The Moz/Smiths Top 100, Part 209: USED TO BE A SWEET BOY

How do you rate Used To Be A Sweet Boy?


  • Total voters
    112

Houdini

Junior Member
Let's compile our own Morrissey/Smiths Top 100 by rating all 232 Moz/Smiths-songs.

Song for Today: USED TO BE A SWEET BOY

Voting should be something along these lines:
10: Perfection
9: Near perfect, brilliant
8: Really good Moz/Smiths song
7: Good Moz/Smiths song
6: OK, Nothing special
5: Uninspired
4: Poor
3: Bad
2: Should never have been released
1: He/They should be ashamed

The songs so far (voting is still open, click to vote):

Part 208: Unloveable
Part 207: Unhappy Birthday
Part 206: Trouble Loves Me
Part 205: Tony The Pony
Part 204: Tomorrow
Part 203: To Me You Are A Work Of Art
Part 202: This Night Has Opened My Eyes
Part 201: This Is Not Your Country
Part 200: This Charming Man
Part 199: These Things Take Time
Part 198: There's A Place In Hell For Me And My Friends
Part 197: There Speaks A True Friend
Part 196: There Is A Light That Never Goes Out
Part 195: The Youngest Was The Most Loved
Part 194: The World Is Full Of Crashing Bores
Part 193: The Teachers Are Afraid Of The Pupils
Part 192: The Queen Is Dead
Part 191: The Public Image
Part 190: The Ordinary Boys
Part 189: The Operation
Part 188: The Never Played Symphonies
Part 187: The National Front Disco
Part 186: The More You Ignore Me, The Closer I Get
Part 185: The Loop
Part 184: The Lazy Sunbathers
Part 183: The Last Of The Famous International Playboys
Part 182: The Headmaster Ritual
Part 181: The Harsh Truth Of The Camera Eye
Part 180: The Hand That Rocks The Cradle
Part 179: The Father Who Must Be Killed
Part 178: The Edges Are No Longer Parallel
Part 177: The Draize Train
Part 176: The Boy With The Thorn In His Side
Part 175: The Boy Racer
Part 174: That's Entertainment
Part 173: That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore
Part 172: Teenage Dad On His Estate
Part 171: Sweetie Pie
Part 170: Sweet And Tender Hooligan
Part 169: Sunny
Part 168: Suffer Little Children
Part 167: Suedehead
Part 166: Such A Little Thing Makes Such A Big Difference
Part 165: Stretch Out And Wait
Part 164: Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before
Part 163: Still Ill
Part 162: Spring-Heeled Jim
Part 161: Speedway
Part 160: Southpaw
Part 159: Sorrow Will Come In The End
Part 158: Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others
Part 157: Slum Mums
Part 156: Skin Storm
Part 155: Sister, I'm A Poet
Part 154: Sing Your Life
Part 153: Shoplifters Of The World Unite
Part 152: Sheila Take A Bow
Part 151: Shakespeare's Sister
Part 150: Seasick Yet Still Docked
Part 149: Satan Rejected My Soul
Part 148: Rusholme Ruffians
Part 147: Rubber Ring
Part 146: Roy's Keen
Part 145: Reel Around The Fountain
Part 144: Redondo Beach
Part 143: Reader Meet Author
Part 142: Pretty Girls Make Graves
Part 141: Pregnant For The Last Time
Part 140: Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want
Part 139: Piccadilly Palare
Part 138: Pashernate Love
Part 137: Papa Jack
Part 136: Panic
Part 135: Paint A Vulgar Picture
Part 134: Our Frank
Part 133: Ouija Board, Ouija Board
Part 132: Oscillate Wildly
Part 131: On The Streets I Ran
Part 130: Oh Well, I'll Never Learn
Part 129: Nowhere Fast
Part 128: Now My Heart Is Full
Part 127: Now I Am A Was
Part 126: November Spawned A Monster
Part 125: Noise Is The Best Revenge
Part 124: Nobody Loves Us
Part 123: No One Can Hold A Candle To You
Part 122: Never Had No One Ever
Part 121: My Love Life
Part 120: My Life Is A Succession Of People Saying Goodbye
Part 119: Mute Witness
Part 118: Munich Air Disaster 1958
Part 117: Moonriver
Part 116: Money Changes Everything
Part 115: Miserable Lie
Part 114: Michael's Bones
Part 113: Mexico
Part 112: Meat Is Murder
Part 111: Margaret On The Guillotine
Part 110: Maladjusted
Part 109: Lucky Lisp
Part 108: Lost
Part 107: London
Part 106: Little Man, What Now?
Part 105: Lifeguard Sleeping, Girl Drowning
Part 104: Life Is A Pigsty
Part 103: Let the Right One Slip In
Part 102: Let Me Kiss You
Part 101: Late Night, Maudlin Street
Part 100: Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me,
(follow this link for first 99 songs).

