Belligerent ghouls
run Manchester schools
spineless swines
cemented minds
Sir leads the troops
jealous of youth
same old suit since 1962
he does the military two-step
down the nape of my neck
I wanna go home
I don't want to stay
give up education
as a bad mistake
mid-week on the playing fields
Sir thwacks you on the knees
knees you in the groin
elbow in the face
bruises bigger than dinner plates
I wanna go home
I don't want to stay
Belligerent ghouls
run Manchester schools
spineless bastards all
Sir leads the troops
jealous of youth
same old jokes since 1902
he does the military two-step
down the nape of my neck
I wanna go home
I don't want to stay
give up life
as a bad mistake
please excuse me from the gym
I've got this terrible cold coming on
he grabs and devours
kicks me in the showers
and he grabs and devours
I wanna go home
I don't want to stay
The Smiths - Meat Is Murder Album Lyrics
The Smiths - Meat Is Murder Lyrics
Writer: STEVEN MORRISSEY, JOHNNY MARR
Copyright: Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group
Copyright: Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group
Rusholme Ruffians
The last night of the fair
by the big wheel generator
a boy is stabbed
and his money is grabbed
and the air hangs heavy like a dulling wine
she is Famous
she is Funny
an engagement ring
doesn't mean a thing
to a mind consumed by brass (money)
and though I walk home alone
my faith in love is still devout
the last night of the fair
from a seat on a whirling waltzer
her skirt ascends for a watching eye
it's a hideous trait (on her mother's side)
and though I walk home alone
my faith in love is still devout
then someone falls in love
and someone's beaten up
someone's beaten up
and the senses being dulled are mine
and though I walk home alone
my faith in love is still devout
this is the last night of the fair
and the grease in the hair
of a speedway operator
is all a tremulous heart requires
a schoolgirl is denied
she said: "How quickly would I die
if I jumped from the top of the parachutes?"
this is the last night of the fair
and the grease in the hair
of a speedway operator
is all a tremulous heart requires
a schoolgirl is denied
she said: "How quickly would I die
if I jumped from the top of the parachutes?"
scratch my name on your arm with a fountain pen
(this means you really love me)
and though I walk home alone
my faith in love is still devout
by the big wheel generator
a boy is stabbed
and his money is grabbed
and the air hangs heavy like a dulling wine
she is Famous
she is Funny
an engagement ring
doesn't mean a thing
to a mind consumed by brass (money)
and though I walk home alone
my faith in love is still devout
the last night of the fair
from a seat on a whirling waltzer
her skirt ascends for a watching eye
it's a hideous trait (on her mother's side)
and though I walk home alone
my faith in love is still devout
then someone falls in love
and someone's beaten up
someone's beaten up
and the senses being dulled are mine
and though I walk home alone
my faith in love is still devout
this is the last night of the fair
and the grease in the hair
of a speedway operator
is all a tremulous heart requires
a schoolgirl is denied
she said: "How quickly would I die
if I jumped from the top of the parachutes?"
this is the last night of the fair
and the grease in the hair
of a speedway operator
is all a tremulous heart requires
a schoolgirl is denied
she said: "How quickly would I die
if I jumped from the top of the parachutes?"
