The Moz/Smiths Top 100, Part 180: THE HAND THAT ROCKS THE CRADLE

[Houdini]

Let's compile our own Morrissey/Smiths Top 100 by rating all 232 Moz/Smiths-songs.

Song for Today: THE HAND THAT ROCKS THE CRADLE

Voting should be something along these lines:
10: Perfection
9: Near perfect, brilliant
8: Really good Moz/Smiths song
7: Good Moz/Smiths song
6: OK, Nothing special
5: Uninspired
4: Poor
3: Bad
2: Should never have been released
1: He/They should be ashamed

The songs so far (voting is still open, click to vote):

Part 179: The Father Who Must Be Killed
Part 178: The Edges Are No Longer Parallel
Part 177: The Draize Train
Part 176: The Boy With The Thorn In His Side
Part 175: The Boy Racer
Part 174: That's Entertainment
Part 173: That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore
Part 172: Teenage Dad On His Estate
Part 171: Sweetie Pie
Part 170: Sweet And Tender Hooligan
Part 169: Sunny
Part 168: Suffer Little Children
Part 167: Suedehead
Part 166: Such A Little Thing Makes Such A Big Difference
Part 165: Stretch Out And Wait
Part 164: Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before
Part 163: Still Ill
Part 162: Spring-Heeled Jim
Part 161: Speedway
Part 160: Southpaw
Part 159: Sorrow Will Come In The End
Part 158: Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others
Part 157: Slum Mums
Part 156: Skin Storm
Part 155: Sister, I'm A Poet
Part 154: Sing Your Life
Part 153: Shoplifters Of The World Unite
Part 152: Sheila Take A Bow
Part 151: Shakespeare's Sister
Part 150: Seasick Yet Still Docked
Part 149: Satan Rejected My Soul
Part 148: Rusholme Ruffians
Part 147: Rubber Ring
Part 146: Roy's Keen
Part 145: Reel Around The Fountain
Part 144: Redondo Beach
Part 143: Reader Meet Author
Part 142: Pretty Girls Make Graves
Part 141: Pregnant For The Last Time
Part 140: Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want
Part 139: Piccadilly Palare
Part 138: Pashernate Love
Part 137: Papa Jack
Part 136: Panic
Part 135: Paint A Vulgar Picture
Part 134: Our Frank
Part 133: Ouija Board, Ouija Board
Part 132: Oscillate Wildly
Part 131: On The Streets I Ran
Part 130: Oh Well, I'll Never Learn
Part 129: Nowhere Fast
Part 128: Now My Heart Is Full
Part 127: Now I Am A Was
Part 126: November Spawned A Monster
Part 125: Noise Is The Best Revenge
Part 124: Nobody Loves Us
Part 123: No One Can Hold A Candle To You
Part 122: Never Had No One Ever
Part 121: My Love Life
Part 120: My Life Is A Succession Of People Saying Goodbye
Part 119: Mute Witness
Part 118: Munich Air Disaster 1958
Part 117: Moonriver
Part 116: Money Changes Everything
Part 115: Miserable Lie
Part 114: Michael's Bones
Part 113: Mexico
Part 112: Meat Is Murder
Part 111: Margaret On The Guillotine
Part 110: Maladjusted
Part 109: Lucky Lisp
Part 108: Lost
Part 107: London
Part 106: Little Man, What Now?
Part 105: Lifeguard Sleeping, Girl Drowning
Part 104: Life Is A Pigsty
Part 103: Let the Right One Slip In
Part 102: Let Me Kiss You
Part 101: Late Night, Maudlin Street
Part 100: Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me
Part 99: King Leer
Part 98: Journalists Who Lie
Part 97: Jeane
Part 96: Jack The Ripper
Part 95: It's Hard To Walk Tall When You're Small
Part 94: Is It Really So Strange?
Part 93: Irish Blood, English Heart
Part 92: Interlude
Part 91: Interesting Drug
Part 90: In The Future When All's Well
Part 89: If You Don't Like Me, Don't Look At Me
Part 88: I've Changed My Plea To Guilty
Part 87: (I'm) The End Of The Family Line
Part 86: I'm Not Sorry
Part 85: I'll Never Be Anybody's Hero Now
Part 84: I'd Love To
Part 83: I Won't Share You
Part 82: I Will See You In Far Off Places
Part 81: I Want The One I Can't Have
Part 80: I Started Something I Couldn't Finish
Part 79: I Like You
Part 78: I Know Very Well How I Got My Name
Part 77: I Know It's Over
Part 76: I Know It's Gonna Happen Someday
Part 75: I Knew I Was Next
Part 74: I Keep Mine Hidden
Part 73: I Just Want To See The Boy Happy
Part 72: I Have Forgiven Jesus
Part 71: I Don't Owe You Anything
Part 70: I Don't Mind If You Forget Me
Part 69: I Can Have Both
Part 68: I Am Two People
Part 67: I Am Hated For Loving
Part 66: Human Being
Part 65: How Soon Is Now?
Part 64: How Can Anybody Possibly Know How I Feel?
Part 63: Hold On To Your Friends
Part 62: Heir Apparent
Part 61: Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now
Part 60: He Knows I'd Love To See Him
Part 59: He Cried
Part 58: Have-A-Go Merchant
Part 57: Handsome Devil
Part 56: Hand In Glove
Part 55: Half A Person
Part 54: Hairdresser On Fire
Part 53: Good Looking Man About Town
Part 52: Golden Lights
Part 51: Glamorous Glue
Part 50: Girlfriend In A Coma
Part 49: Girl Least Likely To
Part 48: Girl Afraid
Part 47: Get Off The Stage
Part 46: Ganglord
Part 45: Friday Mourning
Part 44: Frankly Mr Shankly
Part 43: Found Found Found
Part 42: First Of The Gang To Die
Part 41: Everyday Is Like Sunday (follow this link for first 40 songs).