Best performing songs, parts 1 to 99 (click to vote):

Part 96: Jack The Ripper
Part 93: Irish Blood, English Heart
Part 88: I've Changed My Plea To Guilty
Part 83: I Won't Share You
Part 81: I Want The One I Can't Have
Part 77: I Know It's Over
Part 65: How Soon Is Now?
Part 61: Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now
Part 57: Handsome Devil
Part 56: Hand In Glove
Part 55: Half A Person
Part 54: Hairdresser On Fire
Part 50: Girlfriend In A Coma
Part 42: First Of The Gang To Die
Part 41: Everyday Is Like Sunday
Part 36: Disappointed
Part 26: Cemetry Gates
Part 21: Bigmouth Strikes Again
Part 14: Asleep
Part 1: A Rush And A Push And The Land Is Ours
 
Big 8. I love this song – perfect for Vauxhall & I - very touching & personal, the music is as sweet as his voice & lyrics are. I esp enjoy the tip tapping of the drum cymbal.

Has anyone drawn the parallel with:

“Used to be a sweet boy, I’m not to blame but something went wrong…”
-to-
“Living longer than I had intended, something must have gone right”

I’m sure this was purely intentional on the Master’s part. :D
 
This is about a 6 3/4, so I gave it a 7. As a song written in the voice of a "character," (the mother of the formerly-sweet boy) it's not Moz's best work. I'm tempted to say that "The Youngest Was the Most Loved" is version 2.0 of "Used to be a Sweet Boy."

--jeniphir
 
Absolutely gorgeous.
Easily one of the top 3 Morrissey/Whyte ballads...

I've voted on this one cos its possibly one of the most underrated songs in the whole canon. Now "Thats How People Grow Up" indeed!!! And a damnedsight better aurally too.

Fo personal reasons this song completely addresses me more than anyone here would ever ever know but regardless of that, its just wistful, evocative, beautiful. A great piece of art. etc

If he does this live I'll cream my pants oh and Maladjusted too please!
 
This is about a 6 3/4, so I gave it a 7. As a song written in the voice of a "character," (the mother of the formerly-sweet boy) it's not Moz's best work. I'm tempted to say that "The Youngest Was the Most Loved" is version 2.0 of "Used to be a Sweet Boy."

--jeniphir

You're totally missing the point....
 
8/10 a nice song from what is by far his best album.​
 
Beautiful melody and delivery. A heartbreaking reflection on how dreams can die or be wasted away. If you have kids or have friends who have kids this song could serve as a reminder to make even more effort.

10
 
Big 8. I love this song – perfect for Vauxhall & I - very touching & personal, the music is as sweet as his voice & lyrics are. I esp enjoy the tip tapping of the drum cymbal.

Has anyone drawn the parallel with:

“Used to be a sweet boy, I’m not to blame but something went wrong…”
-to-
“Living longer than I had intended, something must have gone right”

I’m sure this was purely intentional on the Master’s part. :D

I'm not even going to rank this song. It just creeps me out whenever I listen to it, as it hits a bit too close to home. I almost always skip it, when I don't a feeling of supreme disappointment permeates me.

[Vauxhall gets up off the couch now..]
 
I'm not even going to rank this song. It just creeps me out whenever I listen to it, as it hits a bit too close to home. I almost always skip it, when I don't a feeling of supreme disappointment permeates me.

[Vauxhall gets up off the couch now..]

*hugs my sweet boy*
hugs.gif
 
*hugs my sweet boy*
hugs.gif

Ah, thanks. I was seriously looking for a weeping "emoticon." Seeing as this is a Morrissey fan site, shouldn't we have one? Or at the very least, a really disconsolate looking face?:)
 
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