The "Those lyrics could have been written by Morrissey" thread

Uncleskinny

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I was out for dinner last night with some friends, and we got talking about music. One of us said "What's that Carpenters song with the big guitar solo?", and I couldn't remember which one they might mean. Anyway, looking through the songs this morning, I realise that they must have meant Goodbye To Love. What struck me when listening to this song again, is how very easily the lyrics could have been written by Morrissey - they are a perfect fit, as far as I can see. Any others like this, that if written down, you'd swear they could have been written by Morrissey?

The Carpenters - Goodbye To Love


I'll say goodbye to love
No one ever cared if I should live or die
Time and time again the chance for love
has passed me by
And all I know of love
is how to live without it
I just can't seem to find it.

So I've made my mind up I must live
my life alone
And though it's not the easy way
I guess I've always known
I'd say goodbye to love.

There are no tomorrows for this heart of mine
Surely time will lose these bitter memories

And I'll find that there is someone to believe in
And to live for something I could live for.

All the years of useless search
Have finally reached an end
Loneliness and empty days will be my
only friend
From this day love is forgotten
I'll go on as best I can.

What lies in the future
is a mystery to us all
No one can predict the wheel of fortune
as it falls
There may come a time when I will see that
I've been wrong
But for now this is my song.

And it's goodbye to love

I'll say goodbye to love.

 
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"I feel for you, you little horror
Safe at your mother's breast
No lucky break for you around the corner
'Cause your father is a bully
And he thinks that you're a pest
And your sister she's no better than a whore.

Life seems so rosy in the cradle,
But I'll be a friend I'll tell you what's in store
There's nothing at the end of the rainbow.
There's nothing to grow up for anymore

Tycoons and barrow boys will rob you
And throw you on the side
And all because they love themselves sincerely
And the man holds a bread knife
Up to your throat ,it's four feet wide
And he's anxious just to show you what it's for.

Your mother works so hard to make you happy
But take a look outside the nursery door
There's nothing at the end of the rainbow.
There's nothing to grow up for anymore

And all the sad and empty faces
That pass you on the street
All running in their sleep, all in a dream
Every loving handshake
Is just another man to beat
How your heart aches just to cut him to the core

Life seems so rosy in the cradle,
But I'll be a friend I'll tell you what's in store
There's nothing at the end of the rainbow.
There's nothing to grow up for anymore"

Richard Thompson, End Of The Rainbow
 
From the first time I heard this song, I thought it could be a Morrissey song. Maybe a bit too cheery and optimistic, though, for our Morrissey.

Time keeps moving on
Through the sunshine and the storm
And my dreams are set in stone
And someday I’ll be who I want to be
For now I’ll wait
For the sun to shine again
And for now I’ll wait
For the rain to pass away

And I’m looking for the brighter days
When all my hurts seem to fade away
I’m looking for the brighter days to come my way

Faces come and faces go
But none seem to look my way
And walls have stood and walls have fallen
But my heart seems to wait
For now I’ll sit at the end of the road
And for now I’ll wait
At the end of the pathway

I’ll see the sun one day shine upon me
I’ll see the sun one day
And watch the nighttime turn to morning
But for now it all comes back around

"Brighter Days" - Leeland
 
If it be your will
That I speak no more
And my voice be still
As it was before
I will speak no more
I shall abide until
I am spoken for
If it be your will
If it be your will
That a voice be true
From this broken hill
I will sing to you
From this broken hill
All your praises they shall ring
If it be your will
To let me sing
From this broken hill
All your praises they shall ring
If it be your will
To let me sing

If it be your will
If there is a choice
Let the rivers fill
Let the hills rejoice
Let your mercy spill
On all these burning hearts in hell
If it be your will
To make us well

And draw us near
And bind us tight
All your children here
In their rags of light
In our rags of light
All dressed to kill
And end this night
If it be your will

If it be your will.

(If It Be Your Will, L.Cohen :love:)
 
I think some of his cover choices have had lyrics like that - perhaps unsurprisingly...

"I heard somewhere that they're stamping, trampling all upon you
Your pocked face remains impassive though I know it hurts you"
and
"You've been waiting for your first encounter, what a letdown
I'm just finishing my first encounter, what a letdown"

(Moon Over Kentucky)

and of course...

