Work is a 4 letter word.

[Worm]

Disagree completely! "I Keep Mine Hidden" is an excellent song. I had it as a B-side on vinyl in 1987 and played it to death. Not one of Johnny's best arrangements, no, but I think Morrissey's lyrics are a scream. I was nodding my head vigorously when Morrissey gave a radio interview a few years later and said it was his favorite Smiths track. He was lying, but I liked the attention it gave the song.

Shifty, you can find "I Keep Mine Hidden" on the "Sweet And Tender Hooligan" CD single, which is still easy to find, I think. Don't get your hopes up; it's not the kind of lost gem that blows your mind and sends you into the stratosphere. It's just an amusing trifle and one worth listening to as it's the last-ever recorded Smiths track.

[DeliciousDemon]

For all those who never heard I keep mine hidden I uploaded it here

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=ZAW6ZUNN

[AlbertFinney]

Disagree completely! "I Keep Mine Hidden" is an excellent song. I had it as a B-side on vinyl in 1987 and played it to death. Not one of Johnny's best arrangements, no, but I think Morrissey's lyrics are a scream. I was nodding my head vigorously when Morrissey gave a radio interview a few years later and said it was his favorite Smiths track. He was lying, but I liked the attention it gave the song.

Shifty, you can find "I Keep Mine Hidden" on the "Sweet And Tender Hooligan" CD single, which is still easy to find, I think. Don't get your hopes up; it's not the kind of lost gem that blows your mind and sends you into the stratosphere. It's just an amusing trifle and one worth listening to as it's the last-ever recorded Smiths track.

I absolutely agree with you about "I keep mine hidden". It's extremely charming as opposed to "Work is a four letter word" being competely charmless.

I've read the same sort of stuff as you about the break up too. For me, it was all about work pressures. I can never understand people trying to apportion blame in these situations. People leave their working environments when they're highly stressed all the time.

You're not supposed to say these kind of things but...

You can find "I keep mine hidden" on Bearshare.

[Jon]

I agree with your reasoning, Jones, but Marr only said that it was "the last straw" or something like that. It's certainly a believable "last straw" scenario I think.

My understanding is that Marr was exhausted and wanted a break to clear his head but Morrissey insisted they record B-sides for the new single and more or less dragged him into the studio. You can imagine how upset he must have been to show up at the studio, where he didn't want to be, only to have Morrissey suggest doing a Cilla Black cover.

They recorded the cover (and the splendid "I Keep Mine Hidden") but Marr didn't quit solely because of the session. He quit because when he finally went away to relax and clear his head, as he said he wanted to do, there followed certain strange occurrences (like the NME "Smiths Split" story) that made him want out.

Lots of games were being played by various parties, it seems. Even with all the accounts of what happened to make the group split, the truth is still murky. Was "I Keep Mine Hidden" really Morrissey speaking indirectly to Johnny about their relationship? Did Morrissey thank Angie Marr on the sleeve of "Girlfriend In A Coma" because he knew things were deteriorating? Did he plant the story in the NME to force Johnny into action?

I have to agree with you that there's more to the story than has been recorded, namely that there was an emotionally charged element to Johnny and Morrissey's relationship that caused the split. (That said, I think the idea that they were in love, or that Morrissey was in love and pushed it too far, is not accurate.)

I just think we know most of the story, and I tend to believe the reasons Johnny has given. It wasn't one or two reasons, it was many. Any one of Johnny's publicly stated reasons sounds a bit off taken by itself, but together they add up to a coherent picture. The Smiths were inherently unable to last longer than a few years and a few albums-- frankly they didn't stand a chance in hell-- which is a big clue as to what Morrissey's real criterion has been in choosing his musical partners since The Smiths broke up.

You raise some interesting, if not slightly skewed versions of the truth. I have it on fairly good authority that morrissey insisted that the following was etched into the vinyl of Girlfriend in a coma; "AND NEVER MORE SHALL BE SO / SO FAR, SO BAD" Morrissey was secretly willing the smiths to split up, he was goading Marr into submission for financial reasons. The producer of work is a 4 letter word Grant showbiz had a one night fling with Angie Marr during the final sessions, again Morrissey was aware of this and was teasing Johnny by thanking Angie Marr on the record cover. Also Steve Parikan the engineer for the final sessions was in on the Angie thing, he had previously slept with Angie and had confided this with Morrissey, she was getting a reputation for being somewhat of a bike. Perhaps thats one of the reasons for the song being called Girlfriend in a Coma, we will never know.

[Kewpie]

You raise some interesting, if not slightly skewed versions of the truth. I have it on fairly good authority that morrissey insisted that the following was etched into the vinyl of Girlfriend in a coma; "AND NEVER MORE SHALL BE SO / SO FAR, SO BAD" Morrissey was secretly willing the smiths to split up, he was goading Marr into submission for financial reasons. The producer of work is a 4 letter word Grant showbiz had a one night fling with Angie Marr during the final sessions, again Morrissey was aware of this and was teasing Johnny by thanking Angie Marr on the record cover. Also Steve Parikan the engineer for the final sessions was in on the Angie thing, he had previously slept with Angie and had confided this with Morrissey, she was getting a reputation for being somewhat of a bike. Perhaps thats one of the reasons for the song being called Girlfriend in a Coma, we will never know.

Jon, how and where do you get this?
I really need to ask my friend to arrange to meet Grant, who is still being a good friend of Johnny, to find out about what you stated.

[Jon]

Jon, how and where do you get this?
I really need to ask my friend to arrange to meet Grant, who is still being a good friend of Johnny, to find out about what you stated.

Well, perhaps I'm talking out of class, it's all a very long time ago so should be left buried I think.

[Symphony]

Thanks for the upload DeliciousDemon.

It's ok, it's not the shameful disaster some of the comments had me fearing. Also I think the theme of the song is very Morrissey.

[Kewpie]

Well, perhaps I'm talking out of class, it's all a very long time ago so should be left buried I think.

Mmmm...some things are better left unsaid.

[half a person]

Why does everybody think that only Morrissey wanted to record a cover, from what I heard, they had no choice!

[Stuheff]

Because it is documented that Johnny Marr said that he didnt form the Smiths with Morrissey to do Cilla Black covers.

[Jones]

Because it is documented that Johnny Marr said that he didnt form the Smiths with Morrissey to do Cilla Black covers.

He only said it after the event though when he was having to come up with reasons for why he left the band. It always sounded like a terribly weak reason to me.