What are your favourite opening words from Smiths/Morrissey albums?

[the_kaz]

“It’s time the tale were told / Of how you took a child / And you made him old” - Reel Around the Fountain
“Belligerent ghouls / Run Manchester schools / Spineless swines / Cemented minds” - Headmaster Ritual
[Take me Back to Dead old Blighty] - The Queen is Dead
“Oh hello / I am the ghost of Troubled Joe / Hung by his pretty white neck / Some eighteen months ago / I travelled to a mystical time zone / And I missed my bed / And I soon came home” - A Rush and a Push and the Land is Ours
“Were you and he Lovers ? / And would you say so if you were ? / On a forecourt / On a Friday / Passing my way” - Alsatian Cousin
“Our frank and open / Deep conversations / They get me nowhere / They bring me down, so” - Our Frank
“With the world's fate / Resting on your shoulder / You're gonna need / Someone on your side” - You’re Gonna Need Someone on Your Side
“There's gonna be some trouble / A whole house will need re-building / And everyone I love in the house / Will recline on an analyst's couch quite / Soon” - Now My Heart is Full
“There's too many people / Planning your downfall” - The Teachers are Afraid of the Pupils
“I wanna start from / Before the beginning” - Maladjusted
“America your head's too big, Because America, Your belly is too big” - America is Not the World
“Nobody knows what human life is / Why we come, why we go / So why then do I know / I will see you, / I will see you in far off places?” - I Will See You In Far Off Places
“I'm doing very well / I can block out the present and the past now” - Something is Squeezing My Skull

I love them all! They all tell such amusing stories! But my two favourites are probably the openings from 'Reel Around', 'Skull' and 'Maladjusted', and maybe 'America'.

 

[Gregor Samsa]

Nice one.

I'd say Arsenal or Vauxhall.

Comfort, disturbance, black humour. Brilliance.

 

[ExpectingToFly]

Has to be A Rush And A Push And The Land Is Ours for me. Although Now My Heart Is Full comes in a very close second

 

[9 x Fined]

“There's too many people / Planning your downfall”

even if it is ungrammatical

 

[CrookedLittleVein]

"I wanna start from before the beginning..."

 

[I am a Ghost]

Mal and Skull.

 

[someofusisturningnasty]

V&I/SG/Strangeways

 

[Neader]

Meat is Murder

 

[Freda]

"I wanna start from before the beginning" - I think that's brilliant.

 

[Skinner]

I don't know if I have a favorite in particular but, "Were you and he lovers" is a pretty great way to starta a record, I think.

 

[Bluebirds]

this would make a good poll!!!

Its difficult to take the words out of the context of the music. Headmaster Ritual is the best opening to any album Moz or Smiths IMHO. ANd The Queen is Dead's opening words, as written by Moz are surely.."by land, by sea"

Words wise though it has to be either Southpaw or Maladjusted or Years Of Refusal. (Three of my least favourites as album entities)

 

[VacancyForABackscrubber]

I don't know about lyrics but the openers of Queen is Dead and Viva Hate blew me away musically

 

[mozsupportsrovers]

For me i think its Meat is Murder and Vauxhall and I

 

[prue4ever]

Strangeways and Maladjusted

 

[Oh my god. it's Robby!]

good question, with an easy answer for me:

OH HELLO
I am the ghost of Troubled Joe
Hung by his pretty white neck
Some eighteen months ago
I travelled to a mystical time zone
And I missed my bed
And I soon came home

I've always thought that loving this song so much is, sort of, an early sign of being such a big fan of not just "The Smiths" but Morrissey in particular

man, I wish I still had my tour shirt from 91

 

[AHappyRocket]

Taking all context into account - putting on Your Arsenal for the first time gets it for me. When Morrissey ruled the world right enough!

Just too good...

 

[Raven]

This is very difficult but very great question. It's close between Viva Hate, Vauxhall and I and Southpaw. But I chose Vauxhall and I. And that line is also my facebook status today.

 

[in_a_loveless_world]

“I'm doing very well / I can block out the present and the past now” - Something is Squeezing My Skull

This is has been my favorite since I heard it:

"I'm doing very well
I can blackout the present and the past now
I know by now you think I should have straightened myself out
Thank you, drop dead. "

 

[vaca peluda]

''Belligerent ghouls run Manchester schools, spineless swines, cemented whines...."

''There's gonna' be some trouble, a whole house will need re-building...''

 

[Dave]

Strangeways, yes. I'm haunted by the ghost of troubled joe.