Girlfriend in a Coma meaning?

[Young And Alive]

A thought just occurred to me today whilst listening to this song.

I thought that maybe the girlfriend being in a coma is a metaphor for his relationship with her being at a standstill - not dead, but not exactly active either. And the relationship could go either way, it could end completely or they could get back together.

The "there were times when I could have strangled/murdered her, but you know I would hate anything to happen to her" are pretty obvious IMO. Yes, there have been good and bad patches in the relationship, but at the end of the day he still loves her and wants the relationship to live, i.e. he would hate anything to happen to it.

"Do you really think she'll pull through?" line is the boy secretly wanting to know whether there is a future for the relationship, but then he says "No I don't want to see her!" which is like him not wanting to lose face in front of her or something. It's as if they've had a falling out over something, and the boy may be asking a mutual friend whether she still wants to make a go of things with him. When the girlfriend hears of this, she asks him herself, but as I say he's too stubborn to talk to her, so he ignores her - "no I don't want to see her".

Then the "would you please let me see her" is the boyfriend finally ending his silence. He realises he still loves her and decides to contact her to sort things out, but it's too late. She has had enough of him ignoring her and has pulled the plug on the relationship herself, hence the subsequent line "let me whisper my last goodbyes" - for those of you of a perverted persuasion out there, this could mean "goodbye sex" or for us romantic types, a simple kiss goodbye. Or it could quite literally mean them saying goodbye and no more.

 

[Franzanna]

A thought just occurred to me today whilst listening to this song.

I thought that maybe the girlfriend being in a coma is a metaphor for his relationship with her being at a standstill - not dead, but not exactly active either. And the relationship could go either way, it could end completely or they could get back together.

The "there were times when I could have strangled/murdered her, but you know I would hate anything to happen to her" are pretty obvious IMO. Yes, there have been good and bad patches in the relationship, but at the end of the day he still loves her and wants the relationship to live, i.e. he would hate anything to happen to it.

"Do you really think she'll pull through?" line is the boy secretly wanting to know whether there is a future for the relationship, but then he says "No I don't want to see her!" which is like him not wanting to lose face in front of her or something. It's as if they've had a falling out over something, and the boy may be asking a mutual friend whether she still wants to make a go of things with him. When the girlfriend hears of this, she asks him herself, but as I say he's too stubborn to talk to her, so he ignores her - "no I don't want to see her".

Then the "would you please let me see her" is the boyfriend finally ending his silence. He realises he still loves her and decides to contact her to sort things out, but it's too late. She has had enough of him ignoring her and has pulled the plug on the relationship herself, hence the subsequent line "let me whisper my last goodbyes" - for those of you of a perverted persuasion out there, this could mean "goodbye sex" or for us romantic types, a simple kiss goodbye. Or it could quite literally mean them saying goodbye and no more.

Wow... I never thought about it as a metaphor. I've only ever heard that it was about a real-life girl in the news who was kept alive on a life support machine, and it was Morrissey conjecturing what it would be like to be her boyfriend in such a situation.

Although this is from the same person who took about a year to work out that Shakespeare's Sister was about throwing oneself off a cliff.

 

[punkinthesupermarket]

Girlfriend in a coma, I know
I know - it's serious
Girlfriend in a coma, I know
I know - it's really serious
there were times when I could
have 'murdered' her
(but, you know, I would hate
anything to happen to her)
NO, I DON'T WANT TO SEE HER
Do you really think
she'll pull through?
Do you really think
she'll pull through?
Girlfriend in a coma, I know
I know, it's serious
Bye, bye, bye, bye, bye, bye baby goodbye
there were times when I could
have 'strangled' her
(but, you know, I would hate
anything to happen to her)
WOULD YOU PLEASE
LET ME SEE HER!
Do you really think
she'll pull through?
Do you really think
she'll pull through?
Let me whisper my last goodbyes 1
I know - IT'S SERIOUS



ok my interpretatin is that he is talking about someone else's girlfriend not his girlfriend he actually fancies the girlfriend's boyfriend..... and the girlfriend is always in the way / he's jealous of her hence the "could have murdered her".. but now that she's in a coma he feels guilty for feeling/thinking this way with the prospect of her actually dying ("i'd hate anything to happy to her)... but moz being moz there's a final twist - in the end he decides PLEASE LET ME SEE HER .. he fiddles with the life support machine and "whisper his last goodbyes.".......knowing full well that he's committing a serious crime.. "It's serious"..


anyroad.. i'm sure it's really not that complicated but the great thing about morrissey's lyrics is that they are there to inspire / fuel the imagination ....just like any good poetry does..

