Morrissey A-Z: "Irish Blood, English Heart"

I remember being hugely disappointed upon its release. I had hoped after 7 years he ups his musical game but it's the same old chug rock, only polished in production. Two guitarists playing totally uninteresting and bland parts, as the preceding last 10 years. Anyway, one thing I don't understand, this song is as ambiguous and unclear as some others/some of his comments still the press didn't find it troublesome. If he released this today he'd get shitstorm from the press.
 
I love it because it gave him his biggest hit, but the lyrics are still so peculiar only he would have written them.
 
He was enraged about the Iraq war.

I think identity matters to him because he's not sure what he is.
Oh definitely, re his identity/heritage.

But he wrote this lyric before the Iraq war, right, so maybe he was just enraged by Tony Blair anyway? (As was most of Twitter yesterday, again, re the new Blair mullet...)
 
Oh definitely, re his identity/heritage.

But he wrote this lyric before the Iraq war, right, so maybe he was just enraged by Tony Blair anyway? (As was most of Twitter yesterday, again, re the new Blair mullet...)

I don't know when he wrote it?

Afghanistan started in 2001 & he wasn't happy about that either. Although we don't get as much flack for that.

But then he might have hated Cool Britannia & Spin?
 
I have fond memories of hearing updates of this album and single prior to release.

Everyone knew that it was a strong song, and one that Jerry Finn sensibly chose to mainly leave alone from the live arrangement, but I don't think many people were expecting it to be a top 5 hit.

I prefer the original lyric, and this might be one of the rare occasions of a record company influencing Morrissey to change his words.

In the poll on the Hoffman board it ranked 16th from 264 solo songs.
 
I remember being hugely disappointed upon its release. I had hoped after 7 years he ups his musical game but it's the same old chug rock, only polished in production. Two guitarists playing totally uninteresting and bland parts, as the preceding last 10 years. Anyway, one thing I don't understand, this song is as ambiguous and unclear as some others/some of his comments still the press didn't find it troublesome. If he released this today he'd get shitstorm from the press.

Yeah, there are articles from 2004 that go very much out of their way to say how silly the racist allegations of the 90s were to begin with, it's very obvious that they were very hellbent on reintroducing him to the canon as the "indie godfather" or something.
With the garage rock revival still in full swing and all the hip and trendy bands citing him as an influence, it made sense for the press to jump on the bandwagon. And of course he did more promotional interviews for this album than ever before...
 
Yeah, there are articles from 2004 that go very much out of their way to say how silly the racist allegations of the 90s were to begin with, it's very obvious that they were very hellbent on reintroducing him to the canon as the "indie godfather" or something.
With the garage rock revival still in full swing and all the hip and trendy bands citing him as an influence, it made sense for the press to jump on the bandwagon. And of course he did more promotional interviews for this album than ever before...

A lot of the hysteria was to smoke him out - anyone normal would have given interviews to every outlet they could get penciled in/booked on (which would be them all) if they were being called names in the press. When he wouldn't, it was hell mend him.
 
How do they not notice that it's him singing about how distressing it is to grow up between two cultures with a history of violence?

They don't care what it's about.

In this case it was the guy's way of reasoning why "separating art from artist" is no option in Morrissey's case because his art has always been racist too. :crazy:

Except when he was in The Smiths.
And when he released Suedehead and Everyday Is Like Sunday (written at the same time, or probably even after Bengali In Platforms...) because "that still counts as The Smiths somehow".
Interesting that he never realised that before during his three decades of being a fan.
 
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A lot of the hysteria was to smoke him out - anyone normal would have given interviews to every outlet they could get penciled in/booked on (which would be them all) if they were being called names in the press. When he wouldn't, it was hell mend him.

Obviously. Finsbury was the NME acting like a spurned ex-lover trying to get the attention of someone who has long since moved on.
 
This is a weird one for me. Objectively it's a very well constructed pop/rock song. It's well played, it's well sung, it's dynamic, it's a great live track and the lyrics mean a huge amount to Morrissey (obviously!).
:thumb:
It just doesn't resonate with me on a personal level because I've never cared about national identity (not in a woke sense) or where people come from.

:thumb: Thank you, don’t think I could have said it better myself. I could relate to the defiance in the lyrics of this song and it rocked live, but even then I felt a bit detached from truly enjoying it.

I think identity matters to him because he's not sure what he is.

