The Smiths A-Z: "These Things Take Time"

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Vulgarian
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On to a very early composition:



One with several incarnations:
2:33 Producer: Dale Griffin (Jensen/BBC/Hatful)
2:20 Producer: John Porter (Single version)
2:44 Producer: Troy Tate (Troy Tate version)
3:05 No Producer (Crazy Face rehearsal)

The potential lifts & inspirations for the lyrics (Songs That Saved Your Life et al summated):

*Shelagh Delaney - The Lion In Love (Act I:1): "These things take time" .
*Opening line - The Battle Hymn of the Republic & The Year Of The Woman (1973) as cited by Marjorie Rosen in Popcorn Venus ("Mine eyes have seen the glory of the flame of women’s rage" ).
*Eamon de Valera - "Our eyes have seen the glory which Parnell and his comrades…” (Speeches, 1980). Another asserted influence (which may have links to A Rush & A Push...).
*Molly Haskell - From Reverence To Rape: "But even then she knew where she had come from and where she belonged."
*James Dean - Rebel Without A Cause: "I know a place where we can go." (Jim->Judy).
*The Sound Of Music - adapted lyric: "the hills are alive with celibate cries" (asserted often by writers).

Played ~46 times by The Smiths & never by Morrissey solo.

Sounded quite anthemic live.
Thoughts?
Regards,
FWD.
 
love this song to death. i will always have an irrational love for the early smiths compositions. musically, it’s driving, forceful and energetic. lyrically, it bleakly portrays being taken advantage of in a relationship, a prevalent theme in a lot of these early songs. 10/10.
 
Amazing song, I'll always love it! This bit near the end:

Oh, the alcoholic afternoons
When we sat in your room
They meant more to me than any
Than any living thing on earth
They had more worth
Than any living thing on earth

...just feels so completely raw and unfiltered, like Morrissey is literally singing his life out. Beautiful.
 
Amazing song, I'll always love it! This bit near the end:

Oh, the alcoholic afternoons
When we sat in your room
They meant more to me than any
Than any living thing on earth
They had more worth
Than any living thing on earth

...just feels so completely raw and unfiltered, like Morrissey is literally singing his life out. Beautiful.
this is my favorite part too. I never know which to choose as a favorite between jensen session and studio version, they are all very good
 
I love all versions of this song (demo, peel, and Porter studio version) and feel it's one of the best overlooked Smiths songs. IIRC, it was nearly chosen as a single and was in strong consideration to be on the self-titled debut.

I've always felt it would be a great addition to the live set if Morrissey and band chose to dust it off. This and Rusholme Ruffians are long overdue for a live solo debut, imo!
 
I think the radio session is easily better than the b-side version, but I can't understand why this song wasn't included on the first album. It's the early Smiths at their seemingly effortless best.
 
The Pablo Cuckoo version, with the changed early lyrics ("Flipped into blinding fire/and wrestled with surf and sand/Oh I'm saved! I'm saved! You took my hand") is so much better, more poetic and rawly sexual, with that amazing pounding drum start. Moz alludes to him being sodomised outdoors in the video at the start of this thread, teasingly pulling his shirt up and exposing his arse when he sings "You took me behind." Superb song, one of the band's best. Love all the different versions in different ways.

 
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The magic pen, at it again .
Simply put if you write about love and romance in its purest sense its very powerful and thats what M did.
It wasn't about being cool, or shagging birds it was pure. I think the best smiths period was hand in glove , to Meat is murder.
They were street and scruffy and as brilliant as can be
 
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The Pablo Cuckoo version, with the changed early lyrics ("Flipped into blinding fire/and wrestled with surf and sand/Oh I'm saved! I'm saved! You took my hand") is so much better, more poetic and rawly sexual, with that amazing pounding drum start. Moz alludes to him being sodomised outdoors in the video at the start of this thread, teasingly pulling his shirt up and exposing his arse when he sings "You took me behind." Superb song, one of the band's best. Love all the different version in different ways.


funny how being gay was edgy then. It's as boring as straight life now.
 
The Pablo Cuckoo version, with the changed early lyrics ("Flipped into blinding fire/and wrestled with surf and sand/Oh I'm saved! I'm saved! You took my hand") is so much better, more poetic and rawly sexual, with that amazing pounding drum start. Moz alludes to him being sodomised outdoors in the video at the start of this thread, teasingly pulling his shirt up and exposing his arse when he sings "You took me behind." Superb song, one of the band's best. Love all the different versions in different ways.


i din't know about this version, i loved it
 
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