Morrissey never struck me as particularly merry, nor as someone who'd win behind the old grey school, so someone is speaking to HIM in the first verse.
It's obviously an imaginary conversation M. is having with one, probably several, of his old "friends". He is now (1983) on the cusp of success and he takes pleasure in hearing his "friend" expressing the doubts that used to haunt him ("what a mess I've made of my life...... but I was my mother's only son, so I acted the way I was supposed to and repressed any dreams and desires I might have had").
Because M. is no more happy-go-lucky than his friend(s), the following passage is meant as an indictment of society's expectations as well as a bit of a slap in his friend's face now that he (M) is about to be vindicated in his convictions:
"No, I've never had a job
because I've never wanted one
I've seen you smile
but I've never really heard you laugh
so who is rich and who is poor?
I cannot say..."
M. doesn't need his old friend/lover anymore. He is moving on, but before he goes he will bask in glory as he is driven past all the old places and faces in the back of the car.
"I don't want a lover
I just want to be seen
in the back of your car"
Something is stil nagging M. He is sad and angry that he was never close with this person/these people. It was, afterall, his childhood and youth that was affected. He blames his exclusion on their narrow-mindedness and, to a much lesser degree, his own shyness and sensitivity.
"A friendship sadly lost?
well, this is true
and yet, it's false
but did I ever tell you, by the way
I never did like your face"
So, in a way, THEY won because he had to endure years of self-doubt and alienation - of being tied to the back of the car. He is now throwing it back at them: How does it feel, my poor misguided childhood acquaintances?!
"But you've got everything now
you've got everything now
and what a terrible mess I've made of my life
oh what a mess I've made of my life....
I just want to be tied to the back of your car"
Morrissey never struck me as particularly merry, nor as someone who'd win behind the old grey school, so someone is speaking to HIM in the first verse.
It's obviously an imaginary conversation M. is having with one, probably several, of his old "friends". He is now (1983) on the cusp of success and he takes pleasure in hearing his "friend" expressing the doubts that used to haunt him ("what a mess I've made of my life...... but I was my mother's only son, so I acted the way I was supposed to and repressed any dreams and desires I might have had").
Because M. is no more happy-go-lucky than his friend(s), the following passage is meant as an indictment of society's expectations as well as a bit of a slap in his friend's face now that he (M) is about to be vindicated in his convictions:
"No, I've never had a job because I've never wanted one I've seen you smile but I've never really heard you laugh so who is rich and who is poor? I cannot say..."
M. doesn't need his old friend/lover anymore. He is moving on, but before he goes he will bask in glory as he is driven past all the old places and faces in the back of the car.
"I don't want a lover I just want to be seen in the back of your car"
Something is stil nagging M. He is sad and angry that he was never close with this person/these people. It was, afterall, his childhood and youth that was affected. He blames his exclusion on their narrow-mindedness and, to a much lesser degree, his own shyness and sensitivity.
"A friendship sadly lost? well, this is true and yet, it's false but did I ever tell you, by the way I never did like your face"
So, in a way, THEY won because he had to endure years of self-doubt and alienation - of being tied to the back of the car. He is now throwing it back at them: How does it feel, my poor misguided childhood acquaintances?!
"But you've got everything now you've got everything now and what a terrible mess I've made of my life oh what a mess I've made of my life.... I just want to be tied to the back of your car"