 

[Franzanna]

Girlfriend in a coma, I know
I know - it's serious
Girlfriend in a coma, I know
I know - it's really serious
there were times when I could
have 'murdered' her
(but, you know, I would hate
anything to happen to her)
NO, I DON'T WANT TO SEE HER
Do you really think
she'll pull through?
Do you really think
she'll pull through?
Girlfriend in a coma, I know
I know, it's serious
Bye, bye, bye, bye, bye, bye baby goodbye
there were times when I could
have 'strangled' her
(but, you know, I would hate
anything to happen to her)
WOULD YOU PLEASE
LET ME SEE HER!
Do you really think
she'll pull through?
Do you really think
she'll pull through?
Let me whisper my last goodbyes 1
I know - IT'S SERIOUS



ok my interpretatin is that he is talking about someone else's girlfriend not his girlfriend he actually fancies the girlfriend's boyfriend..... and the girlfriend is always in the way / he's jealous of her hence the "could have murdered her".. but now that she's in a coma he feels guilty for feeling/thinking this way with the prospect of her actually dying ("i'd hate anything to happy to her)... but moz being moz there's a final twist - in the end he decides PLEASE LET ME SEE HER .. he fiddles with the life support machine and "whisper his last goodbyes.".......knowing full well that he's committing a serious crime.. "It's serious"..


anyroad.. i'm sure it's really not that complicated but the great thing about morrissey's lyrics is that they are there to inspire / fuel the imagination ....just like any good poetry does..

Wow... Why does everyone else have these marvellously complicated extended metaphors as the meanings behind songs while I can't see anything beyond the literal meanings?

 

[Jones]

It's a comic song about a boyfriend who wants out of the relationship and is secretly pleased his girlfriend is in a coma, but has to pretend to be concerned. It's not any deeper than that. It's just a very clever song.

 

[Amy]

It's a comic song about a boyfriend who wants out of the relationship and is secretly pleased his girlfriend is in a coma, but has to pretend to be concerned. It's not any deeper than that. It's just a very clever song.

Agreed. I think people sometimes read far too much into the most simple of Morrissey's lyrics - 'Girlfriend...' is a comedy song and nothing much else.

 

[Franzanna]

It's a comic song about a boyfriend who wants out of the relationship and is secretly pleased his girlfriend is in a coma, but has to pretend to be concerned. It's not any deeper than that. It's just a very clever song.

Agreed. I think people sometimes read far too much into the most simple of Morrissey's lyrics - 'Girlfriend...' is a comedy song and nothing much else.

What?! I don't understand any of this! I just don't see it. There are some Morrissey songs that I can tell are humourous, but this isn't one of them as far as I'm concerned.

 

[London By Night]

'Girlfriend In A Coma' is an affectionate and brilliantly realised pastiche of the 'Death Disc' genre that was popular in the 1960's, complete with the trademark dramatic music and narrative style lyric. Both Morrissey and Johnny have gone on record expressing their love of 60's teen pop music, such as Twinkle (who recorded the death disc 'Terry') and The Shangri La's, the latter who ultimately became the Queens of this strange but short lived genre that The Smiths briefly revived.

 

[prisoner77]

I found the song hilarious.

 

[Well I Wonder]

It's a comic song about a boyfriend who wants out of the relationship and is secretly pleased his girlfriend is in a coma, but has to pretend to be concerned. It's not any deeper than that. It's just a very clever song.

I agree

 

[Orson Swells]

A thought just occurred to me today whilst listening to this song.

I thought that maybe the girlfriend being in a coma is a metaphor for his relationship with her being at a standstill - not dead, but not exactly active either. And the relationship could go either way, it could end completely or they could get back together.

The "there were times when I could have strangled/murdered her, but you know I would hate anything to happen to her" are pretty obvious IMO. Yes, there have been good and bad patches in the relationship, but at the end of the day he still loves her and wants the relationship to live, i.e. he would hate anything to happen to it.

"Do you really think she'll pull through?" line is the boy secretly wanting to know whether there is a future for the relationship, but then he says "No I don't want to see her!" which is like him not wanting to lose face in front of her or something. It's as if they've had a falling out over something, and the boy may be asking a mutual friend whether she still wants to make a go of things with him. When the girlfriend hears of this, she asks him herself, but as I say he's too stubborn to talk to her, so he ignores her - "no I don't want to see her".

