First Of The Gang To Die Lyrics
Until you've seen the stars,
reflect in the resevoirs
Until you've seen the dawn rise,
behind the home for the blind
And you're standing on our street..
with a gun in his hand
and the first to do time
the first of the gang to die. Oh my.
Where Hector was the first of the gang
with a gun in his hand
and the first to do time
the first of the gang to die.
Until you've seen sunlight thrown
over smashed human bones
And you're standing on our street..
with a gun in his hand
and the first to do time
the first of the gang to die. Such a silly boy.
Hector was the first of the gang
with a gun in his hand
and a bullet in his gullet
the first last lad under the sod.
and the not-very-rich and the very poor
and he stole all hearts away
he stole all hearts away
he stole all hearts away
he stole all hearts away
....
This is obviously not an optimistic song.
I think it's about gang violence because of love. This could be a song about LA gangs but the Hector character makes it much more universal. Hector is the first of the Troyans who has to confront the Greek hero Achilles in the Troyan war (Homeros' Ilias). The war started because of a woman, Helena. After Hector was slaughtered, the Greeks massacred all of Troy, which is basically the fault of love & mankinds weakness to love. This story is often looked at as the start of western literature and thus culture. Morrissey makes a comparison with today's gang violence in LA, stating that western culture (heroic stories about fighting for love, forbidden romances which result in murder etc.) has always been full of idiocy. Mankind's weakness for love makes us selfdestructive and we're proud of it , yay!
I think this is a brilliant answer, I hadn't drawn the parallel between both hectors. If this is the case what a great piece of songwriting! Though Morissey is english, specifically from Manchester which had a large gang-and-gun crime problem in the early 90's. Tho it hardly matters I would argue that the comparison drawn is likely much closer to home.
I think this is a brilliant answer, I hadn't drawn the parallel between both hectors. If this is the case what a great piece of songwriting! Though Morissey is english, specifically from Manchester which had a large gang-and-gun crime problem in the early 90's. Tho it hardly matters I would argue that the comparison drawn is likely much closer to home.
Morrissey depicts himself as Hector, a hero who died for love...
Morrissey depicts himself as Hector, a hero who died for love...
“You have never been in love, Until you have seen the stars reflect in the reservoirs
“You have never been in love, Until you have seen the stars reflect in the reservoirs
And you have never been in love, Until you have seen the dawn rise, Behind the home for the blind”
And you have never been in love, Until you have seen the dawn rise, Behind the home for the blind”
The verses in this song establish Morrissey as a person who has experienced love. He reveals that it is difficult to fathom until you’ve lived through its effects. He tells us that we only begin to understand after suffering.
The verses in this song establish Morrissey as a person who has experienced love. He reveals that it is difficult to fathom until you’ve lived through its effects. He tells us that we only begin to understand after suffering.
“We are the pretty, petty thieves, And you're standing on our streets”
“We are the pretty, petty thieves, And you're standing on our streets”
...
With its rhythmic shift, the bridge section builds anticipation. Morrissey is introducing the protagonists...the young (pretty), naïve gang of the title. He further describes them as “petty thieves”. The word petty is full of sarcasm (as well as illiterating effectively with the previous adjective). It suggests the theft is not serious and yet we learn later that it is the theft of hearts (he stole all hearts away) - no laughing matter. This is a good example of Morrissey’s dry wit.
The second line in the bridge is lightly menacing. A warning cry that those who enter “our street” are in for trouble. Morrissey is flagging up the danger of falling for youthful beauty. The danger of falling in love.
“Where Hector was the first of the gang with a gun in his hand, And the first to do time, The first of the gang to die, oh my. Hector was the first of the gang with a gun in his hand, And the first to do time, The first of the gang to die, oh my”
Here in the chorus we meet the hero and hear he is armed with a gun. He is a threat. Having established at the beginning that the song is about love we can deduce that the threat is love. Morrissey is heightening love’s danger by depicting it as a loaded gun. A lethal weapon in young, innocent hands. You are braced for the worst as our young hero heads out into the street.
And the threat is realised. As the first one of the gang to experience love, he is also the first one to suffer it (do time) and eventually succomb to it (die).
“You have never been in love, Until you've seen the sunlight thrown, Over smashed human bone”
In this final verse the message is the same as in first two verses but the image is the bleakest yet. A reservoir (verse 1) is dark, mysterious and deep; a home for the blind (verse 2) suggests ignorance or being kept in the dark/made a fool/betrayal (I was blind!). Here in the final verse we are presented with smashed human bone. Love will violently break the core of our flesh.
