King Leer

great song, it reminds me of those people who try everything to get with a [girl] that they think they like, even tho [she] might not be the best type of person to go after considering the line "you'll never guess, im bored now". people like this should be avoided for personal relationships

Hmmm I disagree with all interpretations really. I think it's about girls always going for the "jerk" and ignoring genuinely nice guys. Wanting the bad boy who is cruel and seemingly does nothing for her.

The boyfriend is clearly king leer (gift of the grab, real hint of cruelty etc....)

I don't think the girl is an ice queen at all, but someone who entertains the singer because he's nice to her, but he doesn't float her boat sexually (nothing much happened) and as a result she is dismissive of the narrator because she only has eyes for the bad boy (doesn't thank or call him).

I see this as a real companion to Driving your girlfriend home, but King Leer is much earlier in the relationship when she's still disillusioned before she realises the boyfriend is a dick and she isn't enjoying her life any more in DYGH.

Another friend-zone song.

Most of you are missing the biggest point here, the title of the song! King Leer! Which means Morrissey is singing to a male character in this song that obviously resembles Shakespeare's tragic character - King Lear. In Shakespeare's drama, King Lear must determine which one of his three daughters love him the most so he can divide his kingdom accordingly. However, the King fails to see that his youngest daughter is the one that sincerely loves him the most, blinded by the other two daughters falsities and lies. This causes King Lear to make poor and very tragic judgement calls which even cause many people to lose their lives. In competition with "king Leer's" boyfriend, Morrissey attempts to demonstrate his love through small, yet thoughtful gestures, such as the "Vodka or Tizer", or the "Chihuahua". He even tries to surprise him by laying next to him, which doesn't seem to stimulate King Leer much. Perhaps trying to demonstrate that he has the better morals of the two because "nothing much happened" even though they lay next to each other. He didn't even receive any credit or acknowledgement in the form of a simple phone call the next day because of King Leer's blindness and lack of good judgement, much the Kind in the drama. Morrissey's love life is a tragedy by the end of this song. He gets no love in return despite his many attempts to demonstrate that he offers the only genuine and sincere love in this story.

This is a great song about trying to please an unappreciative person. the part about the chihuahua is classic Moz.

Guys...you have to see his 91 Live in Dallas concert...only then can you fully appreciate this song :)

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Lear

PS: Excuse all my crappy typos and missing punctuation...

"King Lear" is of course by William Shakespeare.

I agree with muadDib76, it's about the narrator trying to please someone but they're having nothing of it really. He tries to ply them with drink, give them gifts, but they still don't phone back.

For those who don't know, Tizer is a cheap-and-nasty red soft drink.

The performance of this on the 'Live in Dallas' DVD is indeed fantastic.

I totally disagree with what some folks think this song's about a nice guy trying to win over some bitchy ice queen who chooses to ignore his gestures. At least that's how their posts make it seem)!

"King Leer" is the narrator himself. The song's all about how much of a jerk he is, and how completely clueless he is to the fact.

If you read the lyrics, everything he says and does is self-serving critical of everyone but himself. He's a delusional egomaniac.

First, he tries to buy her with cheap liquor (or Tizer. He didn't even put enough thought into the gesture to remember, but still expects a "Thank you").

He insults her boyfriend (whom she's already in a relationship with, obviously), essentially calling him a pervert ("or could it be the gift of the grab?"), then he himself tries to get frisky with her and she ignores his advances and does not call (why would she, after all?). He takes this personally.

Finally, he tries to get her attention with a scruffy chihuahua. She thinks it's cute, but she's figured out Leer's game, and she understands every halfhearted gesture comes with ulterior motives, so she tries to seem uninterested to get rid of him, leaving him stuck holding the dog.

And he still thinks he's being treated unfairly, of course!

Tod Hackett, the protagonist from Nathanael West's "The Day of the Locust", comes to mind when hearing this song about a man who's very self-serving, self-aggrandizing, and completely oblivious to the fact.

Great song, too... I know NOTHING about music theory, but I love the piano line. The way it goes from upbeat to almost melancholy. I couldn't explain it in musical terms, though...