Shakespeare's Sister

The Smiths

Young bones groan, and the rocks below say
"Throw your skinny body down, son"

But I'm going to meet the one I love
So please don't stand in my way
Because I'm going to meet the one I love
No, mama, let me go

Young bones groan and the rocks below say
"Throw your white body down"

But I'm going to meet the one I love
At last, at last, at last!
I'm going to meet the one I love
La-de-da, la-de-da
No, mama, let me go
No, no, no, no, no, no

I thought that if you had an acoustic guitar
Then it meant that you were
A protest singer
Oh, I can smile about it now
But at the time it was terrible
No, mama, let me go
No, no, no, no, no, no


Lyrics submitted by weezerific:cutlery

Shakespeare's Sister Lyrics as written by Johnny Marr Steven Morrissey

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.

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Shakespeare's Sister song meanings
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19 Comments

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  • +6
    General CommentIn The Glass Menagerie, Shakespeare's sister is Laura, an invalid girl removed from any possibility of attempting a normal life, as her Mother (Amanda) has trapped her into an artificial world. One of the climaxes of the play is when Laura finally tries to go out on a date with a "Gentleman Caller" and she is faced with the reality that she can't function in the real world (partially because of her mother's psychological grip). In this song, the singer (and metaphorically Laura from Glass Menagerie) is dancing a delicate balance act of the contemplation of suicide (and/or the possibility of to live in a fake GLASS world, which is basically suicide or he could simply be referencing loneliness) with a giddy mantra that "I'm going to meet the one I love." The song can be seen as a comment on the extreme manic-depressive way in which we toggle between hope and despair. The "acoustic guitar meant that you were a protest singer" line is like saying "just because you have a lover that means you are normal" -- he saying to himself (or Laura) -- go ahead you can try all you want, you will still be a loner teetering on the edge of sanity and desolation.
    davidbeauyon September 19, 2005   Link
  • +2
    General CommentInspired by a Virginia Woolfe essay i think
    djlokion October 19, 2004   Link
  • +1
    General Comment"With 'Shakespeare's Sister' I tried to capture the voice of the downtrodden. In the history of literature, Shakespeare, of course, never had a sister, and in almost every aspect of art there's no female voice whatsoever... The song was really about shrugging off the shackles of depression and shedding the skins of one's parents and getting out and living and doing what one wants to do."
    -Morrissey
    marquiceriseon January 13, 2006   Link
  • +1
    General Comment"....the title was an extremely clever lateral reference to Virginia Woolf's 1928 feminist thesis "A Room of One's Own", in wich she argues that if Shakespeare had had a sister who was every bit his creative equal, her sex would have denied her the privilege of his education. As a woman, presupposes Woolf, she would also never have been allowed to enter the theatre, but instead would have ended up abused, exploited and ridiculed for sharing her brother's ambition. To than end, said Woolf, Shakespeare's sister would have been driven to end her misery by committing suicide."
    ....Simon Goddard, The Smiths: Songs that saved your life.
    MrShanklyon March 05, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General CommentMy gut feeling is that the protagonist is feeling agony over a dead lover, but the last 7 lines I can't make out. Any thoughts?
    muadDib76on December 05, 2004   Link
  • 0
    General CommentBut why the title? I can't see what its connection with the song is.
    MCDon January 17, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General CommentWell, I believe the title would be a reference to the Tenessee Williams play 'The Glass Menagerie'.
    This also makes sense of 'No, Mamma, let me go.'
    TerminalDescenton February 18, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General CommentIn fact, Shakespeare never had a sister, just to clear that up.
    marquiceriseon December 28, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment"Shakespeare's Sister"

    -An essay by Virginia Woolf, also a character in Tennessee William's "Glass Menagerie"


    "...our bones groaned like old trees..."
    "rocks below could promise certain death."
    -Both From Elizabeth Smart's "By Grand Central Station I Sat Down And Wept".
    marquiceriseon December 28, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General CommentWell the most obvious and simple interpretation is that it's about a troubled, suicidal teenager trying to escape overbearing parents (or specifically, mother), find love and start living their life. Sounds very autobiographical. The title, though, is interesting. I like the explanation about Laura from The Glass Menagerie. As for Virginia Woolf's essay, it is a feminist essay, and it deals with the question - if Shakespeare had a sister, could she become a great writer like he did? In other words, it is about the fact that there haven't been that many female writers as male ones, and the reason being that society doesn't (and especially didn't in the past) favour women dedicating themselves to literature, arts etc.
    nightanddayon December 29, 2005   Link

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