Notre Dame, rewrite
- Thread starter goinghome
- Start date
Aubrey McFate
Burn down the disco
That's too constricting. The better exercise would be to ask Carlislebaz and ChatGPT to write a poem about the Notre Dame fire conspiracy theory, and see if either of them can top Morrissey. The fact that it would be anyone's guess tells us where we're at.
Phranc & Open
I've known no war
Notre Dame, we loved and praised you
Notre Dame, we loved and praised you
Notre Dame, we're all gods children
Notre Dame, we're all gods children
Before the last supper, they said:
There is no hunchback bell ringer
Go on!
Notre Dame, a long prayer just touched me.
...
Notre Dame, we loved and praised you
Notre Dame, we're all gods children
Notre Dame, we're all gods children
Before the last supper, they said:
There is no hunchback bell ringer
Go on!
Notre Dame, a long prayer just touched me.
...
Last edited:
CrazyFaceGenes
Active Member
Notre Dame, My tinfoil hat it is twitching
Notre Dame, my fanbase is shrinking
Notre Dame, fans accuse me of drinking
Notre Dame, but i'm actually serious
On the Morrissey forums they say
this isn't the way, it's...
*Insert Something about The Bells that belongs in a Carry on film.
Notre Dame, my fanbase is shrinking
Notre Dame, fans accuse me of drinking
Notre Dame, but i'm actually serious
On the Morrissey forums they say
this isn't the way, it's...
*Insert Something about The Bells that belongs in a Carry on film.
William Fisher
Listening face down
Hunchback of Notre Dame
I know who killed you
Quasimodo, I know who killed you
Quando Quando Quasimodo
Before any investigations
Esmeralda said:
“Kevin Spacey didn’t just touch me
This isn’t lecherism!”
Quando Quando Quasimodo
The bells, the bells(!)
of home are ringing out
And I feel all alone
I know who killed you
Quasimodo, I know who killed you
Quando Quando Quasimodo
Before any investigations
Esmeralda said:
“Kevin Spacey didn’t just touch me
This isn’t lecherism!”
Quando Quando Quasimodo
The bells, the bells(!)
of home are ringing out
And I feel all alone
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ZOOM FROM GLOOM
<><><><><><><><><><><>
Notre Dame, we know who tried to kill you
Notre Dame, we know who tried to kill you
Notre Dame, we will not be silent
Notre Dame, we will not be silent
Before investigations, they said:
This is not terrorism!
Notre Dame, we will not be silent
Notre Dame, we will not be silent
Before investigations, they said:
There's nothing to see here!
Notre Dame, a cold hand just touched me
Notre Dame, a cold hand just touched me
Notre Dame, we will not be silent
Notre Dame, we will not be silent
Before any investigations, they said:
This is not terrorism!
Notre Dame, a cold hand just touched
Notre Dame, we know who tried to kill you
Notre Dame, we will not be silent
Notre Dame, we will not be silent
Before investigations, they said:
This is not terrorism!
Notre Dame, we will not be silent
Notre Dame, we will not be silent
Before investigations, they said:
There's nothing to see here!
Notre Dame, a cold hand just touched me
Notre Dame, a cold hand just touched me
Notre Dame, we will not be silent
Notre Dame, we will not be silent
Before any investigations, they said:
This is not terrorism!
Notre Dame, a cold hand just touched
Barking
Boomerrissey Bored Me
Before writing my lyrics, I said
This is not plagiarism!
Mort ici, we know who tried to kill you
It was Jesse
Behind the Church
With a candelabra
It wasn't arson
But your arse was hot
And Damon wept tears of blood
And everything was super homoerotic
And then you sang badly
And Fiona dreamt
of the Virgin Mary
It was all very homocatholic
I think you're secretly attracted to brown-skinned terrorists
But you're too ashamed
And yet that would be perfectly understandable
you'd be united in your
Pathological need for attention
And your suicide pact with a terrorist would be more exciting than your current status
for us all, not just for your an
This is not plagiarism!
Mort ici, we know who tried to kill you
It was Jesse
Behind the Church
With a candelabra
It wasn't arson
But your arse was hot
And Damon wept tears of blood
And everything was super homoerotic
And then you sang badly
And Fiona dreamt
of the Virgin Mary
It was all very homocatholic
I think you're secretly attracted to brown-skinned terrorists
But you're too ashamed
And yet that would be perfectly understandable
you'd be united in your
Pathological need for attention
And your suicide pact with a terrorist would be more exciting than your current status
for us all, not just for your an
Phranc & Open
I've known no war
I was looking for something more romantic, like "An Officer And A Gentleman" or slt.