scratch my name on your arm with a fountain pen
(this means you really love me)
and though I walk home alone
my faith in love is still devout
Writer: STEVEN MORRISSEY, JOHNNY MARR
Copyright: Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group
Copyright: Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group
I Want The One I Cant Have
On the day that your mentality
catches up with your biology
I want the one I can't have
and it's driving me mad
it's written all over my face
[repeat]
A double-bed
and a stalwart lover, for sure
these are the riches of the poor
A double-bed
and a stalwart lover, for sure
these are the riches of the poor
[refrain]
A tough kid who sometimes swallows nails
raised on Prisoner's Aid
he killed a policeman when he was
thirteen
and someone that really impressed
me
it's written all over my face
On the day that your mentality
catches up with your biology
And if you ever need self-validation
just meet me in the alley by the
railway-station
it's written all over my face
catches up with your biology
I want the one I can't have
and it's driving me mad
it's written all over my face
[repeat]
A double-bed
and a stalwart lover, for sure
these are the riches of the poor
A double-bed
and a stalwart lover, for sure
these are the riches of the poor
[refrain]
A tough kid who sometimes swallows nails
raised on Prisoner's Aid
he killed a policeman when he was
thirteen
and someone that really impressed
me
it's written all over my face
On the day that your mentality
catches up with your biology
And if you ever need self-validation
just meet me in the alley by the
railway-station
it's written all over my face
Writer: STEVEN MORRISSEY, JOHNNY MARR
Copyright: Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group
Copyright: Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group
What She Said
What she said:
"How come someone hasn't noticed
that I'm dead
and decided to bury me
God knows, I'm ready"
What she said was sad
but then, all the rejections she's had
to pretend to be happy
could only be idiocy
What she said was not for the job or
lover that she never had
What she read
all heady books
she'd sit and prophesise
(it took a tattooed boy from
Birkenhead
to really really open her eyes)
What she said:
"I smoke 'cos I'm hoping for an
early death
AND I NEED TO CLING TO SOMETHING !"
What she said:
"I smoke 'cos I'm hoping for an
early death
AND I NEED TO CLING TO SOMETHING !"
"How come someone hasn't noticed
that I'm dead
and decided to bury me
God knows, I'm ready"
What she said was sad
but then, all the rejections she's had
to pretend to be happy
could only be idiocy
What she said was not for the job or
lover that she never had
What she read
all heady books
she'd sit and prophesise
(it took a tattooed boy from
Birkenhead
to really really open her eyes)
What she said:
"I smoke 'cos I'm hoping for an
early death
AND I NEED TO CLING TO SOMETHING !"
What she said:
"I smoke 'cos I'm hoping for an
early death
AND I NEED TO CLING TO SOMETHING !"
Writer: STEVEN MORRISSEY, JOHNNY MARR
Copyright: Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group
Copyright: Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group
That Joke Isnt Funny Anymore
Park the car at the side of the road
You should know
Time's tide will smother you
And I will too
When you laugh about people who feel so very lonely
Their only desire is to die
Well, I'm afraid
It doesn't make me smile
I wish I could laugh
But that joke isn't funny anymore
It's too close to home and it's too near the bone
It's too close to home and it's too near the bone, more than you'll ever know
When they fall down
Kick them when they fall down
You kick them when they fall down
When they fall down
You kick them when they fall down
Kick them when they fall down
You kick them when they fall down
Kick them when they fall down
It was dark as I drove the point home
And on cold leather seats, well, it suddenly struck me
I just might die with a smile on my face after all
I've seen this happen in other people's lives
And now it's happening in mine
I've seen this happen in other people's lives
And now it's happening in mine
I've seen this happen in other people's lives
And now it's happening in mine
I've seen this happen in other people's lives
And now it's happening in mine
I've seen this happen in other people's lives
And now it's happening in mine
happening in mine, happening in mine
happening in mine, happening in mine
I've seen this happen in other people's lives
And now, and now it's happening in mine, happening in mine
No, no, no
I've seen this happen, and now it's happening in mine
And now, it's happening in mine
I've seen this happen in other people's lives, no, no, no
Now it's happening in mine
You should know
Time's tide will smother you
And I will too
When you laugh about people who feel so very lonely
Their only desire is to die
Well, I'm afraid
It doesn't make me smile
I wish I could laugh
But that joke isn't funny anymore
It's too close to home and it's too near the bone
It's too close to home and it's too near the bone, more than you'll ever know
