We'll Let You Know

It's a critique of the mentality of the football hooligan.

He's being very sarcastic in this song. Repeating the excuses football hooligans always give in the media. A lot of football hooligans have connections to the right wing and sing anti Irish songs. Hence the line "And the songs we sing They're not supposed to mean a thing". Just by the way he sings it Morrissey is making it clear that these songs aren't just a bit of fun. Being Irish himself, he'd be more sensitive to the type of hate conveyed in some football songs.

Its actually both critical and sympathetic. Moz is on their side of being patriotic and defending that right but disagrees with their mentality of violence brought on my a game of football. It's another song where Morrissey has been accussed of racist sentiment mainly for the line 'The last truly British people' but at the end of the day he's being ironic. It's amazing how the English love to say 'The Americans don't understand irony' when most of us don't seem to understand it ourselves! The shout of 'Your Arsenal!' is only in the live version if the song as is the GET OFF THE ROOF bit.

Moz played this live at V Festival this year... As it was one of the songs he was previously cruxified for (NME on heir 'racist' witch hunt) it did make me wonder if either he (a) wanted to fan the flames again or (b) he likes this one, and thought it was ok to sing it now... It is about football hooligans, the racist chants they sing, and the fact that for the bulk of the world (particularly Europe at the time it was writen) the only 'English' people they ever read about, or heard about were these hooligans - The last truely British people you will ever know...

Might be interesting to add that Moz is a massive football fan...

Everybody says this song is about soccer (football). I always thought this song was about British colonialism, and how it ultimately led to an influx of foreign-born immigrants back "home" in England. Consider the following line. "We will descend on anyone unable to defend themselves." I thought this was about Europeans using guns to conquer and subdue indigenous populations who did not have access to the same kind of technology. There is another line... "the songs we sing; they're not supposed to mean a thing." I thought this was about the cultural void that exists in European societies, who lack sacred songs and a strong oral tradition. There are other lines too. "The turnstiles make us hostile," means British people are angry about immigrants being processed at their boarders, and "we are the last truly British people" means white (Anglo-Saxon) people in Britain are becoming a thing of the past. Shows how much I know, huh?

Okay, can someone explain to me what or who he's referring to talk to. I feel guilty whenever I hear this song because, it makes me feel like he wants me to mind my own business. It says his songs are not supposed to mean a thing. I wonder what he means by that, because his songs I've always found meaningful. What does he mean by "We are the last truly British people you'll ever know"? Is that some sort of political statement, or personal? Well this song is a great song.

I suggest you go to http://www.compsoc.man.ac.uk/~moz/ it'll tell you everything you need/want to know

I don't think it's so much a critque, as it is sypathetic. As can be seen here:

http://www.compsoc.man.ac.uk/~moz/lyrics/yourarse/welllety.htm

Moz sympathises with the rabid patriotic attitude of the hooligans, and sees a something reminisant of his 'lost England' in them.

And the studio version is significantly longer with larger breaks between verses and a long bit with odd noises in the middle before the final verse.

I don't know that he's a "massive" football fan, but you can tell he's a bit obsessed about hooliganism which was at its height in the 80s. He's always wearing a West Ham shirt at live concerts, but he says he supports Manchester United.

BTW, "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles", the song from Oi! band Cockney Rejects, has been played countless times on his "pre-concert" tape mixes. That song is the main chant of West Ham supporters who are famous for being one of the most violent in the country.

Morrissey is so intelligent that when he baits he really uses the best hooks he has. I remember listen to this along with his other solo output around this time [ie: National Front Disco] and just knew he was having a good chuckle at every puritan's expense. So much so that when the fawning NME were continually denied 'his master's voice' they turned like a denied, bitchy girlfriend and slandered him to all who'd listen [ie: Morrissy Is Racist]. This song is just a hate filled, tongue-in-cheek jibe at the 'football crowd'. That is all.

All of Morrissey's 'disciples' DO NOT CARE what negative things are said about him for he can DO NO WRONG.