Morrissey A-Z: "Christian Dior"

BookishBoy

BookishBoy

Well-Known Member



Today's entry in the A-Z is "Christian Dior". First released as the b-side of "In the Future When All's Well" and then included on the Swords compilation.

This song was also the subject of one of my favourite examples of Armond White's highly entertaining and hyperbolic writings about Morrissey, which can be found here.
 
I wonder why he wrote about Dior?

And maybe his flings in Rome were making him wistful about all the flings he didn't have.
 
Nerak said:
I wonder why he wrote about Dior?

And maybe his flings in Rome were making him wistful about all the flings he didn't have.
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All the Flings I Never Had would make a great Morrissey song title.

Perhaps M. just read an article or saw a documentary of Dior? And obviously he drew some similarities between his own life and Dior's. Dior's early death and the rumor that he died of a heart attack during sex also appealed to M's morbid sense of humour. Anyway, this is my favourite of the ROTT b-sides, nearly all of which were of lesser quality than the Quarry bonuses. It's also the only Boorer co-write from the whole era, which at the time seemed that Boz was on his way out, but that didn't happen.
 
Terrible confession but somehow this song passed me by and I only heard it for the first time yesterday and now I'm totally in love with it. It's gorgeous! The flow of it, his voice, the drama, the lyrics - f**k me, this is a really, really good song.
 
Eldritch said:
All the Flings I Never Had would make a great Morrissey song title.
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He does have a song like that. It's called The Never-Played Symphonies 😉
 
Boz's lone writing contribution to the Ringleader sessions, if I recall correctly. I definitely liked this one when it came out, I thought it was more lyrically interesting than anything else on the album proper. Production is a little flat, doesn't really do the composition justice. Always thought the "drawn to what scares me / and scared of what bores me" line was a bit of a nod to Joni in "A Case of You" when she sings "I'm frightened by the devil / and I'm drawn to those that ain't afraid."

In any case, the song fits nicely into the legacy of Morrissey lamenting his (alleged) propensity for good behavior.
 
well written,always liked this,i love the swords album,somany good songs on it.
 
BookishBoy said:
Terrible confession but somehow this song passed me by and I only heard it for the first time yesterday and now I'm totally in love with it. It's gorgeous! The flow of it, his voice, the drama, the lyrics - f**k me, this is a really, really good song.
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Yes, it's one of my favourites and, like Ganglord, is a far better song than most of what made it onto Ringleader.
 
Dior would have celebrated his 100th birthday in 2005, it's possible that Morrissey read about his life in that context. His interest in designer fashion was at its peak around that time as well and the subject matter fits in well with his other reference points from that period. Plus, the name simply has a great sound when sung.
Of course the Dior part is only a vehicle for his reflexions about his own life.

To me it's really a continuation of The Never-Played Symphonies.


Some great lines here

And drawn to what scares me
And scared of what bores me

...can be interpreted in intriguing ways, but it's also a nice couplet on its own.

Design (if you can)
The way
To just
...be a man

...takes up the theme of questioning definitions of masculinity and thus anticipates I'm Not A Man.

I'm also very fond of the "a-woosh"s.

A great song, one of the best from the Ringleader era. If only it sounded a bit less... hollow and flat, production-wise.

Edit: The melody also reminds me a lot of Mexico (the Quarry b-side, not the country). Just me?
 
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This paragraph from a review of a biography of Dior...

"An elegantly written, sparkling portrait of a pioneering arbiter of style, this candid biography reveals Dior as a spendthrift and tax evader, a tough, at times imperious boss, a captive of his own success--tormented by anxieties even in his sleep--who wasted himself in the frenzied pursuit of living like a lord to make up for years of struggle."

...maybe resonates with someone?
 
Morrissey shines here as a crooner and also as a lyricist.
He sounds very much alive too, happy that his time hasn't come yet to die (while having sex).
 
A quality b-side and yes, it could easily have made the album (although Ringleaders is very strong without it).

The lyrics are uproarious and fun to listen to, Morrissey is in good voice and the vocal melody soars.

In the poll on the Hoffman board it ranked 78th from 264 solo songs.
 
Now, this is great. Beautifully sung (gorgeous crooning), terrific lyrics and with beautiful orchestration/arrangement. Most likely the best of the ROTT b-sides. Makes you wonder why there were so few Boz compositions released during this time.
 
one of my favorites. Sweeping swaying music over passionate wordy lyrics about chasing life. I like the story of diors life (there are several docs just on YouTube) so I was pretty happy to see a song about him. I love the way the song falls in at the beginning. So many great lines people have already mention but I liked the “when you look at me failure is all that you see” and “lyonise maverick”. Why this wasn’t on an album I do not know or understand
 
That's Enough For Me said:
This song didn't make the album, 'I'll never be anybody's hero now' did.

Quality control must've nipped out for a fag break at that point.
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I’ve always loved that one. On the Streets I Ran, on the other hand, is quite throwaway.
 
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