This is a character assassination of one of Morrissey's former teachers:
"I crack the whip
And you skip
But you deserve it"
The lyrics are written in the first person (I) but this is a device to lay bare the contents of the speaker's mind. This technique is confusing because the convention in pop music is for "I" to mean "me, the person singing the song", not some other character, as you find in literature.
This teacher uses language with a flourish... language which Morrissey admires, "mammary, conjugal, etc..." but his sophistication is superficial and his motivations are base, i.e. lust.
Morrissey is exploring what goes on inside this guy's head.... Morrissey suspects that his thoughts are full of sexual fantasies about his pupils.
If you approach this guy with an innocent question (asking him the time) he will interpret it as a come-on.
It doesn't matter whether the object of the speaker's lust is male or female... the song is about the speaker himself.
Morrissey drops the technique of exploring another person's personality using a monologue.... within The Smiths' material anyway (can't speak for the rest)... because I think he realises that it works great in theatre but not in pop music.
The next time Morrissey attacks his old teachers, he uses a much more straightforward bald statement of fact:
"Beligerent ghouls run Manchester school, spineless swine, bastards all..."
I think the same thing! 'You ask me the time, but I sense something more' is to me a pupil asking for the time, to know when the lesson will be over. But the teacher interprets this as 'he/she wants to stay here after lesson, he/she is giving me a hint'.
I think the same thing! 'You ask me the time, but I sense something more' is to me a pupil asking for the time, to know when the lesson will be over. But the teacher interprets this as 'he/she wants to stay here after lesson, he/she is giving me a hint'.
@ursamyn0r I think you've hit the nail on the head. It's a teacher preying on the pupils for me. The sex is not clear but he was intentionally being ambiguous at this time when writing about love/sex/relationships to try and be inclusive.
@ursamyn0r I think you've hit the nail on the head. It's a teacher preying on the pupils for me. The sex is not clear but he was intentionally being ambiguous at this time when writing about love/sex/relationships to try and be inclusive.
This is a character assassination of one of Morrissey's former teachers: "I crack the whip And you skip But you deserve it" The lyrics are written in the first person (I) but this is a device to lay bare the contents of the speaker's mind. This technique is confusing because the convention in pop music is for "I" to mean "me, the person singing the song", not some other character, as you find in literature. This teacher uses language with a flourish... language which Morrissey admires, "mammary, conjugal, etc..." but his sophistication is superficial and his motivations are base, i.e. lust. Morrissey is exploring what goes on inside this guy's head.... Morrissey suspects that his thoughts are full of sexual fantasies about his pupils. If you approach this guy with an innocent question (asking him the time) he will interpret it as a come-on. It doesn't matter whether the object of the speaker's lust is male or female... the song is about the speaker himself. Morrissey drops the technique of exploring another person's personality using a monologue.... within The Smiths' material anyway (can't speak for the rest)... because I think he realises that it works great in theatre but not in pop music. The next time Morrissey attacks his old teachers, he uses a much more straightforward bald statement of fact: "Beligerent ghouls run Manchester school, spineless swine, bastards all..."
Sorry that should have read 'statement of opinion' not 'statement of fact'.
Sorry that should have read 'statement of opinion' not 'statement of fact'.
I think the same thing! 'You ask me the time, but I sense something more' is to me a pupil asking for the time, to know when the lesson will be over. But the teacher interprets this as 'he/she wants to stay here after lesson, he/she is giving me a hint'.
I think the same thing! 'You ask me the time, but I sense something more' is to me a pupil asking for the time, to know when the lesson will be over. But the teacher interprets this as 'he/she wants to stay here after lesson, he/she is giving me a hint'.
@ursamyn0r I think you've hit the nail on the head. It's a teacher preying on the pupils for me. The sex is not clear but he was intentionally being ambiguous at this time when writing about love/sex/relationships to try and be inclusive.
@ursamyn0r I think you've hit the nail on the head. It's a teacher preying on the pupils for me. The sex is not clear but he was intentionally being ambiguous at this time when writing about love/sex/relationships to try and be inclusive.