As merry as the days were long
I was right and you were wrong
Back at the old grey school
I would win and you would lose
But you've got everything now
You've got everything now
And what a terrible mess I've made of my life
Oh, what a mess I've made of my life
No, I've never had a job
Because I've never wanted one
I've seen you smile
But I've never really heard you laugh
So who is rich and who is poor?
I cannot say...oh
You are your mother's only son
And you're a desperate one
Oh...
But I don't want a lover
I just want to be seen...oh...in the back of your car
A friendship sadly lost?
Well this is true...and yet, it's false
Oh...
But did I ever tell you, by the way?
I never did like your face
But you've got everything now
You've got everything now
And what a terrible mess I've made of my life
Oh, what a mess I've made of my life
No, I've never had a job
Because I'm too shy
I've seen you smile
But I've never really heard you laugh
So who is rich and who is poor ?
I cannot say...oh
Oh...
You are your mother's only son
And you're a desperate one
Oh...
But I don't want a lover
I just want to be tied... oh...to the back of your car
To the back of your car
To the back of your car
To the back of your car
To the back of your car
To the back of your car
Oh...
I was right and you were wrong
Back at the old grey school
I would win and you would lose
But you've got everything now
You've got everything now
And what a terrible mess I've made of my life
Oh, what a mess I've made of my life
No, I've never had a job
Because I've never wanted one
I've seen you smile
But I've never really heard you laugh
So who is rich and who is poor?
I cannot say...oh
You are your mother's only son
And you're a desperate one
Oh...
But I don't want a lover
I just want to be seen...oh...in the back of your car
A friendship sadly lost?
Well this is true...and yet, it's false
Oh...
But did I ever tell you, by the way?
I never did like your face
But you've got everything now
You've got everything now
And what a terrible mess I've made of my life
Oh, what a mess I've made of my life
No, I've never had a job
Because I'm too shy
I've seen you smile
But I've never really heard you laugh
So who is rich and who is poor ?
I cannot say...oh
Oh...
You are your mother's only son
And you're a desperate one
Oh...
But I don't want a lover
I just want to be tied... oh...to the back of your car
To the back of your car
To the back of your car
To the back of your car
To the back of your car
To the back of your car
Oh...
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Since leaving school however, I've noticed that the people I thought of as morons and losers seem to be earning money, buying cars and forming relationships while my life is going nowhere fast. It's got to the stage where I'm willing to ride around in a car with this guy I never liked just so people think I have some kind of social life!
1) At school Moz felt superior (most likely intellectually) to this person.
2) Now however, this person has it all (money? love? a career?) and Moz has nothing to show for all of his perceived superiority.
3) "No, I've never had a job because I've never wanted one". This is the only clue in the song as to what the ambiguous "everything" he refers to in the title actually is. The other person has a job, something Moz has never craved but now makes this other person somehow now superior to him.
4) Moz questions how real this person's supposed success is - "I've seen you smile but I've never really heard you laugh so who is rich and who is poor? I cannot say".
5) Moz entertains the idea of entering (maybe re-entering) into a relationship with this person before concluding "I don't want a lover, I just want to be seen... in the back of your car". He explains that they were never really friends and he never really liked the other person's face (looks), but such is his envy that he is willing to do almost anything, the other person could even tie them to the back of their car, just as long as Moz could bask in some of their success for a while.
If this wasn't written prior to the 1st album and all of the Smith's subsequent success, I would swear it was in the reverse perspective i.e. Morrisey is the one who has everything now and this is what he imagines his old friends from school think of him. Also he would be wary of them trying to get close to him simply because of his fame and success. That would also be a worthy interpretation if we didn't already know this was written before The Smiths' fame and success.
For that reason, this song has to be about Morrisey's disillusionment with post-school existence, his refusal to get a job and ultimately his envy of other people's success. It's almost a prelude to "We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful".
-A Taste Of Honey, by Shelagh Delaney
Originally from Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing".
I think it gets changed in the last verse to show the characher does not care any more, maybe not even for thier life, and wants to be dragged by the car. Its quite shocking but not surprising coming from Mozza! Never one to shy away from melancholy or macabre lyrical content
Suddenly they have money, a girl, a life and you feel you've gone nowhere. But you're not convinced it's the right thing but you crave a bit of what they have.
What happened at school you were better and you've gone nowhere?!! All that potential...
Presentation of characters:
"As merry as the days were long
I am right and you were long
back at the old grey school
I would win and you would lose
But you've got everything now
you've got everything now
and what a terrible mess I've made of my life
oh what a mess I've made of my life"
Person 1: The well-to-do character that is being sung to.
Person 2: The protagoinst, a person that "hasn't done too good in life", but still feels superior to this other person.
"No, I've never had a job
because I've never wanted one
I've seen you smile
but I've never really heard you laugh
so who is rich and who is poor?
I cannot say..."
Here, the accuser questions whether the other person really has succeeded in life, or maybe still is the loser.
"You are your Mother's only son
and you're a desperate one
but I don't want a lover
I just want to be seen
in the back of your car"
The "in the back of your car" lines and the others, to me, suggest that this other person could be a famous person, i.e. a movie star, and that the protagonist exploits him. This famous person is probably looking for love, but the main character just wants to blackmail him or get attention from the media; in order to ruin the other's life or just for the attention.
"A friendship sadly lost?
well, this is true
and yet, it's false
but did I ever tell you, by the way
I never did like your face"
Speaks for itself. Their "friendship" really never did mean anything.
I can't really work out why the last line, "I just want to be tied / To the back of your car" is changed from "I just want to be seen / In the back of your car", but it could mean nothing. I don't know.