"I am angry, I am ill and I'm as ugly as sin"

(ASFUTF)

[mbatey]
 
Come And Hold My Hand - Robbie Williams

I want to contact the living
Not sure I understand
This role I`ve been given

I sit and talk to God
And he just laughs at my plans
My head speaks a language
I don`t understand

I just want to feel real love
In the home that I live in
`Cause I got too much life
Running through my veins
Going to waste

I don`t want to die
But I ain`t keen on living either
Before I fall in love
I`m preparing to leave her
I scare myself to death
That`s why I keep on running
Before I`ve arrived
I can see myself coming

I just want to feel real love
In the home that I live in
There`s a hole in my soul
Can`t you see it in my face
Of real disgrace
I need to feel real love
And a life ever after
I feel like givin` up

I just want to feel real love
In the home that I live in
I got too much love
Running through my veins
Going to waste

I just want to feel real love
In a life ever after
There`s a hole in my soul
Can`t you see it in my face
It`s a real disgrace

Come and hold my hand
I want to contact the living
Not sure I understand
This role I`ve been given
Not sure I understand (x4)
 
Paranoid - Black Sabbath

Finished with my woman 'cause she couldn't help me with my mind
People think I'm insane because I am frowning all the time
All day long I think of things but nothing seems to satisfy
Think I'll lose my mind if I don't find something to pacify
Can you help me occupy my brain?
Oh yeah
I need someone to show me the things in life that I can't find
I can't see the things that make true happiness, I must be blind
Make a joke and I will sigh and you will laugh and I will cry
Happiness I cannot feel and love to me is so unreal
And so as you hear these words telling you now of my state
I tell you to enjoy life I wish I could but it's too late
 
Come And Hold My Hand - Robbie Williams

I want to contact the living
Not sure I understand
This role I`ve been given

I sit and talk to God
And he just laughs at my plans
My head speaks a language
I don`t understand

I just want to feel real love
In the home that I live in
`Cause I got too much life
Running through my veins
Going to waste

I don`t want to die
But I ain`t keen on living either
Before I fall in love
I`m preparing to leave her
I scare myself to death
That`s why I keep on running
Before I`ve arrived
I can see myself coming

I just want to feel real love
In the home that I live in
There`s a hole in my soul
Can`t you see it in my face
Of real disgrace
I need to feel real love
And a life ever after
I feel like givin` up

I just want to feel real love
In the home that I live in
I got too much love
Running through my veins
Going to waste

I just want to feel real love
In a life ever after
There`s a hole in my soul
Can`t you see it in my face
It`s a real disgrace

Come and hold my hand
I want to contact the living
Not sure I understand
This role I`ve been given
Not sure I understand (x4)


dont want to sound pedantic, but isnt that saong called "Feel"?

Great song though, sure RW has been influenced by our moz lyrically
 
Anthony and the Johnstons- I fell in love with a dead boy

I find you with red tears in your eyes
I ask you what is your name
You offer no reply
Should I call a doctor
Before I fear you might be dead
But I just lay down beside you
And held your hand

I fell in love with you
Now you're my one, only one
'Cause all my life I've been so blue
But in that moment you fulfilled me

Now I'll tell all my friends
I fell in love with a dead boy
Now I'll tell my family
I wish you could have met him

Now I write letters to Australia
Now I throw bottles out to sea
I whisper the secret in the ground
No one's gonna take you away from me

I fell in love with a dead boy
Oh, such a beautiful boy
I fell in love with a dead boy
Oh, such a beautiful boy

Oh, such a beautiful boy
I'm asking
Are you a boy or a girl
Are you a boy or are you a girl
Are you a boy or are you a girl

Are you a boy
Are you a girl
Are you a boy
Are you a girl
Are you a boy
Are you a girl
 
This is soooooooooooooooo Morrissey!

The more I see
The less I know
About all the things I thought were wrong or right
& carved in stone

So, don't ask me about
War, Religion, or God
Love, Sex, or Death
Because....

Everybody knows what's going wrong with the world
But I don't even know what's going on in myself.

You've gotta work out your own salvation.
With no explanation to this Earth we fall
On hands & knees we crawl
And we look up to the stars
And we reach out & pray
To a deaf, dumb & blind God who never explains.

Every body knows what's going wrong with the world
But I don't even know what's going on in myself.

Lord, I've been here for so long
I can feel it coming down on me
I'm just a slow emotion replay of somebody I used to be.
 
"to win just once, that would be enough" The Sawdoctors

"one good love can turn it all around" Neil Diamond and Weylon Jennings
 
Here's one by Lou Reed that could easily have been a Moz song:

I was thinking of things that I hate to do
Sex with your parents
Things you do to me or I do to you, baby
Sex with your parents

Something fatter or uglier than rush rambo
Something more disgusting than robert dole
Something pink that climbs out of a hole
And there it was - sex with your parents

I was getting so sick of this right wing republican shit
These ugly old man scared of young tit and dick
So I try to think of something that made me sick
And there it was - sex with your parents

Now these old f***s can steal all they want
And they can go and pass laws saying you can't say what you want
And you can't look at this and you can't look at that
And you can't smoke this and you can't snort that
And me baby - I got statistics - I got stats
These people have been to bed with their parents

Now I know you're shocked but hang and have a brew
If you think about it for a minute you know that it's true
They're ashamed and repelled and they don't know what to do
They've had sex with their parents
When they looked into their lovers eyes they saw - mom
In the name of the family values we must ask whose family
In the name of the family values we must ask - senator

It's has been reported that you have had
Illegal congress with your mother, - sex with your parents
Ah, senator
An illegal congress by proxy is a
Pigeon by any other name, - sex with your parents

Senators you polish a turd
Here in the big city we got a word
For those who would bed their beloved big bird
And make a mockery of our freedoms
Ah, without even using a condom
Without even saying "no"
By God we have a name for people like that
It's - hey motherf***er


"Sex With Your Parents Part 2"

Well, maybe not, but I'd pay to hear him sing it.
 
