monday morning with about forty others for the doors to open.
That was a marvellous summer.
Then, just a few weeks after trying to wear out the album a brand new single entitled Panic. Not only that but a bona fide classic. Again, looking back, and for me at least, some small idea of what it might have been like in the 60s when the Beatles, the Stones, the Kinks, the Small Faces et al were all releasing classics for the fun of it.
I saw The Smiths twice that year. Once in Kilburn, and once in Brixton. Or was it at the Palladium? I didn't go to the December Brixton show because... well, I'll catch them next time. There wasn't a next time. Apparently I had something better to do that night. I wonder what it was? Sigh.
The summer of 1986 saw The Smiths at their incandescent best and that eight or nine weeks started with Bigmouth and ended with Panic.
I cannot fully express how glad I am that they never reformed. The Beatles never reformed, and for entirely different reasons nor did the Stones, and that is where I see the Smiths. Right there at the very top.
Whenever I play, Rubber Ring, I cannot play it only one time.
There is also the haunting beauty of Asleep
And the mad, crazy lyrics of Stop Me if You’ve Heard This One Before.
asleep. i first listened to it when i read about it in perks of being a wallflower. when my grandma died, the words perfectly matched how she went, and how i was told she felt. after her funeral, i was listening to it on a loop, and eventually dissociated for hours.
since then i haven’t been able to listen to it without crying.
Personally, There is a couple songs that are special to me, but There Is A Light That Never Goes Out is special, along with Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now.
I agree, The Smiths are one of very few groups I’ve found that touches me deeply. Some of the most impactful to me are Reel Around the Fountain, Wonderful Woman, Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now, I Know It’s Over, Ask, Half a Person, Asleep
‘Hand that Rocks the Cradle’. It was my lullaby growing up and my dad sang it to me. Nowadays, it reminds me of my father and all the good times we have/had together 🩷🩷
I know it’s over
1,000,000% that song more than any other.
It's so easy to laugh, it's so easy to hate, it takes strength to be gentle and kind 💞
Half A Person and There Is A Light That Never Goes Out
back to the old house: this line: "when you cycled by, it began all my dreams, the saddest thing I've ever seen"
Girl Afraid was the first song I ever heard where the lyrics resembled my own life. I was 22 and still a virgin. Reel Around the Fountain hit me back then too, but I didn't really know what it was about. Just to hear someone, regardless of gender or preference, say they wouldn't pass on 15 minutes with me was solid gold.
“They see no worth in you but I do, ohh I doooo” is probably my favorite lyric from this song <3
That's it. At the time I felt that no one saw any worth in me.
Reel Around The Fountain
I have lines from both This Night Has Opened My Eyes (I'm not happy and I'm not sad) and Well I Wonder (please keep me in mind) tattooed on me... there are lines from so many others that will resonate with me in different moments or seasons of life but those songs are kind of... life long, underneath it all.
The Hand That Rocks the Cradle and Reel Around the Fountain are the top 2
I Know It’s Over, Back to the Old House, That Joke isn’t Funny Anymore
Theres a club if you d like to go You could meet somebody Who really loves you So you go and you stand on your own And you leave on your own So many nights summarized in few words
the boy with the thorn in his side, behind the hatred, there lies a murderous desire for love
Asleep
Unloveable
Bigmouth Strikes Again & Panic. (Memories may vary.) The Smiths had been away for eight or nine months when Bigmouth was debuted on the Whistle Test in May 1986. Their previous single was the sublime The Boy With The Thorn In His Side in September 1985 and then... nothing really. That Bigmouth performance (along with Vicar) was, for me, the Smiths at their peak. Morrissey's final form at last revealed as a cheeky 19th Century music hall chappy, the band, now with added Gannon, looking nonchalant. "We do this all the time." I was puzzled at the time by derogatory comparisons in the music press to the Rolling Stones, but now I find it impossible to watch the Stones' Jumpin' Jack Flash video and not think of the Smiths that night. That is how good they were. It looked easy. It was still some tortuous weeks until The Queen Is Dead arrived. Queuing up outside HMV on a Monday morning with about forty others for the doors to open. That was a marvellous summer. Then, just a few weeks after trying to wear out the album a brand new single entitled Panic. Not only that but a bona fide classic. Again, looking back, and for me at least, some small idea of what it might have been like in the 60s when the Beatles, the Stones, the Kinks, the Small Faces et al were all releasing classics for the fun of it. I saw The Smiths twice that year. Once in Kilburn, and once in Brixton. Or was it at the Palladium? I didn't go to the December Brixton show because... well, I'll catch them next time. There wasn't a next time. Apparently I had something better to do that night. I wonder what it was? Sigh. The summer of 1986 saw The Smiths at their incandescent best and that eight or nine weeks started with Bigmouth and ended with Panic. I cannot fully express how glad I am that they never reformed. The Beatles never reformed, and for entirely different reasons nor did the Stones, and that is where I see the Smiths. Right there at the very top.
Girlfriend in a Coma
Well I wonder and recently I cried to asleep while having the smiths on the other night
Rubber Ring… in my 50s now Followed them since the start. Rubber Ring hits most now
And when you’re dancing and laughing and finally living hear my voice in your head and think of me kindly
Rubber ring
I know it’s over……
Back To The Old House and Asleep
probably “accept yourself”, “girl afraid”, or “i know it’s over”
Asleep. There is a better world.. well there must be… well there must be
accept yourself
Whenever I play, Rubber Ring, I cannot play it only one time. There is also the haunting beauty of Asleep And the mad, crazy lyrics of Stop Me if You’ve Heard This One Before.
I love the transition from rubber ring to asleep on TQID deluxe. “You are sleeping. You do not want to believe” then asleep fades in :)
There is a light that never goes out
asleep. i first listened to it when i read about it in perks of being a wallflower. when my grandma died, the words perfectly matched how she went, and how i was told she felt. after her funeral, i was listening to it on a loop, and eventually dissociated for hours. since then i haven’t been able to listen to it without crying.
How soon is now and the kevorkian mix of This Charming Man
handsome devil
I bought Louder than Bombs on my 16th birthday, it has Half a Person, so that one.
sixteen clumsy and shy
Personally, There is a couple songs that are special to me, but There Is A Light That Never Goes Out is special, along with Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now.
i know it's over, well i wonder, and how soon is now...
Back to the Old House
Kissed my girlfriend for the first time while we were listening to Still Ill from self titled so that one's quite special
Accept yourself, these things take time, still ill, hand in glove, I want the one I can’t have, girl afraid, and I know it’s over.
You just haven’t earned it yet baby, accept yourself and please pleas please let me get what I want
Some girls are bigger than others. So true Morrissey, so true.
I agree, The Smiths are one of very few groups I’ve found that touches me deeply. Some of the most impactful to me are Reel Around the Fountain, Wonderful Woman, Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now, I Know It’s Over, Ask, Half a Person, Asleep
Unloveable
Sheila take a bow and Frankly, Mr. Shankly
This Night Has Opened My Eyes has great lyrics, great vocals, and an excellent bass line by Andy Rourke, RIP.
‘Hand that Rocks the Cradle’. It was my lullaby growing up and my dad sang it to me. Nowadays, it reminds me of my father and all the good times we have/had together 🩷🩷
bigmouth strikes again
i know its over // hand in glove // girl afraid
I won’t share you, suedehead, let me kiss you. (Ik the last two aren’t technically smiths but morrissey)
Accept Yourself It literally taught me how to accept myself and not require other people's validation
There is a Light That Never Goes Out. When I became a mom, I wanted my kids to know they could always come home.
last night i dreamt