The Moz/Smiths Top 100, Part 115: MISERABLE LIE

How do you rate Miserable Lie?


  • Total voters
    135

Houdini

Junior Member
Let's compile our own Morrissey/Smiths Top 100 by rating all 232 Moz/Smiths-songs.
And instead of chronologically, let's do them alphabetically.

Song for Today: MISERABLE LIE

Voting should be something along these lines:
10: Perfection
9: Near perfect, brilliant
8: Really good Moz/Smiths song
7: Good Moz/Smiths song
6: Decent, OK, Nothing special
5: Uninspired
4: Poor
3: Bad
2: Should never have been released
1: He/They should be ashamed

The songs so far (voting is still open):

Part 114: Michael's Bones
Part 113: Mexico
Part 112: Meat Is Murder
Part 111: Margaret On The Guillotine
Part 110: Maladjusted
Part 109: Lucky Lisp
Part 108: Lost
Part 107: London
Part 106: Little Man, What Now?
Part 105: Lifeguard Sleeping, Girl Drowning
Part 104: Life Is A Pigsty
Part 103: Let the Right One Slip In
Part 102: Let Me Kiss You
Part 101: Late Night, Maudlin Street
Part 100: Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me
Part 99: King Leer
Part 98: Journalists Who Lie
Part 97: Jeane
Part 96: Jack The Ripper
Part 95: It's Hard To Walk Tall When You're Small
Part 94: Is It Really So Strange?
Part 93: Irish Blood, English Heart
Part 92: Interlude
Part 91: Interesting Drug
Part 90: In The Future When All's Well
Part 89: If You Don't Like Me, Don't Look At Me
Part 88: I've Changed My Plea To Guilty
Part 87: (I'm) The End Of The Family Line
Part 86: I'm Not Sorry
Part 85: I'll Never Be Anybody's Hero Now
Part 84: I'd Love To
Part 83: I Won't Share You
Part 82: I Will See You In Far Off Places
Part 81: I Want The One I Can't Have
Part 80: I Started Something I Couldn't Finish
Part 79: I Like You
Part 78: I Know Very Well How I Got My Name
Part 77: I Know It's Over
Part 76: I Know It's Gonna Happen Someday
Part 75: I Knew I Was Next
Part 74: I Keep Mine Hidden
Part 73: I Just Want To See The Boy Happy
Part 72: I Have Forgiven Jesus
Part 71: I Don't Owe You Anything
Part 70: I Don't Mind If You Forget Me
Part 69: I Can Have Both
Part 68: I Am Two People
Part 67: I Am Hated For Loving
Part 66: Human Being
Part 65: How Soon Is Now?
Part 64: How Can Anybody Possibly Know How I Feel?
Part 63: Hold On To Your Friends
Part 62: Heir Apparent
Part 61: Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now
Part 60: He Knows I'd Love To See Him
Part 59: He Cried
Part 58: Have-A-Go Merchant
Part 57: Handsome Devil
Part 56: Hand In Glove
Part 55: Half A Person
Part 54: Hairdresser On Fire
Part 53: Good Looking Man About Town
Part 52: Golden Lights
Part 51: Glamorous Glue
Part 50: Girlfriend In A Coma
Part 49: Girl Least Likely To
Part 48: Girl Afraid
Part 47: Get Off The Stage
Part 46: Ganglord
Part 45: Friday Mourning
Part 44: Frankly Mr Shankly
Part 43: Found Found Found
Part 42: First Of The Gang To Die
Part 41: Everyday Is Like Sunday
Part 40: East West
Part 39: Driving Your Girlfriend Home
Part 38: Don't Make Fun Of Daddy's Voice
Part 37: Do Your Best And Don't Worry
Part 36: Disappointed
Part 35: Dial-A-Cliche
Part 34: Death Of A Disco Dancer
Part 33: Death At One's Elbow
Part 32: Dear God Please Help Me
Part 31: Dagenham Dave
Part 30: Cosmic Dancer
Part 29: Come Back To Camden
Part 28: Christian Dior
Part 27: Certain People I Know
Part 26: Cemetry Gates
Part 25: Break Up The Family
Part 24: Boxers
Part 23: Black-Eyed Susan
Part 22: Billy Budd
Part 21: Bigmouth Strikes Again
Part 20: Best Friend On The Payroll
Part 19: Bengali In Platforms
Part 18: Barbarism Begins At Home
Part 17: Back To The Old House
Part 16: At Last I Am Born
Part 15: At Amber
Part 14: Asleep
Part 13: Ask
Part 12: Asian Rut
Part 11: Angel, Angel, Down We Go Together
Part 10: Ammunition
Part 9: America Is Not The World
Part 8: Ambitious Outsiders
Part 7: Alsatian Cousin
Part 6: Alma Matters
Part 5: All The Lazy Dykes
Part 4: Accept Yourself
Part 3: A Swallow On My Neck
Part 2: A Song From Under The Floorboards
Part 1: A Rush And A Push And The Land Is Ours
 
Definitely one of my least favorite Smiths songs, although not for obvious reasons. I actually don't mind the falsetto and I like the lyrics as well. What I really dislike is the music. It starts out with the same old bland jangling that also sleeps through The Hand That Rocks The Cradle, and then it switches to a fast-paced romp that also, strangely enough, bores me to tears. (Although, I must admit the song was better live, when Johnny added a more interesting introduction.)

