1
I decree today that life is simply taking and not giving
England is mine, it owes me a living
But ask me why, and I'll spit in your eye
Oh, ask me why, and I'll spit in your eye
But we cannot cling to the old dreams anymore
No, we cannot cling to those dreams
Does the body rule the mind
Or does the mind rule the body?
I dunno
Under the iron bridge we kissed
And although I ended up with sore lips
It just wasn't like the old days anymore
No, it wasn't like those days, am I still ill?
Oh
Am I still ill?
Oh
Does the body rule the mind
Or does the mind rule the body?
I dunno
Ask me why, and I'll die
Oh, ask me why, and I'll die
And if you must, go to work, tomorrow
Well, if I were you I wouldn't bother
For there are brighter sides to life
And I should know, because I've seen them, but not very often
Under the iron bridge we kissed
And although I ended up with sore lips
It just wasn't like the old days anymore
No, it wasn't like those days, am I still ill?
Oh
Am I still ill?
Oh
England is mine, it owes me a living
But ask me why, and I'll spit in your eye
Oh, ask me why, and I'll spit in your eye
But we cannot cling to the old dreams anymore
No, we cannot cling to those dreams
Does the body rule the mind
Or does the mind rule the body?
I dunno
Under the iron bridge we kissed
And although I ended up with sore lips
It just wasn't like the old days anymore
No, it wasn't like those days, am I still ill?
Oh
Am I still ill?
Oh
Does the body rule the mind
Or does the mind rule the body?
I dunno
Ask me why, and I'll die
Oh, ask me why, and I'll die
And if you must, go to work, tomorrow
Well, if I were you I wouldn't bother
For there are brighter sides to life
And I should know, because I've seen them, but not very often
Under the iron bridge we kissed
And although I ended up with sore lips
It just wasn't like the old days anymore
No, it wasn't like those days, am I still ill?
Oh
Am I still ill?
Oh
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This song is about disenfranchisement. It begins with a fairly literal satirical criticism of (then) modern-day English society ("i decree...it owes me a living"): Unemployment; gentrification; post-war rebuilding; and a foolish sense of economic entitlement related to a by-gone era of English supremacy on the world stage.
He then questions what it all means. I agree with many that "does the body rule the mind or does the mind rule the body" is an allusion to how English society got this way: is soul-less 1980s England the product of the people, or is it the product of the rulers (I dunno)? But there is an intended second meaning to this as well: is it right for his mind to force his body to engage with another physically ("sore lips") or should he abstain in deference to what his body is telling him to do.
The iron bridge is a nostalgic reference - a rusted-out symbol of a better, perhaps more meaningful time. They awkwardly kiss there in a desperate attempt to recreate what once was (as if any other place would render the kiss utterly pointless).
Just as he cannot find a place in modern-day England, he cannot find love. Disenfranchised across all dimensions of life from the political to the personal.
@pastrob You might be right, in his autobiography Morrissey said 'Still Ill, this is for the kids of the Manchester slums.'