I think that may be the case with most. But why the strong desire
in the first place? where does the need of identifying with an idea or thing outside of one’s self come from?

I think it is something we should all
struggle against. I hope he can also someday sooner than later.
 
But why the strong desire
in the first place? where does the need of identifying with an idea or thing outside of one’s self come from?

I can see how being the child of immigrants and experiencing the need to adapt to a culture in order to survive can lead to an increased compulsion to belong and a disturbed sense of identity.
 
:thumb:


:thumb: Thank you, don’t think I could have said it better myself. I could relate to the defiance in the lyrics of this song and it rocked live, but even then I felt a bit detached from truly enjoying it.




I think that may be the case with most. But why the strong desire
in the first place? where does the need of identifying with an idea or thing outside of one’s self come from?

I think it is something we should all
struggle against. I hope he can also someday sooner than later.

Because you're identified as things by other people, including your family, your school, the state. The place you live has a name, a history & stories are told about it.

And if you're not entirely sure what you are & what you feel about it, it can mess up your writing style.

Scottish Presbyterian writers are famous for double binds & splitting (Jekyll & Hyde) because trying to square being Scottish with being British, with the rigidity of being Damned or Elect & with writing about what you know (Scotland) or what the market wants to know (London, America) is so difficult.

Morrissey bypasses a lot of it in his art because he's so emotional & he gets obsessed with images but the anguish breaks out in his interviews.
 
Also think it's interesting he didn't sell himself as Irish - just let it be what it was.

Shane MacGowan couldn't have laid it on thicker with a concrete pump.
 
Also think it's interesting he didn't sell himself as Irish - just let it be what it was.

Shane MacGowan couldn't have laid it on thicker with a concrete pump.

Perhaps for reasons similar to those that led to him not labelling himself as a queer artist - the trauma these aspects of his identity caused him in his youth and the fear of being pigeonholed.
 
Perhaps for reasons similar to those that led to him not labelling himself as a queer artist - the trauma these aspects of his identity caused him in his youth and the fear of being pigeonholed.

Yeah - I think he wants to talk about contradictions. I'm sure at some moments he feels very Irish, sometimes very English & sometimes neither (with all the love, hate & indifference that goes with it - same with his gender & sexuality) - so why does it get packaged like a tin of beans?

Answer being it's easier to sell a tin of beans. Buyers know what they're getting.

Also - more to the point about damage, he was called Paddy growing up & I've found him being called a po*f & a f*g in the press. So...
 
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Yeah - I think he wants to talk about contradictions. I'm sure at some moments he feels very Irish, sometimes very English & sometimes neither (with all the love, hate & indifference that goes with it - same with his gender & sexuality) - so why does it get packaged like a tin of beans?

Answer being it's easier to sell a tin of beans. Buyers know what they're getting.

Yes.

I think he's felt increasingly more Irish over the years, which isn't surprising since he actually lived there and it was probably also a way of connecting with his roots when he felt that his 'other' home England had rejected him.
He has repeatedly said that he feels more at home in his own skin the older he gets, which probably contributed to him being comfortable with embracing those parts of him that used to cause him pain more openly as he grew older.
 
Yes.

I think he's felt increasingly more Irish over the years, which isn't surprising since he actually lived there and it was probably also a way of connecting with his roots when he felt that his 'other' home England had rejected him.
He has repeatedly said that he feels more at home in his own skin the older he gets, which probably contributed to him being comfortable with embracing those parts of him that used to cause him pain more openly as he grew older.

I slag England off quite a lot. I didn't even know I was doing it until the Scottish Indy Ref made one of my friends really sensitive & she'd look sad everytime I said something negative & I'd think God, I've done it again. And then would have to reverse ferret in embarrassing ways.

I wonder if Morrissey's family did that & he'd be under the table thinking but I'm English?
 
Because you're identified as things by other people, including your family, your school, the state. The place you live has a name, a history & stories are told about it.

And if you're not entirely sure what you are & what you feel about it, it can mess up your writing style.

Yes, well that becomes your writing style. Then again, I guess one could argue that freedom from identity becomes your identity, lol.
Either way, I feel it is healthier if one can be brave and embrace the unknown.
I hope Morrissey will someday have at least one large dose psychedelic experience. I feel that everyone should have at least one before they croak, it really changes one’s perspective ever after, as to what is and what is not really important.

🍄:cool:
 
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