posted by davidt on Tuesday November 25 2003, @10:00AM
An anonymous person writes:

I'm currently reading Mary Barton, a nineteenth century novel set in Manchester, by Elizabeth Gaskell ... lots of references to rain and poverty and Ancoats ... but most exciting was the phrase "rattle his bones over the stones". I know there are other references for this phrase (Thomas Gray and Shelagh Delaney for example) but could it be that the greatest living Englishman is also an Elizabeth Gaskell fan?
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  • very likely (Score:2, Interesting)

    I would think that, even if he isn't a fan, he would have certainly read some Gaskell, given that he likes Charles Dickens and Dickens was an admirer of her (and vice-versa, until they had a falling out, sort of like Sandie Shaw & Morrissey), and that Elizabeth Gaskell wrote with a similar blend of pain, humour and irony as Morrissey. Also, there's the fact that her stories are generally based in the north, often in Manchester.
    arthur gentileschi <[email protected]> -- Wednesday November 26 2003, @06:03AM (#80471)
    (User #2965 Info)
    give me surgery.
  • I think the phrase "rattle his bones" is much too common to pinpoint where Morrissey borrowed that lyric from. However, there is a passage from Ulysses that makes much more sense as a source:

    Rattle his bones. Over the stones. Only a pauper. Nobody owns.
    keith_talent -- Wednesday November 26 2003, @10:14AM (#80497)
    (User #865 Info)
  • Would it matter to anyone if he read Archie Comics? There's a story where Archie and the gang kind of look like the 50's era people from the Sing Your Life video. Do you think he's an avid admirer and used those images in his video?
    bucktoothgirlfromlux -- Wednesday November 26 2003, @11:34AM (#80511)
    (User #9461 Info)


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