Morrissey A-Z: "I Can Have Both"

A gem of a song, criminally left off Maladjusted at the last moment for Wide to Rceive. Love the Boz’ Smiths-jangle on this one, and the lyrics.
One of his finest songs from 1997 and one of his best ever b-sides.

9,6

Didn’t know that. They’re both great. It must have been a coin toss between them. I think Morrissey made the right choice, for Wide To is musically more interesting, a little different than the expected chug and jangle.
 
The more I think about it, the more he probably was stating the obvious. I assumed this song was about bisexuality when I first heard it but then I read more into it as time went on. He may just be saying that love chooses you and if you're not capable of falling in love with someone of your own gender then you're not capable of love at all.
 
Didn’t know that. They’re both great. It must have been a coin toss between them. I think Morrissey made the right choice, for Wide To is musically more interesting, a little different than the expected chug and jangle.

As much as I love this one, I must say Wide To Receive is superior and I love it even more. There about five songs from this era that I feel very strongly about, each unparalleled in its own way.
 
The more I think about it, the more he probably was stating the obvious. I assumed this song was about bisexuality when I first heard it but then I read more into it as time went on. He may just be saying that love chooses you and if you're not capable of falling in love with someone of your own gender then you're not capable of love at all.

The language he uses really does strongly suggest that it's about sexuality (as also mentioned in the article). The line about the small boy being brainwashed that Mayfly mentioned, but also "I've not been feeling myself tonight" - it's all very suggestive and the sweet shop metaphor makes sense too.
 
The language he uses really does strongly suggest that it's about sexuality (as also mentioned in the article). The line about the small boy being brainwashed that Mayfly mentioned, but also "I've not been feeling myself tonight" - it's all very suggestive and the sweet shop metaphor makes sense too.
'I've not been feeling myself tonight' always struck me as funny. It could be taken literally as 'I've not been touching myself tonight'
 
One of my absolute favorites. Much like "Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before," there's something so ecstatic about that simple, one-finger guitar solo that ends the track. I find it interesting that the choice was between this and "Wide to Receive" given that they're, in my opinion, the two most explicitly queer songs from the Maladjusted sessions.
 
One of my absolute favorites. Much like "Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before," there's something so ecstatic about that simple, one-finger guitar solo that ends the track. I find it interesting that the choice was between this and "Wide to Receive" given that they're, in my opinion, the two most explicitly queer songs from the Maladjusted sessions.

That's true. I hadn't thought about that before.

Roy's Keen is also pretty queer though. Very thinly veiled play of words...
 
I guess what I'm trying to say is that although sex is handy for making babies, it can also be enjoyed for what it is. It's not exclusive. Your hands were made for plucking berriesbut you use them for so much more than that today. Just because tools are made for a specific reason, it doesn't mean you can't utilise them in other ways. I feel the same about sex.

And there are also other ways of reproducing these days...
 
This is not only one of my all-time favorite Morrissey songs, it is probably the one most often quoted in everyday conversation. I can't possibly be the only one, right?
 
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