What I wonder is whether anyone has ever gone through old Morrissey / Smiths lyrics and tried to collate the lines that WEREN'T stolen from books.

See, I don't think he steals as many lines nowadays. Coincidentally, perhaps, his lyrics are pretty uninspired these days. That is when they're not just plain rubbish.

Is there any evidence Morrissey has ever written a good song all on his own?

Do let me know!

You're correct in every detail. I'm sure everyone else here would also concur. It is a FACT that 78% of all word used in Morrissey/Smiths songs are stolen.¿ What I wonder is whether anyone has ever gone through old¿ Morrissey / Smiths lyrics and tried to collate the lines that¿ WEREN'T stolen from books.¿ See, I don't think he steals as many lines nowadays.¿ Coincidentally, perhaps, his lyrics are pretty uninspired these¿ days. That is when they're not just plain rubbish.¿ Is there any evidence Morrissey has ever written a good song all¿ on his own?¿ Do let me know!




A song in which the ambitions of the young protagonist are thwarted by the jealous actions of his best friend ( 700Kb mp3 ) - ( unfortunately this link doesn't work because the address has passed through some sort of censorship filter - this filter will protect you and your family from most of the worlds evils and prevent you from turning into ravening monsters - we should thank all those people involved in censorship for keeping us happy and sane ) (http://fido.euroline.no/%7Ephilk/lyrics/farmyard_@#!!!e.mp3)

Not ALL Morrissey / Smiths lyrics came from books!
Lots of them come from films as well.

I don't know if there is a lyric that is 100% Morrissey's. I wouldn't be surprised if 'Pashernate Love' was. Oh, and 'Tony the Pony'. Nobody would bother to steal them, surely!¿ What I wonder is whether anyone has ever gone through old¿ Morrissey / Smiths lyrics and tried to collate the lines that¿ WEREN'T stolen from books.¿ See, I don't think he steals as many lines nowadays.¿ Coincidentally, perhaps, his lyrics are pretty uninspired these¿ days. That is when they're not just plain rubbish.¿ Is there any evidence Morrissey has ever written a good song all¿ on his own?¿ Do let me know!

> What I wonder is whether anyone has ever gone through old¿ Morrissey / Smiths lyrics and tried to collate the lines that¿ WEREN'T stolen from books.

Everybody steals their lines. Moz stole from 'By Grand Central Station', but Elizabeth Smart stole a bunch of stuff from Macbeth and the Bible. Take just about any artist and you'll find their work is full of 'stolen' stuff or references. The only artists who are completely original are also completely insane, like William Blake. The books you read and the films you see are part of your experience, and therefore are part of YOU, so why not draw from them? It's as meaningful as anything else.¿ See, I don't think he steals as many lines nowadays.¿ Coincidentally, perhaps, his lyrics are pretty uninspired these¿ days. That is when they're not just plain rubbish.

I think his problem is that he's a paranoid weirdo and he now uses his records to lash out at his perceived enemies. Starting with Vauxhall he seemed to be writing songs with revenge in mind. Dough siphoners, lazy sunbathers, bad boxer boyfriends, stupid lawyers and ex-drummers: take that! The compassion, humour and beauty of the earlier stuff, even of the Stephen Street material, seems to be lacking.¿ Is there any evidence Morrissey has ever written a good song all¿ on his own?

Shame on you. He has written many fine lyrics, ALL on his own. Like I said, if your inner world contains a lot of stuff from books, then quoting from books isn't dishonest or lazy. Morrissey's choice of sources reveals more about his own psychology than anything else. I think.

Just to sum up. I agree that his more recent lyrics are a bit drivelly. But the old ones were good NOT BECAUSE he was ripping off other artists. They were good because he was in touch with his, er, humorous, compassionate, beautiful side (which is why he used all those quotes) and now he's not. I think. The quotes showed that he was INSPIRED by something and now he's inspired by nothing or by less interesting things. I think. I can't believe I've wasted fifteen minutes of my life writing this. Interesting issue. I think.

I think Morrissey's lyrics have deteriorated in a very fundamental way. It's not just that his attitude has changed. Even if his songs are about revenge, or are too specifically personal to move anybody else, I think they'd still be good if the actual writing was what it once was.

I used to get a real aesthetic pleasure just from the words that he put next to each other, regardless of their meaning even. Now his wordplay is clunking and his attempts to be clever clumsy.

I have no objection to stealing lyrics! Even if they were ALL stolen I'd still admit that there was a talent in being able to put them together in such a satisfying order. I was just wondering whether Morrissey has any real writing talent of his own, and thinking that the fact he doesn't steal so much nowadays maybe meant that all the good stuff in the past came from others.

What I really want is an answer to this question: How is it possible to go from 'The Queen Is Dead' (or most Smiths songs) to Dagenham Dave? How can the same human being be responsible? Lots of writers have lost their youthful genius, but even then their work remains competent at least!

I THINK THAT EVERYONE WHO TALKS SH*T ABOUT MORRISSEY IS JUST JEALOUS!!!! PLAIN AND SIMPLE!!!! THEY ARE JEALOUS BASTARDS THAT HAVE ALOT OF TIME ON THERE HANDS (I WONDER WHAT ELSE?) (THERE LITTLE DICKS?). STOP JOCKING MOZ JUST BECAUSE YOU FOOLS CANT BE HIM!!!! GO GET A GIRLFRIEND, RUBBER DOLL, OR SOMETHING!!!! GOT ANY COMMENTS EMAIL THEM TO MOZ9dee9@aol.com PEACE B*TCHES!!!!!


F*CK ALL MOZ HATERS!!!!!!!! (http://www.@#!!!you.com)

Whats wrong with "Tony the Pony"? - Its one of my favourite B-sides; Any song about a rent-boy is always going to be good. ( A pony is cockney slang for £25, for those of you who wondered what this song was about )¿ Not ALL Morrissey / Smiths lyrics came from books!¿ Lots of them come from films as well.¿ I don't know if there is a lyric that is 100% Morrissey's. I¿ wouldn't be surprised if 'Pashernate Love' was. Oh, and 'Tony¿ the Pony'. Nobody would bother to steal them, surely!




A song in which the ambitions of the young protagonist are thwarted by the jealous actions of his best friend ( 700Kb mp3 ) - ( unfortunately this link doesn't work because the address has passed through some sort of censorship filter - this filter will protect you and your family from most of the worlds evils and prevent you from turning into ravening monsters - we should thank all those people involved in censorship for keeping us happy and sane ) (http://fido.euroline.no/%7Ephilk/lyrics/farmyard_@#!!!e.mp3)
http://www.carryonline.com/carry/pictures/Filmstills/Large/cleostill10.jpg

> Lots of writers have lost their youthful genius, but even then¿ their work remains competent at least!

Oh yeah? What about David Bowie? Tin Machine ... hmmmm. Actually, some artists go down and then come back up, in terms of quality. Bob Dylan, Madonna and maybe even Bowie are in this category. Morrissey has exhibited such talent in his life, it's impossible for it to disappear completely. Maybe all he needs is a new collaborator or a new producer. Seems to work for other folks.

> Whats wrong with "Tony the Pony"? - Its one of my¿ favourite B-sides; Any song about a rent-boy is always going to¿ be good. ( A pony is cockney slang for £25, for those of you who¿ wondered what this song was about )

Geez, and all this time i thought the song was about a guy whom everyone walks all over and takes advantage of- a doormat, if you will. I guess i'm still naive after all. :(