A sad 6 from me.
 
10.

Thoroughly enjoyable number from the first dark, wild batch. Very representative for the early sound.

"you have corrupt my innocent mind
not once - but twice"

"what do we get for our trouble and pain?
Whalley Range"

And of course, I NEED ADVICE:D
 
I quite like this one. It's very representative of the early sound; rough around the edges, sparse production, Morrissey craming alot into the lyrics etc. The finished product isn't bad, and is quite the summation of it's parts irregardless of the faults with the song. This to me, is The Smith's at their punkiest. Good, but not great. And certainly no classic. I'm gonna give it a 6.
 
Definitely one of my least favorite Smiths songs, although not for obvious reasons. I actually don't mind the falsetto and I like the lyrics as well. What I really dislike is the music. It starts out with the same old bland jangling that also sleeps through The Hand That Rocks The Cradle, and then it switches to a fast-paced romp that also, strangely enough, bores me to tears. (Although, I must admit the song was better live, when Johnny added a more interesting introduction.)

A sad 6 from me.

its almost how i see it, i love the first bit, but when it changes to that awful garbled fast paced screaming, i just have to turn it off.
sorry but its my least fave smiths song. :(
 
Yes, live it was better as well as the intro.
I like the slow part at the beginning, but not when the music changes and the falsetto at the end. It's not that bad per se but it's lastes too long.
The lyrics are good.
It could be a 6 but I give it a 5 because I always skip it.
 
I love this song, it's one my faves of all time. The lyrics are wonderful and mean a lot to me

"So, goodbye
Please stay with your own kind
And I'll stay with mine

There's something against us
It's not time
It's not time
So, goodbye, goodbye, goodbye, goodbye"

Thouse lines are proberally some of my faviourites.
 
this is on my top 3 smiths list. so painful and emotional. 10.

I need advice, I need advice
nobody ever looks at me twice


Edit: And the best part is the falsetto. Love it!
 
I love this song. i live in whalley range so it means even more to me with the lyric "what do we get for our trouble and pain just a rented room in whalley range".
 
Duh. That was meant to be a 4 or 5, not a 6. Do not vote when tipsy ;) The beginning of the song is lovely, but I usually skip it after "so goodbye..."
 
I'm going to be generous and judge it on the Peel version, so it gets an "8". The one on The Smiths would get a "6". It's definitely the song affected most by the production on that album.
 
I love it, love the falsetto and it's a brisk little number. A real hopper.
 
a 9

one of me all time Smiths favourites

Morrissey gets away in this song with the lyrics, concerning the music
and timing of singin, though Rusholme Ruffians is a good song, that
song is a good example of how the timing of the music rythmwise and
Morrissey's singin goes not smoothly .

The lyrics are ofcourse classic I need advice, nobody ever looked at me twice is a line that can only come from Morrissey...I know the wind swept mystical air, which means I love to see yer underwear
is a line only Morrissey can get away with
the finest line is into the depths of the criminal world, I followed her

wow, what a song, the lyrics kicking you in the face and you can't breath
cause Johnny carries on with his speeding guitar, HELP! [yes I need advice]


EDIT;
The song is about Morrissey's relation/friendship [yes I know there are others who
think different] with Linda Mulvey better known under her artist name Linder Sterling
 
Last edited:
6! It's not one of my very very favourite Smiths songs but it's not my least favourite either.

I love the urgency of it all. I just can't help but chuckle sometimes when the falsetto part comes in, haha.
 
A very poor song indeed, both lyrically & musically. Probably the only song on the debut album that I usually skip (the rest is magical).

I should give it a 3 or 4 but, using others' voting standards, I'll give it a 6.
 
one of the 1st songs i really noticed by them, when my brother me a crappy tape that didn't record properly...( took me years to go out and then buy anything...the rest is history) quite unusual really, as a song.
 
I quite like the beginning. It has a nice rhythm and I like some of the lyrics, “Please stay with your own kind, and I’ll stay with mine”. Although I think if the song had carried on in that pace then it would have been quite dull. I like the change in pace and I quite like the music. I just think the falsetto is a bit much at times and if I do manage to listen to it all the way through I have to turn the volume down a bit or it just gets a bit annoying.

Along with ‘Death at one’s elbow’ it’s probably the Smiths song I play the least.

I give it a 6
 
I have an absolute feeling he'd never play this song today, but it's ALWAYS been one of my favorites. I give it a 10.
 
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