When they fall down
Kick them when they fall down
You kick them when they fall down
When they fall down
You kick them when they fall down
Kick them when they fall down
You kick them when they fall down
Kick them when they fall down
It was dark as I drove the point home
And on cold leather seats, well, it suddenly struck me
I just might die with a smile on my face after all
I've seen this happen in other people's lives
And now it's happening in mine
I've seen this happen in other people's lives
And now it's happening in mine
I've seen this happen in other people's lives
And now it's happening in mine
I've seen this happen in other people's lives
And now it's happening in mine
I've seen this happen in other people's lives
And now it's happening in mine
happening in mine, happening in mine
happening in mine, happening in mine
I've seen this happen in other people's lives
And now, and now it's happening in mine, happening in mine
No, no, no
I've seen this happen, and now it's happening in mine
And now, it's happening in mine
I've seen this happen in other people's lives, no, no, no
Now it's happening in mine
Writer: JOHNNY MARR, STEVEN PATRICK MORRISSEY
Copyright: Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Copyright: Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Nowhere Fast
I'd like to drop my trousers to the world
I am a man of means (of slender means)
each household appliance
is like a new science in my town
and if the day came when I felt a
natural emotion
I'd get such a shock I'd probably jump
in the ocean
and when a train goes by
it's such a sad sound
I'd like to drop my trousers to the Queen
every sensible child will know what this means
the poor and the needy
are selfish and greedy on her terms
and if the day came when I felt a
natural emotion
I'd get such a shock I'd probably jump
in the ocean
and when a train goes by
it's such a sad sound
And when I'm lying in my bed
I think about life
and I think about death
and neither one particularly appeals to me
and if the day came when I felt a
natural emotion
I'd get such a shock I'd probably lie
in the middle of the street and die
I'd lie down and die
I am a man of means (of slender means)
each household appliance
is like a new science in my town
and if the day came when I felt a
natural emotion
I'd get such a shock I'd probably jump
in the ocean
and when a train goes by
it's such a sad sound
I'd like to drop my trousers to the Queen
every sensible child will know what this means
the poor and the needy
are selfish and greedy on her terms
and if the day came when I felt a
natural emotion
I'd get such a shock I'd probably jump
in the ocean
and when a train goes by
it's such a sad sound
And when I'm lying in my bed
I think about life
and I think about death
and neither one particularly appeals to me
and if the day came when I felt a
natural emotion
I'd get such a shock I'd probably lie
in the middle of the street and die
I'd lie down and die
Writer: Steven Morrissey, Johnny Marr
Copyright: Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group
Copyright: Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group
Well I Wonder
Well I wonder
do you hear me when you sleep?
I hoarsely cry
Well I wonder
do you see me when we pass?
I half-die
Please keep me in mind
please keep me in mind
Gasping - but somehow still alive
this is the fierce last stand of all I am
Gasping - dying - but somehow still alive
this is the final stand of all I am
Please keep me in mind
do you hear me when you sleep?
I hoarsely cry
Well I wonder
do you see me when we pass?
I half-die
Please keep me in mind
please keep me in mind
Gasping - but somehow still alive
this is the fierce last stand of all I am
Gasping - dying - but somehow still alive
this is the final stand of all I am
Please keep me in mind
Writer: STEVEN MORRISSEY, JOHNNY MARR
Copyright: Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group
Copyright: Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group
Barbarism Begins At Home
Unruly boys
who will not grow up
must be taken in hand
Unruly girls
who will not settle down
they must be taken in hand
A crack on the head
is what you get for not asking
and a crack on the head
is what you get for asking
who will not grow up
must be taken in hand
Unruly girls
who will not settle down
they must be taken in hand
A crack on the head
is what you get for not asking
and a crack on the head
is what you get for asking
Writer: STEVEN MORRISSEY, JOHNNY MARR
Copyright: Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group
Copyright: Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group
Meat Is Murder
Heifer whines could be human cries
closer comes the screaming knife
this beautiful creature must die
this beautiful creature must die
a death for no reason
and death for no reason is MURDER
and the flesh you so fancifully fry
is not succulent, tasty or nice
it is death for no reason
and death for no reason is MURDER
and the calf that you carve with a smile
is MURDER
and the turkey you festively slice
is MURDER
do you know how animals die?