“We are the pretty, petty thieves, And you're standing on our streets, Where Hector was the First of the gang with a gun in his hand, And the first to do time, The first of the gang to die,”
The chorus is repeated initially but develops with...
“Such a silly boy”
Morrissey patronises Hector. As if he might have been smarter. You cannot avoid thinking that he is mocking himself. You sense self pity and loathing all at once.
“Hector was the first of the gang with a gun in his hand And a bullet in his gullet and the first lost lad to go under the sod”
Here at the final part of the main narrative we discover that it is Hector who has taken the bullet. What’s more he has taken it in the gullet. Known to deliver a slow painful death. The tragedy is felt acutely when we are reminded he is just a lad. Like a young casualty of war (or gang culture) sent to an early grave. The use of the cold, old English word sod (earth) brings the story to an abrupt, unglamorous end.
“And he stole from the rich and the poor And not very rich and the very poor. And he stole our hearts away He stole our hearts away, He stole our hearts away”
This coda offers a romantic reprieve. It lifts Hector to a folk hero with it’s Robin Hood connotations. Morrissey uses the contrast between Robin Hood - famously discerning between rich (targets) and poor (deserving beneficiaries) - and Hector who stole from everyone - to magnify the sense that love is indiscriminately lethal. As the song plays out we feel we are nostalgically reminiscing over his lost beauty, his youthful attraction and can celebrate his ultimate tragedy. Lesson: love kills us all.
“You have never been in love, Until you have seen the stars reflect in the reservoirs
And you have never been in love, Until you have seen the dawn rise, Behind the home for the blind”
The verses in this song establish the author as a person who has experienced love. Furthermore, he reveals that it is difficult to fathom for the uninitiated. However, he also tells us that we will begin to understand but only after suffering.
“We are the pretty, petty thieves, And you're standing on our streets”
With its rhythmic shift, the bridge section builds anticipation. Morrissey is introducing the protagonists...the young (pretty) set. He tells us they are “petty thieves”. The word petty is full of sarcasm (as well as illiterating effectively with the previous adjective). It suggests the theft is not serious and yet we learn later that it is the theft of hearts (he stole all hearts away) - no laughing matter.
The second line in the bridge is lightly menacing. A warning cry that those who enter “our street” are in for trouble. Morrissey is flagging up the danger of falling for youthful beauty.
“Where Hector was the first of the gang with a gun in his hand, And the first to do time, The first of the gang to die, oh my. Hector was the first of the gang with a gun in his hand, And the first to do time, The first of the gang to die, oh my”
Here in the chorus we meet the hero and hear he is armed with a gun. He is a threat. Morrissey is heightening his depction of love as a danger. It is a potential killer in the hands of our young hero.
As the first one of the gang armed for love, he was also the first one to suffer it (do time) and eventually succomb to it (die)
“You have never been in love, Until you've seen the sunlight thrown, Over smashed human bone”
In this final verse the message is the same as in first two verses but the image is the bleakest yet. A reservoir is dark, mysterious and deep; a home for the blind suggests ignorance. Here however we are presented with smashed human bone. Love will finally break the core of our flesh.
“We are the pretty, petty thieves, And you're standing on our streets Where Hector was the First of the gang with a gun in his hand And the first to do time, The first of the gang to die,”
The chorus is repeated initially but develops with...
“Such a silly boy”
Morrissey patronises Hector. As if he might have been smarter. You cannot avoid thinking that he is mocking himself. You sense self pity and loathing all at once.
“Hector was the first of the gang with a gun in his hand And a bullet in his gullet and the first lost lad to go under the sod”
Here at the final part of the main narrative we discover that it is Hector who has taken the bullet. What’s more he has taken it in the gullet. Known to deliver a slow painful death. The tragedy is felt acutely when we are reminded he is just a lad. Like a young casualty of war (or gang culture) sent to an early grave. The use of the cold, old English word sod (earth) brings the story to an abrupt, unglamorous end.
“And he stole from the rich and the poor And not very rich and the very poor. And he stole our hearts away He stole our hearts away, He stole our hearts away”
This coda offers a romantic reprieve. It lifts Hector to a folk hero with it’s Robin Hood connotations. Morrissey uses the contrast between Robin Hood famously discerning between rich (targets) and poor (deserving beneficiaries) and Hector who stole from everyone. We can reminisce over his beauty, his youthful attraction and can celebrate his memory despite the fact it all ended in tragedy. Lesson: love kills us all.
