The Smiths were an Englishrock band formed inManchester in 1982. Consisting of vocalistMorrissey, guitaristJohnny Marr, bassistAndy Rourke, and drummerMike Joyce, critics consider the band one of the most important to emerge from the Britishindependent music scene of the 1980s. Based on the songwriting partnership of Morrissey and Marr, the Smiths' focus on a guitar, bass, and drum sound, and fusion of 1960s rock andpost-punk, were a rejection of thesynth-pop sound that was predominant at the time.
It's time the tale were told Of how you took a child And you made him old.
It's time the tale were told Of how you took a child And you made him old. You made him old.
Reel around the fountain, Slap me on the patio. I'll take it now.
"Reel Around the Fountain"
I know I need hardly say How much I love your casual way. Oh, but please put your tongue away, A little higher and we're well away. The dark nights are drawing in And your humour is as black as them. I look at yours, you laugh at mine, And "love" is just a miserable lie.
"Miserable Lie"
Upon the sand, upon the bay, "There is a quick and easy way," you say. Before you illustrate, I'd rather state: I'm not the man you think I am. I'm not the man you think I am.
And sorrow's native son, He will not smile for anyone. And pretty girls make graves.
"Pretty Girls Make Graves"
Ah, a jumped-up pantry boy Who never knew his place. He said, "Return the ring." He knows so much about these things. He knows so much about these things.
Under the iron bridge we kissed. And although I ended up with sore lips, It just wasn't like the old days anymore. No, it wasn't like those days. Am I still ill? Ohh... Oh, am I still ill? Ohh...
Does the body rule the mind? Or does the mind rule the body? I dunno...
All men have secrets and here is mine. So let it be known. For we have been through hell and high tide. I can surely rely on you, And yet you start to recoil. Heavy words are so lightly thrown, But still I'd leap in front of a flying bullet for you.
So, what difference does it make? So, what difference does it make? It makes none. But now you have gone, And you must be looking very old tonight.
I was happy in the haze of a drunken hour, But heaven knows I'm miserable now. I was looking for a job and then I found a job, And heaven knows I'm miserable now.
In my life, why do I give valuable time To people who don't care if I live or die?
Good times for a change. See, the luck I've had can make a good man turn bad. So please, please, please, Let me, let me, let me Let me get what I want this time.
Fame, fame, fatal fame It can play hideous tricks on the brain. But still I'd rather be famous Than righteous or holy, any day, any day, any day. But sometimes I'd feel more fulfilled Making Christmas cards with the mentally ill. I want to live and I want to love. I want to catch something that I might be ashamed of.
"Frankly, Mr. Shankly"
It's so easy to laugh, it's so easy to hate. It takes strength to be gentle and kind Over, over, over, over.
And if a double-decker bus crashes into us, To die by your side is such a heavenly way to die. And if a ten-tonne truck kills the both of us, To die by your side, well, the pleasure, the privilege is mine.
Shyness is nice and shyness can stop you From doing all the things in life you'd like to. Shyness is nice and shyness can stop you From doing all the things in life you'd like to.
So, if there's something you'd like to try, If there's something you'd like to try, Ask me, I won't say no. How could I?
Oh, but don't mention love. I'd hate the strain of the pain again.
A rush and a push and the land that We stand on is ours. It has been before, So it shall be again. And people who are uglier than you and I, They take what they need and just leave.
I started somethin. I forced you to a zone. And you were clearly Never meant to go. Hair brushed and parted. Typical me, typical me Typical me I started something ...And now I'm not too sure. I grabbed you by the gilded beams Uh, that's what tradition means.
Stop me if you think that you've heard this one before, Nothing's changed. I still love you, oh, I still love you Only slightly, only slightly less Than I used to, my love.
[The Smiths] emerged out of the UK post-punk scene, but it wouldn’t be any more accurate to call The Smiths “post-punk” than it would be to call the Meat Puppets “hardcore.” Whoever you tried to compare them to, they sounded different. Whoever influenced them–be it The Byrds, The Velvet Underground, or the New York Dolls–they transcended those influences and made them their own. They got even better throughout their airtight, four-albums-in-four-years run, but they already had their unique approach entirely figured out on this debut. Andnce you fuse The Smiths’ influence with any of the more hardcore-informed albums [of 1984], you’ve pretty much got the ingredients for the vast majority of popular post-hardcore and emo.
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