kitchen aromas aren't very homely
it's not "comforting", "cheery" or "kind"
it's sizzling blood and the unholy stench
of MURDER
it's not "natural", "normal" or kind
the flesh you so fancifully fry
the meat in your mouth
as you savour the flavour
of MURDER
NO, NO, NO, IT'S MURDER
NO, NO, NO, IT'S MURDER
who hears when animals cry?
closer comes the screaming knife
this beautiful creature must die
this beautiful creature must die
a death for no reason
and death for no reason is MURDER
and the flesh you so fancifully fry
is not succulent, tasty or nice
it is death for no reason
and death for no reason is MURDER
and the calf that you carve with a smile
is MURDER
and the turkey you festively slice
is MURDER
do you know how animals die?
kitchen aromas aren't very homely
it's not "comforting", "cheery" or "kind"
it's sizzling blood and the unholy stench
of MURDER
it's not "natural", "normal" or kind
the flesh you so fancifully fry
the meat in your mouth
as you savour the flavour
of MURDER
NO, NO, NO, IT'S MURDER
NO, NO, NO, IT'S MURDER
who hears when animals cry?
Writer: STEVEN MORRISSEY, JOHNNY MARR
Copyright: Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group
Copyright: Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group
How Soon Is Now
I am the son
And the heir
Of a shyness that is criminally vulgar
I am the son and heir
Of nothing in particular
You shut your mouth
How can you say
I go about things the wrong way?
I am human and I need to be loved
Just like everybody else does
I am the son
And the heir
Of a shyness that is criminally vulgar
I am the son and heir
Of nothing in particular
You shut your mouth
How can you say
I go about things the wrong way?
I am human and I need to be loved
Just like everybody else does
There's a club if you'd like to go
You could meet somebody who really loves you
So you go and you stand on your own
And you leave on your own
And you go home and you cry
And you want to die
When you say it's gonna happen now
When exactly do you mean?
See I've already waited too long
And all my hope is gone
You shut your mouth
How can you say
I go about things the wrong way?
I am human and I need to be loved
Just like everybody else does
And the heir
Of a shyness that is criminally vulgar
I am the son and heir
Of nothing in particular
You shut your mouth
How can you say
I go about things the wrong way?
I am human and I need to be loved
Just like everybody else does
I am the son
And the heir
Of a shyness that is criminally vulgar
I am the son and heir
Of nothing in particular
You shut your mouth
How can you say
I go about things the wrong way?
I am human and I need to be loved
Just like everybody else does
There's a club if you'd like to go
You could meet somebody who really loves you
So you go and you stand on your own
And you leave on your own
And you go home and you cry
And you want to die
When you say it's gonna happen now
When exactly do you mean?
See I've already waited too long
And all my hope is gone
You shut your mouth
How can you say
I go about things the wrong way?
I am human and I need to be loved
Just like everybody else does
Writer: Johnny Marr, Steven Patrick Morrissey
Copyright: Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Copyright: Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Meat Is Murder is the second studio album by English rock band the Smiths, released on 11 February 1985 by Rough Trade Records. It became the band's only studio album to reach number one on the UK Albums Chart, and stayed on the chart for 13 weeks.
The album was an international success: it spent 11 weeks in the European Top 100 Albums chart, peaking at number 29. It also reached number 110 on the US Billboard 200 in the United States.
Performed By:
The SmithsThe album was an international success: it spent 11 weeks in the European Top 100 Albums chart, peaking at number 29. It also reached number 110 on the US Billboard 200 in the United States.
Genre(s): Alternative rock, indie rock, post-punk
Producer(s): The Smiths
Released: February 11th, 1985
Year: 1985