Morrissey A-Z: "That's How People Grow Up"

[BookishBoy]

Today's song is this Morrissey/Boorer composition, released as a single in February 2008 and reaching #14 on the UK chart. It also appeared on Years of Refusal, the following year.

What do we think?

 

[Light Housework]

"Grow up!"

 

[Janice]

I’m going to play both 45’s of this later; and flip the b-sides also.
It’s generally ‘ok’.

 

[Eldritch]

Morrissey has always rated this high, which has always been a mystery to me. Chug rock at its worst. For me the kindest way to interpret this is that M. makes fun of himself for pining the things he can't have, while other people suffer from much worse problems.

 

[Deleted member 30524]

Ahhh yesss....
Those were the days when Morrissey had hit singles and wore
Proper jeans......
Where did it all go wrong 😬

I’ve always enjoyed this song
Some good lyrics and thumping guitars, and quite a catchy number.

We know it’s not his best work and it certainly isn’t his worst, I’ll always let this play on without snarling at Alexa

 

[This Charming Bowie]

Another above average song from Years of Refusal, with some hilarious lyrics mixed with an accordion driven bolero stomp. The prominent guitars make this fit in with the rest of the album nicely and it acts as a counterpoint to “All You Need Is Me” (although the latter is a better song, IMO) lyrically and tempo-wise. I’ve consistently enjoyed Moz’s vocal performance, which just floats over the top of the music. Another pretty underrated single from one of his best albums.
8/10

 

[gordyboy9]

its one of those songs that people will like or dislike,there seems to be no middle ground,i dont mind it,i actually think KY wailing in the background actually helps the song.it gets a saturay morning thumbs up from me.
8 cars/10 broken spines.

 

[Deleted member 30524]

its one of those songs that people will like or dislike,there seems to be no middle ground,i dont mind it,i actually think KY wailing in the background actually helps the song.it gets a saturay morning thumbs up from me.
8 cars/10 broken spines.

Hope you can “service” Moz’s car 😉😉

 

[Gregor Samsa]

Very underrated, really. Not chug rock at all, but rather a melodic pop rocker. It also boasts some witty and quotable lyrics. I loved it when I first heard it on Letterman (?) in the summer of 2007, but thought (and still think) it lost some of its oomph in the studio.

 

[Mozmar]

I've always loved this one, & of course the YOR album; some great lines, great vocals, & wonderful thumping drum action. The JR show version is quite stupendous. Rocktastic mate!

 

[TheSmiths_1985]

Absolutely shite.

 

[Mike Rourke]

Not bad music, bloody awful lyrics.
Next!

 

[Trans]

For sure not chug rock. I tend to like the song but really dislike the production or mix here. It sounds different from the rest of the album for reasons I can’t fathom unless they tried to jazz it up as it was a single. I don’t know, the music sounds weirdly processed. It’s one of my least favs from the album

 

[That's Enough For Me]

I was driving my car
I crashed and broke my spine
So, yes, there are things worse in life than
Never being someone's sweetie

That's about as bad as it gets lyrically.

 

[Thewlis]

A fun song, not a great song. Still highly enjoyable for me.

7,8

 

[Mozmar]

Great thing about these A-Zs; makes you get the respective album out & take it for a spin!
Skull, Mama, Cloud, Carol, et al...a simply wonderful Saturday.

 

[Flibberty]

Morrissey has said that this came together very quickly and I like the spontaneous nature of it. It feels like him attempting something different which was no bad thing.

I am also one of those who has no issue with Kristeen Young's voice.

Not a classic, but fine for the occasional listen.

In the poll on the Hoffman board it ranked 184th from 264 solo songs.

 

[Mozmar]

Interesting notes from PJLM:
"In a 2007 Q&A having appeared on the True To You website, Morrissey said "I'm less inclined towards notes these days, and have just finished two new songs which flooded out without any consultation to any scribbled ideas. This happens more and more, notably 'That's How People Grow Up', for instance, just fell out. I'm not sure if they're actually even songs, or simply outbursts or showers of panic. Generally, there's a central vocal hook, most typically the chorus, which comes first, and if it doesn't then there's no song. My aim, mostly, is to have every moment of the song as a vocal hook... that's the hope, anyway.""

 

[Southport Grandma]

The balance of the guitars sounds wrong to me. Boz’s vibrato coated contribution should have been higher in the mix for me.

 

[Mayfly]

It’s a solid and melodic tune from Boz, with Morrissen in excellent voice.
Lyrically, he tried to make fun of his own failures, but the words aren’t always funn.
The worst part of the lyrics have already been mentioned not worth repeating.
6/10