Positively 4th street - Bob Dylan


You got a lotta nerve
To say you are my friend
When I was down
You just stood there grinning

You got a lotta nerve
To say you gota helping hand to lend
You just want to be on
The side that's winning

You say I let you down
You know it's not like that
If you're so hurt
Why then don't you show it

You say you lost your faith
But that's not where it's at
You had no faith to lose
And you know it

I know the reason
That you talk behind my back
I used to be among the crowd
You're in with

Do you take me for such a fool
To think I'd make contact
With the one who tries to hide
What he don't know to begin with

You see me on the street
You always act surprised
You say, "How are you?" "Good luck"
But you don't mean it

When you know as well as me
You'd rather see me paralyzed
Why don't you just come out once
And scream it

No, I do not feel that good
When I see the heartbreaks you embrace
If I was a master thief
Perhaps I'd rob them

And now I know you're dissatisfied
With your position and your place
Don't you understand
It's not my problem

I wish that for just one time
You could stand inside my shoes
And just for that one moment
I could be you

Yes, I wish that for just one time
You could stand inside my shoes
You'd know what a drag it is
To see you
 
in a bar that's always closing
in a world where people shout
I don't wanna talk this over
I don't wanna talk it out
I was quite impressed until I hit the floor
isn't that what friends are for?
pain looks great on other people
that's what they're for.
 
Paranoid - Black Sabbath

I've been saying this to myself for years. I think this is the best one on the list so far.

I'm just a slow emotion replay of somebody I used to be.

My favourite The The song by a lot. This song is brilliant from the lyric to the vocal to the harmonica.

Positively 4th street - Bob Dylan

I never thought of this one but reading it now I see it's a great observation.
 
Mayonnaise- Smashing pumpkins

Fool enough to almost be it
Cool enough to not quite see it, doomed
Pick your pocket full of sorrow
Run away with me tomorrow, June

We'll try and ease the pain
Somehow we'll feel the same
Well, no one knows
Where our secrets go

I send a heart to all my dearies
When your life is so, so dreary, dream
I'm rumored to the straight and narrow
While the harlots of my perils scream

And I fail
But when I can, I will
Try to understand
That when I can, I will

Mother, weep the years I'm missing
All our time can't be given back
Shut my mouth and strike the demons
Cursed you and your reasons
Out of hand and out of season
Out of love and out of feeling so bad

When I can, I will
Words defy the plans
When I can, I will

Fool enough to almost be it
And cool enough to not quite see it
And old enough to always feel this
Always old, I'll always feel this

No more promise no more sorrow
No longer will I follow
Can anybody hear me
I just want to be me
When I can, I will
Try to understand
That when I can, I will
 
Oh and I'm feeling directionless yes,
But that's to be expected- and I know that best.
And in creeps the longing and another day's lost,
You've just written wondering and I reply fast:
"Oh, you need to save me.
Oh, you need to save me."
Call and I'll be curled on the floor hiding out from it all
And I won't take any other call
I feel like a fool so I'm going to stop troubling you.
Buried in my yard, a letter to send to you,
And if I forget or god forbid die too soon
Hope that you'll hear me, know that I wrote to you.
All you need to say to me,
All you need to say to me, is
"Call, and I'll be curled on the floor hiding out from it all,
And I won't take any other call".

Tegan and Sara- 'Soil, Soil'
Strikes me as a bit Morrissey-esque.
 
King and queen
Full and twin
Leave the key
It’s time to move again
Brand new lease
New set of locks
This end up
Ten city blocks
I gave it up for a room in a box

And I gave all that I had
It’s taken some bad times to show me
I gave all that I had
It’s taken some bad times to show me
I’m doing fine
I’m doing fine

Life is simple or it’s impossible
You always half empty
You ain’t never half full (even though? even now?)
Me and yesterday hopped on a track
I swear to God neither of us ever coming back

And I gave all that I had
It’s taken some bad times to show me
I gave all that I had
It’s taken some bad times to show me
I’m doing fine
I’m doing fine
And I gave all that I can

Every time
Didn’t follow my dreams
I lost the map
I live my fantasy instead
Till I found it was a trap
Gave a life, got a living
Hey that’s all right
All is forgiven

I gave all that I had
It’s taken some bad times to show me
I gave all that I had
It’s taken some bad times to show me
I gave all that I had
It’s taken some bad times to show me
I gave all that I had
It’s taken some bad times to show me

All That I Had - Paul Westerberg
 
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