inspiration for im not a man

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wonder if this is inspired from his own experiences or those of others possibly celebrities as being trapped by your own image is something morrissey probably had/has to deal with. the true grit line made me think of john wayne and how he himself hated how he couldnt escape the definition of manhood his own films created. he pretty much said so on his i love lucy appearance when fred tried to crush his hand with his handshake. i always seem to think that morrissey writes from a much less personal and more objective perspective than i used to think. what do you guys think the inspiration was, personal/objective/some degree of both? i guess i just thinkto myself that hes probably worked a lot of these issues out a long time ago so it makes me think its less a personal perspective but rather one he sees others have to deal with. i also swear to myself that ive heard that slow-joe line in some film i cant recall and its bugging me. musically it makes me think of those t.v specials the old crooners used to do. dont know why. let me know some opinion or some insight i ack or may just be missing. my first attempt at starting a thread. i tried
 
Didn't the iTunes review of the album originally state this album was about an abused wife? Does anyone else remember that?

I thought it was going to be Morrissey trying to make his own "Caroline Says II"...
 
i dont remember that but i dont really do itunes so i could have just missed it. doesnt sound like an abused wife to me in the lyrics but i could be wrong. is that what you see in them or are you just referencing the review? not being cheeky just trying to differentiate the opinion. he does mention wife beater but i thought that just a description of clothing. a wife beater is a undershirt here in the u.s. worn by people mostly perceived to be low class and overly macho so to speak.
 
Mozzersmandan mentioned a piece by Beat poet Harold Norse with the same name in this thread, and I think it's likely that it provided some inspiration for the lyrics…

http://haroldnorse.com/9

I’m Not a Man

I’m not a man, I can’t earn a living, buy new things for my family.
I have acne and a small peter.

I’m not a man. I don’t like football, boxing and cars.
I like to express my feeling. I even like to put an arm
around my friend’s shoulder.

I’m not a man. I won’t play the role assigned to me- the role created
by Madison Avenue, Playboy, Hollywood and Oliver Cromwell,
Television does not dictate my behavior.

I’m not a man. Once when I shot a squirrel I swore that I would
never kill again. I gave up meat. The sight of blood makes me sick.
I like flowers.

I’m not a man. I went to prison resisting the draft. I do not fight
when real men beat me up and call me queer. I dislike violence.

I’m not a man. I have never raped a woman. I don’t hate blacks.
I do not get emotional when the flag is waved. I do not think I should
love America or leave it. I think I should laugh at it.

I’m not a man. I have never had the clap.

I’m not a man. Playboy is not my favorite magazine.

I’m not a man. I cry when I’m unhappy.

I’m not a man. I do not feel superior to women

I’m not a man. I don’t wear a jockstrap.

I’m not a man. I write poetry.

I’m not a man. I meditate on peace and love.

I’m not a man. I don’t want to destroy you

San Francisco, 1972
 
!Viva Hate! said:
Didn't the iTunes review of the album originally state this album was about an abused wife? Does anyone else remember that?

I thought it was going to be Morrissey trying to make his own "Caroline Says II"...
Click to expand...

Yes, you're right. I'd forgotten that. "A first person account of an abusive husband" they said, I think.
 
hmm still cant see the first person account of a wife beater but who really knows. of course the poem seems way more likely and reads like some beat who read bukowskies ham on rye with the cant earn a living and acne lines. thats such a good book and now that i think about it the songs sentiment seems very bukowski and his own conflicting feelings about masculinity (who was of course sorta echoing hemingway's perhaps). the contraction makes it seem more like a response instead of saying i am not a man which seems much more like a stasnd alone statement which also makes me think its from something and just him think on the subject.
 
hmm which ones and from what novel or collection? i havent read mother night but i think ive almost every other book from sirens of titan to player piano, my fav (it ties with galapagos), to a man without a country. weird to see those lines thrown into a song about another author/authors but ok.
 
Anonymous said:
A few lines from Neal Cassady are from Vonnegut.
Click to expand...

I know "babies full of rabies" is Vonnegut for sure, but what else?

I've always suspected the "absolutely vile" line from I Started Something comes from Vonnegut's Mother Night, too...
 
Anonymous said:
hmm still cant see the first person account of a wife beater but who really knows. of course the poem seems way more likely and reads like some beat who read bukowskies ham on rye with the cant earn a living and acne lines. thats such a good book and now that i think about it the songs sentiment seems very bukowski and his own conflicting feelings about masculinity (who was of course sorta echoing hemingway's perhaps). the contraction makes it seem more like a response instead of saying i am not a man which seems much more like a stasnd alone statement which also makes me think its from something and just him think on the subject.
Click to expand...

Great call, and I completely agree. Ham On Rye is such an amazing, amazing book. I think you're on to something with Bukowski's endless struggles with masculinity, his bad self-esteem vs. his massive ego, and even his view of women.

Thanks for your insights!
 
hmm what book is babies full of rabies from cause i dont remember it but its doubtful that i would i suppose. could be from mother night i guess but again i havent read that one. i kinda always thought so it goes just common parlance of the time as well as absolutely vile. i mean vonnegut might have said those but why quote something so common in useage if to sight a source like an author and infer meaning tribute? i mean vonnegut said to and the as well but i doubt morrisseys trying to reference him there on the album.
 
i also remember so it goes as being a british t.v series featuring the guy from factory records hosting which seems like a much closer to moz reference as theyre both from the same place and time and in the same biz and knew each other and all. anyone whos seen 24 hour party people would know this even an american.
 
chickpea said:
great call, and i completely agree. Ham on rye is such an amazing, amazing book. I think you're on to something with bukowski's endless struggles with masculinity, his bad self-esteem vs. His massive ego, and even his view of women.

Thanks for your insights!
Click to expand...

i'm not a ham
 
true, though hes for sure a ham i guess i saw him more as rye in all its meanings.
 
Anonymous said:
hmm what book is babies full of rabies from cause i dont remember it but its doubtful that i would i suppose.
Click to expand...

It's from Cat's Cradle, in reference to the Hoenikker children. I've never heard the phrase "babies full of rabies" outside of Cat's Cradle. Is it really common parlance?! Morrissey has a long history of making literary references in lyrics, some lifted verbatim—I don't think it's much of a stretch!
 
Anonymous said:
i also remember so it goes as being a british t.v series featuring the guy from factory records hosting which seems like a much closer to moz reference as theyre both from the same place and time and in the same biz and knew each other and all. anyone whos seen 24 hour party people would know this even an american.
Click to expand...

I think Agharta was just leaving a Vonnegut line as a response. Unless I'm missing it, "so it goes" is not a lyric from the album.
 
Chickpea said:
It's from Cat's Cradle, in reference to the Hoenikker children. I've never heard the phrase "babies full of rabies" outside of Cat's Cradle. Is it really common parlance?! Morrissey has a long history of making literary references in lyrics, some lifted verbatim—I don't think it's much of a stretch!
Click to expand...

And you just happened to know that
 
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