A Smiths "Work Is A four..." mention in a blog

[The Seeker of Good Songs]

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I was going to let this go, I really was. I had my exit strategy all mapped out, and the last post ever to appear on New Amusements was going to be Goodbye by The Sundays, on New Year's Eve. Everyone would think I was bidding farewell to 2021, there would be no "oh, don't go, carry on" response to a more obvious departure, and that would be it, my blogging days would be done. And since I'm probably kidding myself about the "carry on" response, I really could have made a French exit.
But here I am. Back at work today and back, it seems, to blogging. Why? Why indeed. I've got nothing new or interesting to write, so how come I'm still here? Well, it's simple, really: the community. The little corner of the blogosphere that we inhabit, all reading each other's posts. I enjoy that very much, and read everyone else's new stuff over breakfast, before I start my day's work. And I guess I just felt that I would be a fraud if I kept on doing that without keeping my half of the bargain, and posting myself. So here we are.
Back to work then. Only one song for that, isn't there? Covering this little ditty (for the B-side of Girlfriend in a Coma) contributed to the disintegration of The Smiths; in a 1992 interview for Record Collector, Johnny Marr said, "Work Is a Four Letter Word I hated. That was the last straw, really. I didn't form a group to perform Cilla Black songs. That was it, really. I made a decision that I was going to get away on holiday. The only place I could think of was L.A. L.A. was the only place I knew where there'd be sunshine, so off I went. I never saw Morrissey again."



He might not have liked covering it, but at least he improved on it...

 

[Uncleskinny]

There's more than one version of that song

 

[Johnny]

A B Side from a time when the well had all but ran dry but I quite like it.
I like Cilla's version as well and it's a hundred times better than Golden Lights which remains the only The Smiths song I don't like.

 

[SuedeMoz]

I don't think Strangeways is the Smiths best album, but it's a great album by any standard. By the time we get to the b-sides though it's clear there were creative problems afoot. While I actually like this cover I totally get Johnny's frustration... what was next, a cover of Petula Clark's "Downtown'? I might actually want to hear that...

 

[Uncleskinny]

This is the less common version...

 

[kellypeebles]

In my opinion Strangeways, Here We Come is the best album ever. The fourth and final studio album by the English rock band The Smiths. Released on September 28, 1987 (a few months after their split) by Rough Trade Records, it reached number two on the British British Album, lasting 17 weeks. What other arguments are needed?
"Girlfriend In А Сота" a classic example of Morrissey's caustic wit, was released as a single the week The Smiths announced they were going out of business. In light of this drama, the album in question didn't get noticed, which is unfortunate. Although this compilation was not as highly acclaimed as the previous two, it remains a fine epitaph to one of the UK's greatest bands.