Then the "would you please let me see her" is the boyfriend finally ending his silence. He realises he still loves her and decides to contact her to sort things out, but it's too late. She has had enough of him ignoring her and has pulled the plug on the relationship herself, hence the subsequent line "let me whisper my last goodbyes" - for those of you of a perverted persuasion out there, this could mean "goodbye sex" or for us romantic types, a simple kiss goodbye. Or it could quite literally mean them saying goodbye and no more.

Well, I think you're part right. I always assumed it was a metaphor for his rocky relationship with J Marr at the time, his, er, songwriting "girlfriend".

 

[2-J]

I think it IS a knowing tribute to the 'death disc' genre and it IS meant to be funny on some levels too...

... what I also take from it most is a theme, oft expressed in the Moz canon, of how you can really love someone sometimes and really 'hate' them (or at least have feelings of hate) at others. the lines about could have murdered her, would hate for anything to happen to her, do want to see her, don't want to see her, endure (with me) the most.

 

[Poppy Full]

Saw this on a website a couple of months ago (can't remember the name - sorry)...perhaps not the most accurate interpretation, but thought I'd share
Sorry it's so long as well.


"Girlfriend in a coma, I know
I know - its serious
Girlfriend in a coma, I know
I know - its really serious
It appears that Morrissey has been to visit the hospital, and during this visit he has come to realize that his girlfriend is in a coma. Now, it’s Morrissey – supposedly one of the finest songwriters of the age – so you would assume that he of all people would cite his sources correctly, or give us a tale worthy of the great Indiana Jones as to how she came about to be in a coma. But no. No teaser trailer, no mention whatsoever of what could have happened. Here are some likely scenarios as to how she came to be in a coma:
She was involved in a traffic collision, wherein her head was thrust upon to a dangerous object inducing a coma.
She slipped in the bathroom. Obviously not the most exciting of ways in which a coma can happen, but you never know.
She was victim of a mugging, a mugging so severe it caused dangerous cranial injuries.
She was subjected to one of Morrissey’s epic poetry reading sessions, and fell into a sleep so dangerous it almost killed her.
It appears that whilst in the hospital visiting his impaired girlfriend, Morrissey sought out advice from some of the doctors there who were able to confirm that yes, indeed, it’s quite serious that she is in a coma. One might go as far as to say that its really serious. Morrissey muses on this.
There were times when I could
Have murdered her
(but you know, I would hate
Anything to happen to her)
No, I dont want to see her
Morrissey, what are you doing! With his girlfriend in a coma, Morrissey is now admitting that he has in the past had intentions to murder! With the cause of the coma apparently unknown, he is not doing himself any favours by lining himself up as a potential suspect, admitting to such dark and dastardly thoughts. Indeed, in addition to this he does himself no further favours by not saying why he had thoughts of killing her – I mean she might have behaved in an inappropriate manner at a posh dinner party that Morrissey had invited his boss at work to, or she might have said something degrading to his mother, or she may have done something even worse than that (hard to imagine I know), such as not like his poetry or his songwriting. I mean – even the legions of Smiths fans would want to kill her, let alone Morrissey! She has however clearly done something to displease him, as he does not wish to see her. Which is fair enough as I mean she’s just got tubes going in and out of her and he doesn’t really want to get in the way of the doctors and in general its just a distressing affair.
Do you really think
She’ll pull through ?
Do you really think
She’ll pull through ?
Now Morrissey – I have to confess something. I am not a trained medical professional. In fact, I am barely trained in any regard. So whilst I appreciate as a listener that you are asking my advice as to whether or not I feel that your girlfriend will pull through the coma, well, without even seeing what her current state is I can’t in all good honesty answer that. I mean she might be about to die, in which case if I said “oh no I’m sure she’ll be fine and dandy and you’ll be standing under an umbrella-ella-ella-ella-eh-eh-eh any time at all” (see the popular culture reference in there?) then I would look a bit silly really – and vice versa. I mean I could say “oh she’ll be fine” in an attempt to boost Morrissey’s hopes, but at the end of the day I’m just not that sort of chap.
Girlfriend in a coma, I know
I know - its serious
My, my, my, my, my, my baby, goodbye
By lord does Morrissey know that his girlfriend being in a coma is serious. It appears that things are taking a turn for the worse, as – overcome with the great emotion that the prospect of losing a girlfriend to a coma can bring on – Morrissey develops a stutter as he says goodbye, possibly for the final time. Or just because visiting hours are over and Morrissey can’t bear the thought of returning to his empty home, and will instead go on a binge around Manchester in which he will hire two prostitutes in a night, go on a drug fuelled drive to Canterbury and back, and will not be able to see his “girlfriend” again for the shame that this debauchery has brought on him.
There were times when I could
Have strangled her
(but you know, I would hate
Anything to happen to her)
Would you please
Let me see her!
Morrissey reveals more about his previous murder plans for his girlfriend by announcing that he could indeed have strangled her – this shows little regard for the far more efficient alternatives available out there, such as smothering and shooting. Strangling leaves an awful lot of evidence and may well involve a struggle – but to each their own I suppose. However it would then appear that the end is nigh, as Morrissey now wants to see his girlfriend one last time before the end – unless of course he actually wants to strangle her whilst she’s in a coma, which isn’t really fair kop and in all honesty is a bit of a cowardly thing to do, just not really cricket. But, as is the norm with Morrissey, he gives us no clue as to what’s really going on. The old devil."