In Notre Dame
I went for a walk, to inhale
the tranquil, cool, holy air
But I could taste a trace
Of a burning stair
And the hunchback said
"They wanna kill us“
In Notre Dame
I went for a walk to inhale
The tranquil, cool, holy air
But I could sense the hate
from another uholy land
And the hunchback cries
Embrasse-moi!
In Notre Dame
I went for a walk, to inhale
the tranquil, cool, holy air
But I could taste a trace
Of a burning stair
And the hunchback said
"They wanna kill us“
In Notre Dame
I went for a walk to inhale
The tranquil, cool, holy air
But I could sense the hate
from another uholy land
And the hunchback cries
Embrasse-moi!
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D
Deleted member 29227
Guest
P&O, just stick to playing the drums & leave the lyrical aspect to someone else, please...
Phranc & Open
I've known no war
I'm not your little drummer boy, Mick! Offer me something better and I'll let you convince me.P&O, just stick to playing the drums & leave the lyrical aspect to someone else, please...
Redacted
Perfectly Satisfied
Redacted
Perfectly Satisfied
Before writing my lyrics, I said
This is not plagiarism!
Mort ici, we know who tried to kill you
It was Jesse
Behind the Church
With a candelabra
It wasn't arson
But your arse was hot
And Damon wept tears of blood
And everything was super homoerotic
And then you sang badly
And Fiona dreamt
of the Virgin Mary
It was all very homocatholic
I think you're secretly attracted to brown-skinned terrorists
But you're too ashamed
And yet that would be perfectly understandable
you'd be united in your
Pathological need for attention
And your suicide pact with a terrorist would be more exciting than your current status
for us all, not just for your an
JerryCan
Well-Known Member
Been doing this with Roy's Keen for years. Replacing with: Oh Oh Oh Morrissey, Oh Oh Ohh Morrissseyyyy...
With ND I've got the tune completely stuck in my head now. Sometimes morphing into - This is not America.
Same thing happened with Pop Dropped, though that seemed to morph into Led Zep's Trampled Underfoot. Like Franz Ferdinand all over again.
I think it's the impact these songs have here on solo and wading through all the controversy generated.
Is it just me?
With ND I've got the tune completely stuck in my head now. Sometimes morphing into - This is not America.
Same thing happened with Pop Dropped, though that seemed to morph into Led Zep's Trampled Underfoot. Like Franz Ferdinand all over again.
I think it's the impact these songs have here on solo and wading through all the controversy generated.
Is it just me?
Light Housework
“Can you show me, what’s it like?"
It morphs into Julie in the Weeds for me.
goinghome
you must not tamper with arrangements
The original is hard to beat, isn't it? And noble to fully dignify the artist and their art. There's no doubt Morrissey can fit epics in the gaps between simple words of usually one meaning. But that's not the issue here. The issue is the likelihood of getting the go-ahead for its release. And making a record deal easier for Morrissey and fans is what this is about, the desire for it being written all over the faces ; )
My effort feels sacrilegious, because it is sacrilegious, but only intended to show that some changes could take the offending blame out of it. Everyone knows governments, authorities and organisations often lie to the public they're supposed to serve, so this is not even about saying Morrissey's wrong. The real emergency is that without music, the world dies ; )
Notre Dame, God knows what hell you've been through.
Notre Dame, God knows what hell you've been through.
Notre Dame, mother to the migrant
Notre Dame, mother to the migrant
Even blessed congregations, they said,
Glory be to tourism!
Notre Dame, mother to the migrant
Notre Dame, mother to the migrant
Even blessed congregations, they said,
there's so much to see here!
Notre Dame, fire marred your breadth. Pity.
Notre Dame, fire marred your breadth. Pity.
Notre Dame, mother to the migrant
Notre Dame, mother to the migrant
Even blessed congregations, they said,
Welcome, globalism!
Notre Dame, fire marred your breadth. Pity.
Notre Dame, your spire bedecked Paris.
Not that unskilled version but words playing less with fire. Could the lyrics be edited at this stage? One way or the other, if the censor-baiting doesn't stop, there'll be no option but to get out the wet plimsoll...