[Chartres]

Top-class The Smiths. Probably not their greatest song but a sure sign of what's to come, especially from Morrissey's lyrics. And it probably ahs Morrissey's best vocal performance on the debut.

10!

[lottie]

I'm not sure i'll ever be able to collect together the words to describe how i feel about this song.
lets just stick with "I LOVE it, its great and in my smiths top 5'

10

[westendgirl]

I'm not sure i'll ever be able to collect together the words to describe how i feel about this song.

My feelings exactly. This song makes me cry everytime. It is one of those songs that has that power over me. Very personal....
Nothing less than a big fat 10!

[jeniphir]

10, please.

--jeniphir

[Comtesse]

I think this is one of the lesser of Johnny's early compositions (he freely admitted to having copped the chords from Patti Smith's far superior "Kimberly"). The lyrics are excellent, but the whole "I once had a child and it saved my life" lyrics are pretty hard to defend... especially on the early live versions where Moz sang, "Climb upon my knee, Sonny Boy / Although you're only three, Sonny Boy / You're mine and your mother she need never know". I realize that Morrissey was only trying to be provocative, but he should not have been at all surprised when the "child molester" accusations started flying. Still, as one of the first Smiths compositions, this song has a certain sacred quality to it. I'll give it a 7.

[snapyou]

the whole "I once had a child and it saved my life" lyrics are pretty hard to defend... especially on the early live versions where Moz sang, "Climb upon my knee, Sonny Boy / Although you're only three, Sonny Boy / You're mine and your mother she need never know". I realize that Morrissey was only trying to be provocative, but he should not have been at all surprised when the "child molester" accusations started flying. .

Not sure why you find them "hard to defend" ?
Also,those Sonny Boy lyrics are sung on the studio version,aren't they?

Can't see why one can't write about possible paedophilia

[the judge]

Boring, boring, boring. I always skip it. It's the music I can't stand.

[Kewpie]

I simply don't understand why people automatically link the lyrics of this song to peadophilia.
It's a song about a father who adores his child to me.

[snapyou]

I simply don't understand why people automatically link the lyrics of this song to peadophilia.
It's a song about a father who adores his child to me.

I always thought that too until this thread but now I'm not so sure.

"I once had a child, and it saved my life
And I never even asked his name
I just looked into his wondrous eyes
And said : "never never never again"
And all too soon I did return
Just like a moth to a flame "

I think it could be read wither way which ,to me,makes it an even better song

[hatfull]

A nine. I love this song so much.

[Kewpie]

People who are interested in discussion of the lyrics:

http://forums.morrissey-solo.com/sho...1600&page=4#69

[applebuttaz]

i like the troy tate one better the one on the album..i think he sings it with more passion

[Comtesse]

I simply don't understand why people automatically link the lyrics of this song to peadophilia.
It's a song about a father who adores his child to me.

That's called wishful thinking.

I thought this too, until I heard the live version with the "You're mine and your mother she need never know" line in it. There's really no other interpretation.

[Comtesse]

Not sure why you find them "hard to defend" ?
Also,those Sonny Boy lyrics are sung on the studio version,aren't they?

Can't see why one can't write about possible paedophilia

Oh, I agree with you - I think the lyrics are great, and I always love devilish subject matter. ("Ambitious Outsiders" is another good one.) But I'm saying that when people say the song is about child molestation, you can't deny them. Unlike "Reel Around The Fountain" or "Handsome Devil" - which were also accused of being about child molestation, and I don't see where you necessarily have to draw that conclusion there. It's hard to draw any other conclusion with "Cradle" though.

[snapyou]

That's called wishful thinking.

I thought this too, until I heard the live version with the "You're mine and your mother she need never know" line in it. There's really no other interpretation.

Surely those lines ARE on the original studio version?

[Dothatagain?]

Surely those lines ARE on the original studio version?

There's a subtle difference. In the studio version, it's "And your mother she just never knew".

[snapyou]

There's a subtle difference. In the studio version, it's "And your mother she just never knew".

Ahhhhh..gottcha,Thanks!

[Raquel]

My feelings exactly. This song makes me cry everytime. It is one of those songs that has that power over me. Very personal....
Nothing less than a big fat 10!

It is tear inducing!
I remember playing this song so many times as a teen, and listening to it recently the lyrics have taken a new somewhat scary complexity. I must go read about the pedophilia connections...
Makes me wonder was Morrissey sexually abused, or is it merely the romance of crime he is singing about?

[snapyou]

Funny,i've loved this song since i first heard it on John Peel always assuming for the next 20 odd years that it was a father's kindly caring song to his son but ,now,i'm really not sure at all.

I do think it is a song about child abuse or could it be we're more aware of it nowadays and our brain just links it in to whatever is happening now?