| Radiohead – How Do You? Lyrics | 10 years ago |
|
I hadn't thought about this song for years when I had a realization that it's quite possibly about the breakup of the Smiths and particularly about Morrissey's behavior during the band's protracted legal disputes. The key to understanding this interpretation is to recall the John Lennon song "How Do You Sleep", in which John sings bitterly about the split up of the Beatles. In this case, the title "How Do You" is a reference to the Lennon song, which clues us in that it's a diatribe about a bitter band breakup. The song was released in 1993, before the final settlement of the Smiths case in 1996. First, the lyrical analysis. - The first two lines are straightforward. The line "he wants to be loved" is possibly a reference to the Smiths song "How Soon is Now" which features the lyric "I am human and I need to be loved just like everybody else does." - "He wants you to listen" is a clue that the song is about a musician. "He wants you to weep" is a reference to Morrissey's renowned ability to make audiences cry, especially at shows. - "And he was a stupid baby who turned into a powerful freak." This is relatively straightforward. I'm interpreting "stupid" here as maligning Morrissey's actions rather than his intellect. However, it is interesting to note that the judge in the 1996 court case opined on the intelligence of the Smiths, citing Johnny as probably the most intelligent. - "He lives with his mother, but we show him respect". This could be an attempt to bring in some of the mommy imagery from "How Do You Sleep". But Morrissey also lived with his mother for a prolonged period of time. From a Chicago Tribune article from 2013: """Looking back, it's a wonder Steven Patrick Morrissey's mother didn't throw him out of the house. He had barely finished high school in the crumbling city of Manchester, England, and seemed incapable of holding a job. Instead, he spent years holed up in his bedroom, listening to records and writing tart reviews for music publications. He was dormant and miserable yet certain he was destined for greatness, a combination that would be unbearable for most parents.""" - "He's a dangerous bigot, but we always forget." Wikipedia's Morrissey article has a section on long-standing accusations that Morrissey is a racist. He has made remarks disparaging ethnic populations in the UK, he claimed that Britain is losing its national identity because of immigration, and at at least one concert, he used a photograph of skinheads as a backdrop. NME -- a magazine that once claimed the Smiths were the most important band in the last 50 years, -- wrote that Morrissey has "left himself in a position where accusations that he's toying with far-right/fascist imagery, and even of racism itself, can no longer just be laughed off with a knowing quip" - "He's just like his daddy". I'm not sure exactly about this one. Morrissey's father was a presence at early Smiths shows where he apparently got drunk, got into fights, and tried to pick up girls. I haven't read enough about his father to give this line a very compelling interpretation. This could also be a reference to a character in the book Middlemarch, which is the book from which Morrissey took the line "the son and heir of nothing in particular". - 'cause he cheats on his friends / And he steals and he bullies any way that he can." When the Smiths broke up, Morrissey and Johnny Marr claimed that the bass and drum players of the Smiths were hired musicians and not properly part of the Smiths. As a result they were only owed 10% of performance income instead of 25% and got little or no percentage on the albums. After the breakup, bassist Andy Rourke went on welfare until he was forced by his financial situation to settle out of court. Meanwhile, Morrissey lives in Clark Gable's former Hollywood mansion. The judge wrote in 1996 that Morrissey was "devious, truculent and unreliable where his own interests were at stake." |
|
| The Tallest Man on Earth – The Wild Hunt Lyrics | 12 years ago |
|
I think the song is ultimately about resigning himself to being emotionally available to a girl. I think game05 has all the symbolism correct, but I don't think the song is from a nihilistic point of view. The Wild Hunt isn't after his sole, but his heart (I left my heart to the Wild Hunt...). He's not about to go out and try to fall in love, but he's mentally prepared himself for settling down when it happens, and no will no longer resist it. Until it happens, he'll continue playing around ("I live until the call".) The imagery is mostly straightforward in this interpretation. There's no strong lyrical basis for this interpretation, but talking about death doesn't fit very well with what I know of his other songs, many of which express reservations or worries about dating/love. E.g. Burden of Tomorrow, the Gardener. Some of the lyrics are obviously wrong, and I tried to change them on the wiki. Other than a few grammar issues (e.g. "Lets" should be "let's etc), there's "ancient races stand", "heroin" should be "heroine", "no while I will go under to" should be "in a while I will go under too". |
|
* This information can be up to 15 minutes delayed.