 

[emmanuela_7]

Wow... Why does everyone else have these marvellously complicated extended metaphors as the meanings behind songs while I can't see anything beyond the literal meanings?

I'm the same! I don't read too much in Moz's lyrics, they are pretty straight-forward!

 

[PregnantForTheLastTime]

I found the song hilarious.

I've never considered the song as a metaphor for the relationship in general, but it works on that level, too.

When I first heard it, I thought it was brilliant and I had to know who was writing lyrics like that, which were so different from everything else that was popular.

 

[Skinner]

A thought just occurred to me today whilst listening to this song.

I thought that maybe the girlfriend being in a coma is a metaphor for his relationship with her being at a standstill - not dead, but not exactly active either. And the relationship could go either way, it could end completely or they could get back together.

The "there were times when I could have strangled/murdered her, but you know I would hate anything to happen to her" are pretty obvious IMO. Yes, there have been good and bad patches in the relationship, but at the end of the day he still loves her and wants the relationship to live, i.e. he would hate anything to happen to it.

"Do you really think she'll pull through?" line is the boy secretly wanting to know whether there is a future for the relationship, but then he says "No I don't want to see her!" which is like him not wanting to lose face in front of her or something. It's as if they've had a falling out over something, and the boy may be asking a mutual friend whether she still wants to make a go of things with him. When the girlfriend hears of this, she asks him herself, but as I say he's too stubborn to talk to her, so he ignores her - "no I don't want to see her".

Then the "would you please let me see her" is the boyfriend finally ending his silence. He realises he still loves her and decides to contact her to sort things out, but it's too late. She has had enough of him ignoring her and has pulled the plug on the relationship herself, hence the subsequent line "let me whisper my last goodbyes" - for those of you of a perverted persuasion out there, this could mean "goodbye sex" or for us romantic types, a simple kiss goodbye. Or it could quite literally mean them saying goodbye and no more.

I like your interpretation of the song. I think there could easily be tons of people in that situation who could view the song that way. Not to mention the fact that you just described my life at the moment. I’m in a coma emotionally and have no idea what’s going to happen. So even if the song is meant to be “funny” or straightforward, I think there is a lot of truth in your theory as well. Thanks for posting this.

 

[Mr Smith]

It's a funny song, but to be honest, I always thought it was slightly over-exaggerated in terms of comic value and used far too often in the "Morrissey lyrics are humourous and not just depressing" argument.

I've always read it as faked concern / sympathy / mourning, as Jones mentioned above, but I also read it with underlying themes of domestic violence, with the boyfriend being the perputrator and his only real concern is being found out should she awake.

 

[Franzanna]

I've always read it as faked concern / sympathy / mourning, as Jones mentioned above, but I also read it with underlying themes of domestic violence, with the boyfriend being the perputrator and his only real concern is being found out should she awake.

Wow... Everyone's so deep!

 

[pagnani32]

It's a comic song about a boyfriend who wants out of the relationship and is secretly pleased his girlfriend is in a coma, but has to pretend to be concerned. It's not any deeper than that. It's just a very clever song.

Thats what I got out of the whole thing.

 

[This charming man.]

'Girlfriend In A Coma' is an affectionate and brilliantly realised pastiche of the 'Death Disc' genre that was popular in the 1960's, complete with the trademark dramatic music and narrative style lyric. Both Morrissey and Johnny have gone on record expressing their love of 60's teen pop music, such as Twinkle (who recorded the death disc 'Terry') and The Shangri La's, the latter who ultimately became the Queens of this strange but short lived genre that The Smiths briefly revived.

Correct, lamenting a hospital-ridden lover after a ghastly accident (as in Ricky Valance's 1960 number one Tell Laura I Love Her.