Morrissey A-Z: "(I'm) The End of the Family Line"

BookishBoy

Well-Known Member



Our song for today is this Morrissey/Nevin composition from the Kill Uncle album.

(What) do we think of this one?
 
Stunning. Amazing vocals and gorgeous music - restrained, yet very atmospheric and dramatic. And even though the lyrics might not be 100% true, they’re still pretty great.

Lots have been said about the KU production, but in this case the murky, plastic sound works perfectly. Gives it an eerie feel to it.

To me, this song ranks near his best of the 90’s. Not quite up there with NMHIF, WLYK, Boxers et al, but in the league just below. On the KU album, only bettered by DYGH.
 
Again, the anachronistical flair of the music and production is bittersweet and fits him like a glove. Nevin's input is still criminally underrated. A song about having a choice and at the latest here the fans realised that he is really different.
 
A good song, one of the better Kill Uncle ones. The tune isn’t too memorable but pushes the lyrics along in a fine way, and I like some of Morrissey’s phrasing, especially during the hook. One that’s grown on me more recently, but, saying that, I’ve not returned to it often in isolation from its parent album. It works more as a palate cleanser after the terrible “Harsh Truth of the Camera Eye”, for me at least.
6.5/10
 
I love it. These lyrics are hilarious and combined with the signature delivery this is part of the essence of Morrissey.
With no complications
Fifteen generations
(of mine)
All honoring Nature
Until I arrive
(With incredible style)

No baby pulled screaming
Out into this seething whirl
By chance or whim
(Or even love?)
Our family tree hacked into decline
And I'm spared the pain
Of ever saying
("Goodbye")

Morrissey has arrived not just to ruin his own life but to make null and void all that came before him. I think this is one of his best songs just it's so Morrissey. I can't imagine anyone else writing this.
While it is in some ways not his strongest work, these lyrics are classic and I'm going to give this a 10/10.
 
Morrissey has arrived not just to ruin his own life but to make null and void all that came before him. I think this is one of his best songs just it's so Morrissey. I can't imagine anyone else writing this.
While it is in some ways not his strongest work, these lyrics are classic and I'm going to give this a 10/10.
Yes, completely agree about the lyrics. Looked at like that, they are insanely Morrissey (and hence wonderful). A reminder of where/when he had more in common with certain poets than with other pop stars.
 
like most of the kill uncle songs they are just all at the same pace.theres no ups or downs.best thing about this thread is there could be a cracker tomorrow.
6 families/10 lines.
 
I love the solemnity with which he delivers his statement "I'm the end of the family line" (at age 31), spiced with his dry humor. The music has a laid back feel for me, which is fine for a lazy Sunday. Not in the same league as "I've changed my plea to guilty" but certainly one of the many lovable Morrissey songs.
 
If Morrissey alluded in 1988 that he would never settle down to the mundane every day in Will Never Marry, three years later he clarified his position beyond doubt; even (gasp!) out of wedlock – having children would be out of the question. (I’m) The End Of The Family Line is a gentle and touching little plod; Morrissey so simply, so poetically, reveals, aged 31 and in under 4 minutes, what so many people spend years trying to ham-fistedly reveal to their partner… How many relationships have failed, and how many unwanted children have been born, because people fear and fail to express themselves as succinctly, sublimely and definitively as Morrissey manages here?
 
If Morrissey alluded in 1988 that he would never settle down to the mundane every day in Will Never Marry, three years later he clarified his position beyond doubt; even (gasp!) out of wedlock – having children would be out of the question. (I’m) The End Of The Family Line is a gentle and touching little plod; Morrissey so simply, so poetically, reveals, aged 31 and in under 4 minutes, what so many people spend years trying to ham-fistedly reveal to their partner… How many relationships have failed, and how many unwanted children have been born, because people fear and fail to express themselves as succinctly, sublimely and definitively as Morrissey manages here?
Sometimes someone somewhere can express what you want to write better. Thank you Moz and CJM. One of his iconic songs.
I took the lyrics of this song to my heart and i feel fine .
 
A real highlight from Kill Uncle, one of the first Mozza songs I fell in love with.
 
Probably the second highlight of Kill Uncle, other than Driving..., definitely feels like a Morrissey song, which can't be said for dirge like Asian Rut, Harsh Truth etc.

Not heard this in a while actually, might stick it on while making my lunch later.
 
With it's waltz-like tempo, this is an absolute delight.

I can't tell you how many northern towns passed me by as I looked out of the bus window with this playing on the walkman.

'The Decision is...mine'

What a delivery.
 
.


Another beautiful Moz classic fvck you to a world that’s obviously mad and rightfully wants no part of.

from heterosexual social ‘norms’ and the idea that only family =happiness to the just as disgusting and barbaric practice of eating other animals ...

no thank you, the decision is ours.


:cool:
 
One of the better songs on Kill Uncle, but not quite top tier for me.

It's not helped by its positioning alongside The Harsh Truth of the Camera Eye and, as it's a fairly slight song lyrically, suffers due to the slight nature of the album.

In the poll on the Hoffman board it ranked 97th from 264 solo songs.
 
To lighten your day, it's always fun to imagine Boris Johnson humming this tune as he tries absentmindedly to remember how many children he has...
 
This song is one where the bizarre, hard to explain and define experiment that is Kill Uncle works well. While I'm usually a bit harsh on KU, as I look at the original track listing I like 7/10 songs... which by almost any standard is a good/great album (8/11 if you include "Tony the Pony"). Yet, there is something messy and unfinished about the execution of it as an album for me. I know, no one asked, so I'll stop waxing nostalgic.
 
This song is one where the bizarre, hard to explain and define experiment that is Kill Uncle works well. While I'm usually a bit harsh on KU, as I look at the original track listing I like 7/10 songs... which by almost any standard is a good/great album (8/11 if you include "Tony the Pony"). Yet, there is something messy and unfinished about the execution of it as an album for me. I know, no one asked, so I'll stop waxing nostalgic.
Your post confirms to me how personal the appreciation is: I think the opposite as Kill Uncle is typically the album I listen to in full or not at all, because I appreciate it a lot as a whole, but the songs taken separately sound much weaker.
 
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