Best Morrissey Song Ever, round 5

Best Song On Southpaw Grammar

  • The Teachers Are Afraid of the Pupils

    Votes: 28 14.2%

  • Reader Meet Author

    Votes: 33 16.8%

  • The Boy Racer

    Votes: 44 22.3%

  • The Operation

    Votes: 13 6.6%

  • Dagenham Dave

    Votes: 14 7.1%

  • Do Your Best and Don't Worry

    Votes: 13 6.6%

  • Best Friends on the Payroll

    Votes: 7 3.6%

  • Southpaw

    Votes: 45 22.8%
  • Total voters
    197
  • Poll closed .
Southpaw is the most accomplished track on the record (Teachers fares well, too), but I went with The Operation as an under(under)dog. I lot of people hate the extended drum solo intro -- I think it's inspired. I like the lyrics and vocal melody, too.

Always wondered what kind of surgery it's referring to. Taking a closer look at the lyrics, whatever it was it seems to have swollen the recipient's ego. Must have been a lengthening or widening of something...hmmm.
 
Well this one is easy...outstanding and probably all time favorite solo track.
But no live version, such a pity...


Pity Maravich
 
I've picked Reader Meet Author. It was difficult though because Southpaw is my favorite moz solo album :)
 
Boy Racer for me, an underrated Moz-single. Classic Moz.
Should've been the 1st single of course.
And why no b-sides? It was doomed in the charts.
Did it even make the top 40?
 
One thing about Southpaw I've never really seen brought up...

All of us know that Southpaw was made very quickly after Vauxhall -- even Moz himself was surprised. Some say it was a defensive move after the love (or "close call") he experienced during the Vauxhall era. Sort of the album equivalent of a rebound.

The lyrics were often blunt and less poetic. There is poetry there, but there was an obvious lyrical departure after Vauxhall.

What's interesting is that Morrissey never really returned to his more literary, "deeply poetic" lyrics of the past after Southpaw. Personally I think his lyrics now are just as affecting, but definitely more direct. He's not trying to impress as much as he is get his feelings across in less words with more impact ("Life is a pigsty," "I see the world, it makes me puke," "I've had my face dragged through..." etc.).

I love his lyrics from all eras, but I can see how he lost a certain segment of his fanbase along the way.
 
King Leer said:
One thing about Southpaw I've never really seen brought up...

All of us know that Southpaw was made very quickly after Vauxhall -- even Moz himself was surprised. Some say it was a defensive move after the love (or "close call") he experienced during the Vauxhall era. Sort of the album equivalent of a rebound.

The lyrics were often blunt and less poetic. There is poetry there, but there was an obvious lyrical departure after Vauxhall.

What's interesting is that Morrissey never really returned to his more literary, "deeply poetic" lyrics of the past after Southpaw. Personally I think his lyrics now are just as affecting, but definitely more direct. He's not trying to impress as much as he is get his feelings across in less words with more impact ("Life is a pigsty," "I see the world, it makes me puke," "I've had my face dragged through..." etc.).

I love his lyrics from all eras, but I can see how he lost a certain segment of his fanbase along the way.
Click to expand...

I think you're half-right there. Southpaw certainly was a departure musically as well as lyrically from Vauxhall and I. But I always considered Maladjusted a sort of Vauxhall part II, so a return to the "to the more literary, "deeply poetic" lyrics of the past" as you say (Maladjusted, Trouble Loves Me, Ammunition, Wide To receive, He Cried...).

I agree that ROTT is a return to "more direct, less poetic" writing as you say.
In fact I see 2 "camps" in Morrissey oeuvre: Arsenal, Southpaw and ROTT on the one hand and Viva Hate, Vauxhall and Maladjusted on the other, with Quarry being somewhere inbetween.
 
Thewlis said:
I think you're half-right there. Southpaw certainly was a departure musically as well as lyrically from Vauxhall and I. But I always considered Maladjusted a sort of Vauxhall part II, so a return to the "to the more literary, "deeply poetic" lyrics of the past" as you say (Maladjusted, Trouble Loves Me, Ammunition, Wide To receive, He Cried...).

I agree that ROTT is a return to "more direct, less poetic" writing as you say.
In fact I see 2 "camps" in Morrissey oeuvre: Arsenal, Southpaw and ROTT on the one hand and Viva Hate, Vauxhall and Maladjusted on the other, with Quarry being somewhere inbetween.
Click to expand...

I agree Maladjusted was closer in spirit to Vauxhall. I still thought the lyrics were fairly on the nose (but not as much as 'paw) -- Roy's Keen and Sorrow Will Come being prime examples. I agree about Trouble Loves Me though. One of the great Morrissey tracks of his solo career.
 
"The Teachers Are Afraid Of The Pupils" is my favourite and it's even one of my favourite Moz songs, there's some hidden charm in it and it's so different from anything he's ever done. "Reader Meet Author" is close second,would have been my choice for a single instead of "Dagenham Dave".
 
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