Half a Person

The Smiths

Call me morbid, call me pale
I've spent six years on your trail
Six long years on your trail

Call me morbid, call me pale
I've spent six years on your trail
Six full years of my life on your trail

And if you have five seconds to spare
Then I'll tell you the story of my life
Sixteen, clumsy and shy
I went to London and I
I booked myself in at the why W.C.A.
I said I like it here, can I stay?
I like it here, can I stay?
Do you have a vacancy for a back-scrubber?

She was left behind, and sour
And she wrote to me equally dour
She said in the days when you were hopelessly poor
I just liked you more

And if you have five seconds to spare
Then I'll tell you the story of my life
Sixteen, clumsy and shy
I went to London and I
I booked myself in at the why W.C.A.
I said I like it here, can I stay?
I like it here, can I stay?
And do you have a vacancy for a back-scrubber?

Call me morbid, call me pale
I've spent too long on your trail
Far too long chasing your tail, oh

And if you have five seconds to spare
Then I'll tell you the story of my life
Sixteen, clumsy and shy
That's the story of my life
Sixteen, clumsy and shy
The story of my life
That's the story of my life
That's the story of my life
That's the story of my life
The story of my life

That's the story of my life
That's the story of my life
That's the story of my life
That's the story of my life
That's the story of my life


Lyrics submitted by weezerific:cutlery, edited by Mellow_Harsher, cyrilsneer

Half A Person Lyrics as written by Johnny Marr Steven Morrissey

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

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Half a Person song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

43 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +12
    General CommentOne of the most fantastic verses in this song:

    I've spent six years on your trail
    Six full years of my life on your trail
    And if you have five seconds to spare
    Then I'll tell you the story of my life:

    He spends 6 full years obsessed with a person and asks back only 5 seconds from her! This is fantastic! This is Morrissey!!!!
    Acesgirlon March 07, 2006   Link
  • +7
    General CommentI concur with most of the above suggestions. HALF A PERSON is one of Morrissey's finest moments -- a Smithian treasure tucked away on a B-Side aimed at unfurling a circular relationship between himself the pop star and the young boy who like us is on a journey of discovery from small town to the big city, from a position of despair and strangeness to one of metaphorical prostitution to become what we want, SOMEBODY. And in our glory we are told that we are missed for our adolescent endearing troubles selves and we yearn again for those make belive days and the full circle continues. Morrissey lived this as do many a clumsy, shy teenager with a dream. Will you fall into the circle? I am and I hope only that I am soon promoted from back scrubber.
    davidbeauyon September 11, 2005   Link
  • +3
    General Commentthis is my FAVORITE smiths song by far...
    clumsy and shyon April 16, 2002   Link
  • +3
    General CommentI think it's him realising that no matter how famous and rich he is going to get it's not actually going to change his life. He'll always be 16, clumsy and shy.

    In fact, his success has managed to alienate him from people who might have liked him in the past. It's increased his isolation when he thought it would make his life better.
    Aurora2on October 26, 2004   Link
  • +3
    General CommentOne of the most fantastic verses in this song:

    I've spent six years on your trail
    Six full years of my life on your trail
    And if you have five seconds to spare
    Then I'll tell you the story of my life:

    He spends 6 full years obsessed with a person and asks back only 5 seconds from her! This is fantastic! This is Morrissey!!!!
    Acesgirlon March 07, 2006   Link
  • +3
    General Commenti especially like the repetition of certain phrases within the lyrics - e.g. "six long years on your trail." The repetition gives the phrase a feeling of almost an indictment of the other person.
    DPR4444on June 15, 2007   Link
  • +2
    General CommentI can relate completely to the lyric, "I've spent six years on your trail". I recently got in contact with a guy I sort of lost touch with a few years ago...and I realize that all these years I've sort of held him up to a perfect standard. And now, years later, I realize that I've just been looking for him when he was there all along. I spent years thinking about him, and now that I'm talking to him again, it's like I did spend six long years of my life on his trail, trying to find him again.

    It's about dreaming of someone, searching for that person you think is going to complete you.

    And that is my strangely vague and personal message for songmeanings today that did not contribute anything to the post discussion haha. Everyone has to do one eventually!
    AlamoBasementon September 16, 2008   Link
  • +2
    My OpinionGoodness, Morrissey knows me. The Smiths know me. From Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me, to I Know It's Over, it feels like everything just gets me. The lyrics, the way the music goes, everything is just amazing. Everything is painful, but so beautifully, a love so desired, so sought after, but it's not equal. It's tragic, and impossible to handle. When I feel like I'm going to breakdown, listening to the Smiths helps me realize how much I'm not alone.
    PoodleTootson February 05, 2010   Link
  • +2
    Memorythis song just made me cry. I dated a girl when i was 15, we were perfect for each other, we met we had the same shirt on, her birthday is 360 days away from mine. Girl seduced me, got me to break up with her, was okay at first, then she talked to me again, fell again for her, but it was awkward. She came over, then there was that fight, she was crying and sobbing, and i got into a fight with my family, over her, she was the sweetest girl i ever met. Every year we talked, when i would see her, it was more awkward one time, i saw her and broke down in front of her, and all of her friends, when i met her i was also crying. Hung out again, like once per year, haha, then we go to college, low and behold she is there again, fall for her again, feelings are so tumultuous, a girl has a crush on me, but i am still focused on her, i date this new girl, but i dated her to get her to focus on me i know it sounds weird but it didnt work. We hung again, she worked at the pvc pharmacy, ironically the one that is a BLOCK away from my house now. We got stoned together, hung out again, then after that, in 2011 i had a dream of her, 2 weeks later she messages me on aim. im like what the flipping fuck, recently, i decided i wanna see korn live i never seen korn once, so i get tickets for this show. right after i get the tickets, i went to my buddies page who is playing a show the same fucking day. And HER NAME is at the top, i never seen that name besides once before. she has a unique name. now i shuffled the ipod song number 5 is this 2 songs later is KoRn, and now my sister won tickets for the concert, and it will be the first time me going with my sis to a concert, AND HER LAST NAME IS MORRISSEY, PLEASE GOD JUST GIVE ME HER and let us be soul mates.
    grungegrungeon February 08, 2012   Link
  • +1
    General Commenti love this song. i tried looking for some hidden meaning but all i could come up with was that it's this guy who chased this girl and that they were both poor but when he came back from the "YWCA" he was better off and he had changed. maybe it has nothing to do with money. but i love this song.
    socialdisease89on September 28, 2004   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

Back to top