The Queen Is Dead
★★★☆☆
Also From This Artist
Preface
Served me well as an “album.” It’s cohesive both in themes and in the sounds I heard—a fusion of politics, love, and comedy with very British lyrics and 80s instrumentation. Marr’s playing reminded me of Knopfler at times; on the other hand, Morrissey’s nasal, sometimes goofy singing is second to none. It feels more mature than the previous album (Strangeways) I listened to. I’m still interested in hearing more from them.
Review
The title track, The Queen Is Dead, starts off energetically, especially with the drums. It’s overtly political, clearly addressing Prince Charles and the British monarchy. It sounds surprisingly modern—the effects, guitar strums, and drums are all unmistakably The Smiths. Marr’s flanged guitars are easy to pick out. A bit boring toward the end.
Oh, has the world changed or have I changed?
The second track is also socio-political, criticizing the music industry while expressing wild, free human desires. It’s funny, and almost rude (“Oh give us your money”), but also very relatable and honest (“Still I’d rather be famous than righteous or holy”).
I’m a sickening wreck
I’ve got the twenty-first century breathing down my neck
I must move fast, you understand me
After smiling at the previous track, I Know It’s Over delivers the opposite. The title, the mood, the slower tempo, the gloomy lyrics, and Morrissey’s vocals all contribute to its somber tone. He compares his life to the moment before burial—as if he dies a little every day—returning to the most primal cry for help, calling for his mother. It’s a love song about someone who’s jealous, angry, and hopeless. Probably unlucky, too, since he feels like even “the knife” and “the sea” want to murder him.
Love is natural and real
But not for such as you and I
I like to think of it as a sociological narrative too—where love isn’t for everyone. It’s a privilege for the select few. The speaker, who isn’t one of them, finally gives up and “the soil falls over his head.”
Never Had No One Ever sounds really good. He sings a bit differently—like I’ve never heard him before. The melody is beautiful. They usually sound whiny—as I mentioned before—in a “hurt and lost” way, but not in a “broken and failed” tone. Cemetry Gates is so British, for some reason. It contrasts the jolly title with a gloomy mood once again. He name-drops writers like Keats, Yeats, and Wilde (even quoting Shakespeare), recounting a walk through a graveyard with a friend while contemplating the pettiness of life. There’s a clever bit of wordplay in the line “we go inside and we gravely read the stones”—gravely reading graves.
All those people, all those lives, where are they now?
With-a loves and hates and passions just like mine
They were born, and then they lived, and then they died
Seems so unfair, I want to cry
Bigmouth Strikes Again feels proud and energetic—not necessarily happy. “And now I know how Joan of Arc felt”—he’s likening himself to Joan of Arc, probably because he’s outspoken, controversial, and challenges the status quo. But martyrdom (a modern equivalent might be censorship) doesn’t silence him; instead, it gives his voice a bigger platform.
The Boy with the Thorn in His Side sounds vulnerable, frustrated, and intimate. I like the scatting—new to me. He does a lot of his typical nasal singing in this one too. I like to think of it as a love song—not necessarily romantic or heterosexual—but a deep yearning for someone or something.
The boy with the thorn in his side
Behind the hatred, there lies
A murderous desire for love
Vicar in a Tutu is funny—probably because of the word “tutu.” The rhythm adds to the effect. It’s likely a critique of the church—how it takes your money and ends up being useless. It has a strange ending effect, unlike the other songs.
I instantly guessed that There Is a Light That Never Goes Out was a famous piece (later proven right) because of how balanced and classic it sounds. This is the sound of The Smiths. The melody resembles Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now from their self-titled album. It’s a love song with that familiar jingly tone, though the lyrics are quite moody. The singing, bassline, and guitar strums are iconic of the duo. I hear strings here for the first time, which makes it stand out. I’m guessing they worked hard to make this one a hit single.
Please don’t drop me home
Because it’s not my home, it’s their home
And I’m welcome no more
He expresses a fanatic, strange love. It’s from an outcast, someone rarely accepted or understood—even by his family. He’s clearly in love, but even his peaks of affection are cynical and despondent. He’s so frustrated with what he lacks that he (angrily, even—“I don’t care, I don’t care, I don’t care”) compensates by obsessively fantasizing about love, hoping that at the very least, death won’t be another lonely experience.
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
Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others is odd! There’s a strange effect at the beginning where the volume drops and comes back up, making me think something was wrong with my device. Probably a mistake they embraced. There are a few strings here too. I don’t fully grasp the lyrics, but it could be about a frustrated guy walking around, overhearing shallow gossip. He realizes that this has always been humanity’s main concern, while he’s one of the few romantics who would cherish even a beloved’s pillow. Honestly, I think they just needed a tenth track—hence this song.
Send me the pillow that you dream on
And I’ll send you mine