ZOOM FROM GLOOM
<><><><><><><><><><><>
No, I agree. It doesn’t help his cause.
But if he were to bow to record executives,
I think he would sooner just remove it rather than change the lyrics, if it came to that.
It doesn’t seem his way these days, but I would have liked to have seen a little more poetic meat on the bone that is Notre Dame.
Redacted
Perfectly Satisfied
I hope you aren't serious
B
Barney Rubble
Guest
A typically Morrissey-eque jab at Johnny Marr there. Is this who he's accusing of arson?
J
Jbjonners
Guest
I've been looking back at his so called "controversial" post-Smiths output and concluded that Notre Dame is the only lyric I wouldn't even attempt to defend.
It's the first time that the combination of a right-wing world view, conspiracy theory and clearly implied racism - evident for several years in interviews - has indisputably manifested itself in an actual song lyric.
I believe that the combination of the death of his mother - who had she heard Notre Dame would surely have had some harsh words for him - and his effective exclusion from the music industry (other than touring) has resulted in him going down a conspiracy rabbit warren never to return. With Notre Dame, on the back of Bonfire of Teenagers, his career as a popular mainstream artist is absolutely irrecoverable. With Notre Dame it is impossible in my opinion to argue that the lyric is anything other than M expressing his own view that there has been a government sponsored conspiracy to cover up the cause of the Notre Dame fire and that France, indeed Western societies are, under attack from malign outside forces. It is not too much of a stretch to infer than Islam is responsible. Hot on the trail of the Bonfire of Teenagers lyrics, there is no other reading, also taking into consideration alt-right conspiracy theories that would appear to be the basis for the song.
I would be interested in anyone's views about my take on this, in particular that other earlier 'controversial' songs were all quite reasonably defensible against accusations of racism or right-wingness, but that Notre Dame represents a significant escalation in seriousness which now renders a record deal with the sort of major label he hankers after completely impossible.
So here's the charge list and why all but ND were defensible.
Bengali in Platforms (1988). A bit clumsy perhaps, crass even, but M had long explored the theme of 'belonging', isolation and alienation. As such there was continuity of themes popular to be found within his earlier writing with The Smiths. The imagery within the lyric suggests the song was possibly set in the 1970s, so a generation prior to its writing. As such, the song could be argued to reflect British societal values of the time, shifting the song from necessarily reflecting M's world view.
Asian Rut (1991). Aside from the title itself which could be considered flippant there was nothing essentially racist or offensive about this bleak tale of a racist attack. Indeed the musical backing is sombre and the lyric sympathetic towards the victim.
National Front Disco (1992). The "England for the English" refrain raised eyebrows but the racist protagonist Davy is portrayed as a misguided loser. The refrain could easily be justified as flowing from the mouth of Davy himself, so with Morrissey speaking in the voice of Davy or even as a 'flawed narrator' rather than expressing his own views. On the face of it, less a racist song than an anti-racist one comsisering the song purely on its own terms.
This Is Not Your Country (1997). A song exploring national identity and political / military occupation, this song side-stepped very much criticism due to its B-side status and M appearing to side with the ‘occupied’ ‘underdog’ (Ireland) against British 'occupation'. As such a song which would be sympathetically viewed by the British left.
Israel (2017). Not a lyric which would please the sort of liberal, leftie, Smiths fan base, however expressing warmth towards the people of Israel is not in itself offensive in any sense. Also, the lyric is on the face of it quite careful not to overtly mention the Israeli government, it’s miitary activity in Palestine or pit it against its enemies other than in heavily nuanced language. As such, though this lyric didn't really speak to his historic fanbase, it didn't render him unpublishable.
I Am Not A Dog on a Chain (2020). Not a song which addresses matters of race or is right-wing per se, it does however powerfully warn against conformity and the apparatus of society such as the press, with such vigour and aggression that I am of the view that this lyric is an important staging post in his journey towards writing something as batshit and artless as Notre Dame.
Bonfire of Teenagers (2021). For me this is a pretty artless and offensive song, however there are multiple mitigations when compared to Notre Dame. M was singing about an atrocity in his home city and there were some legitimate points made in my opinion about politicians and the British middle class liberal intelligensia ducking the issues raised by this bombing, taking the easy route out by emphasizing solidarity rather any outrage or showing any particular interest in confronting the developing issue of Islamic terrorism in the UK . However I do believe it was rather lazy and misleading of M to create the refrain of "go easy on the killer". After all the killer was killed in the explosion along with his tragic victims. The song also fails to deal with the issue constructively (although this is not necessarily M’s aim or responsibility) however the lyric is in my opinion insensitive to the victims.