Maybe there is a Spanish/South American connection with 'Hector' - apparently in Argentina he is treated like a God, and they even have a National Morrissey Day!
As every nation should of course...
"bullet in his gullet" - fantastic poetry, vivid shocking image. Damn him.
(Sorry about my ignorance and bad english) I dont think that song talks about that Hector, because he was a politician who works with a militar who was treated as a god in Argentina called Juan Peron before the putsch in Argentina... Here is a little bit info in english http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C3%A9ctor_Jos%C3%A9_C%C3%A1mpora in this days they are a big political sub-group called "Campora" i think cause honor of that man...but they are involved in everything legal and illegal things about politics... but anyway im not agree with your comment about Hector Campora, i dont think the song has a conection with him....
(Sorry about my ignorance and bad english) I dont think that song talks about that Hector, because he was a politician who works with a militar who was treated as a god in Argentina called Juan Peron before the putsch in Argentina... Here is a little bit info in english http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C3%A9ctor_Jos%C3%A9_C%C3%A1mpora in this days they are a big political sub-group called "Campora" i think cause honor of that man...but they are involved in everything legal and illegal things about politics... but anyway im not agree with your comment about Hector Campora, i dont think the song has a conection with him.
What? No we don't. I don't see why the song would reference Héctor Cámpora, but even if it did, he is not seen as a god in Argentina at all, neither him nor Juan Domingo Perón. Sure, like any politician he has his devotees and even a young people political association with his name (which, contrary to what KiraRise says, is not involved in illegal political activities). One more thing, and excuse me if i'm being very critical about what may or may not be a joke, but why would you think we have a National Morrissey Day? Just to...
What? No we don't. I don't see why the song would reference Héctor Cámpora, but even if it did, he is not seen as a god in Argentina at all, neither him nor Juan Domingo Perón. Sure, like any politician he has his devotees and even a young people political association with his name (which, contrary to what KiraRise says, is not involved in illegal political activities). One more thing, and excuse me if i'm being very critical about what may or may not be a joke, but why would you think we have a National Morrissey Day? Just to clear it out, we don't.
This is probably really naive of me but I feel as if this is another song about Morrissey's (often fetishistic) relationship with gang culture. Just like in 'Suedehead' he's discussing gang subculture.
It feels like quite a romantic song. I adore that Hector 'stole all hearts away.' The characters seems so powerful and commands the most attention (even from the singer!) but he dies a tragic and presumably young death. It reminds me a little of Morrissey's relationship with James Dean, too.
I am a pain in the *ss, I know. But it is "Sunlight thrown" and not "form."
"You have never been in love until you've seen the sun rise behind the home for the blind."
that line cracks me up. what a bastard. it sounds like he's speaking from his perspective in that first verse. we all know Morrissey loves his irony, and it sounds like he's expressing that love in those first two couplets.
hmm clark..that definitely an original interpretation...personally...I think it's more literal...poor Hector with a "bullet in hs gullet"...I like the bit "the first last lad". Winner song.
I totally agree with Clark`s interpretation.
"You have never been in love, Until you've seen sunlight thrown over smashed human bones"
Death is an alegory for marriage. Indeed, marriage is death of passion, death of emotion, death of individuality. The image of smashed human bone inspires fear and disgust, just like the thought of marriage does. But when you are able to see beauty in this horrendous picture ("you've seen the sunlight thrown"), you know you are really in love.
Gorgeous song.
I was reading the lonely planet in South Africa and when i was reading about the Hector Peterson memorial in Soweto I read the words 'Hector was the first of the gang to die'. I am not saying that Morrissey trawls lonely planets for lyrics although that could explain Bengali in Platforms. Anyway i think this song is about Hector Peterson.
He stole all hearts away possibly referring to the uproar he caused some might say a big swing towards the end of the Apartheid.
The one lyric that stumps me slightly is With a gun in his hand. Maybe this refers to the damage he could do to the government with his protest/death! Anyway Rambling!
This Song remind me of early - mid 90s in my local neibourhood with the other friends of mine. We had that little kid gank Kids are kids and drag one another to do stupid stuff to proove to one another get attention and stuff. Small thieverys , street fights you dont realise wrong and right or the limits of the things you can do,you just drag each other and one day you can do something that can be serious without realising it. Hector in my mind represents that kid, the most wild , that he never was afraid cause he never thought of consecuenses, he just rushed to do what he was thinking and was always getting into trouble and always was barelly making it out. And that , in short its about kid ganks in poor neighboorhoods, parents work or they dont care and kids become like a pack.And its all great until something goes bad ;)