I think the problem is people not reading the entire song, they tunnel their vision at the chorus. "David, the wind blows". Like many others I just interpret the song as a tale of a boy who was lead into the wrong crowd aka The National Front.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. England for the English!" is there maybe a hint of sarcasm there. Maybe he is rolling his eyes back as he says it.
It's a song open to the racist interpretation. I hate to say that because I do not believe Morrissey is a racist and I've defended him many times from that idiotic charge. But "National Front Disco" is a song that tiptoes along a fine line.
You mention that the song is addressed to David. It's true that the song's sentiments are not the singer's, just reported by the singer (Morrissey or maybe just a character he has created). But notice the parallel verses that begin with "David":
David, the wind blows
The wind blows ...
Bits of your life away
And then here (italics mine):
David, the winds blow
The winds blow ...
All of my dreams away
The singer is identifying to some degree with David. "The wind", whatever that means-- and it could be merely a metaphor like "time's tide" in "That Joke", not code for anything other than natural decay, but it's not clear because later he sings of "thunder", which is clearly a euphemism for race war-- blows bits of David's life away. The same "wind" blows the singer's dreams away. The crucial difference is that the singer adds, "I still say, 'Where is our boy?'" Put differently, "David, what troubles you also troubles me, but I do not run off to the NF". The song can be interpreted as a mocking condemnation of the NF but not necessarily a dismissal of the sentiment "England for the English".
Imagine the song differently. Let's say it was about Love Music Hate Racism, not the NF, and Morrissey was singing to Conor McNicholas. The tone of the song was jovial and upbeat. The song could be interpreted the same way, i.e., "Conor, racism bothers me as much as it does you, but I don't believe your little organization is going to do anything. I wonder if the thunder is ever really gonna begin..." Skepticism about the movement, not the cause, from a songwriter who famously does not join causes and who once made fun of himself by saying he knew he "wanted to change the world by staying in bed".
For that reason "National Front Disco" is open to a negative interpretation. Again, I myself do not believe Morrissey is racist or some secret supporter of the NF or any other group of that kind. Far from it. I also like this song and choose to interpret it as non-racist. But we shouldn't be naive about these kinds of songs. They provoke accusations for a reason. Morrissey says exactly what he wants to say and leaves it for others to interpret, which is as it should be, but "National Front Disco" cannot be explained away by saying it's all about some character named David.
If he is put into the situation where he cannot play this song, the concept of free speech is lost.
Agreed.