Views, observations, comments anyone?
It's the first time that the combination of a right-wing world view, conspiracy theory and clearly implied racism - evident for several years in interviews - has indisputably manifested itself in an actual song lyric.
I believe that the combination of the death of his mother - who had she heard Notre Dame would surely have had some harsh words for him - and his effective exclusion from the music industry (other than touring) has resulted in him going down a conspiracy rabbit warren never to return. With Notre Dame, on the back of Bonfire of Teenagers, his career as a popular mainstream artist is absolutely irrecoverable. With Notre Dame it is impossible in my opinion to argue that the lyric is anything other than M expressing his own view that there has been a government sponsored conspiracy to cover up the cause of the Notre Dame fire and that France, indeed Western societies are, under attack from malign outside forces. It is not too much of a stretch to infer than Islam is responsible. Hot on the trail of the Bonfire of Teenagers lyrics, there is no other reading, also taking into consideration alt-right conspiracy theories that would appear to be the basis for the song.
I would be interested in anyone's views about my take on this, in particular that other earlier 'controversial' songs were all quite reasonably defensible against accusations of racism or right-wingness, but that Notre Dame represents a significant escalation in seriousness which now renders a record deal with the sort of major label he hankers after completely impossible.
So here's the charge list and why all but ND were defensible.
Bengali in Platforms (1988). A bit clumsy perhaps, crass even, but M had long explored the theme of 'belonging', isolation and alienation. As such there was continuity of themes popular to be found within his earlier writing with The Smiths. The imagery within the lyric suggests the song was possibly set in the 1970s, so a generation prior to its writing. As such, the song could be argued to reflect British societal values of the time, shifting the song from necessarily reflecting M's world view.
Asian Rut (1991). Aside from the title itself which could be considered flippant there was nothing essentially racist or offensive about this bleak tale of a racist attack. Indeed the musical backing is sombre and the lyric sympathetic towards the victim.
National Front Disco (1992). The "England for the English" refrain raised eyebrows but the racist protagonist Davy is portrayed as a misguided loser. The refrain could easily be justified as flowing from the mouth of Davy himself, so with Morrissey speaking in the voice of Davy or even as a 'flawed narrator' rather than expressing his own views. On the face of it, less a racist song than an anti-racist one comsisering the song purely on its own terms.
This Is Not Your Country (1997). A song exploring national identity and political / military occupation, this song side-stepped very much criticism due to its B-side status and M appearing to side with the ‘occupied’ ‘underdog’ (Ireland) against British 'occupation'. As such a song which would be sympathetically viewed by the British left.
Israel (2017). Not a lyric which would please the sort of liberal, leftie, Smiths fan base, however expressing warmth towards the people of Israel is not in itself offensive in any sense. Also, the lyric is on the face of it quite careful not to overtly mention the Israeli government, it’s miitary activity in Palestine or pit it against its enemies other than in heavily nuanced language. As such, though this lyric didn't really speak to his historic fanbase, it didn't render him unpublishable.
I Am Not A Dog on a Chain (2020). Not a song which addresses matters of race or is right-wing per se, it does however powerfully warn against conformity and the apparatus of society such as the press, with such vigour and aggression that I am of the view that this lyric is an important staging post in his journey towards writing something as batshit and artless as Notre Dame.
Bonfire of Teenagers (2021). For me this is a pretty artless and offensive song, however there are multiple mitigations when compared to Notre Dame. M was singing about an atrocity in his home city and there were some legitimate points made in my opinion about politicians and the British middle class liberal intelligensia ducking the issues raised by this bombing, taking the easy route out by emphasizing solidarity rather any outrage or showing any particular interest in confronting the developing issue of Islamic terrorism in the UK . However I do believe it was rather lazy and misleading of M to create the refrain of "go easy on the killer". After all the killer was killed in the explosion along with his tragic victims. The song also fails to deal with the issue constructively (although this is not necessarily M’s aim or responsibility) however the lyric is in my opinion insensitive to the victims.
Views, observations, comments anyone?
