I Started Something I Couldn't Finish (single)

Cover art
THE SMITHS Single
Name I Started Something I Couldn't Finish
Release 2 November 1987
Total Length 3:46
Recorded Spring 1987
Writer/composer Morrissey / Johnny Marr
Producer Stephen Street
Assisted by Morrissey / Johnny Marr
Art work Cover star: Avril Angers film still from "The Family Way" (1966)
Layout: Caryn Gough
Vinyl Etching "MURDER AT THE WOOL HALL" (x) STARRING SHERIDAN WHITESIDE
YOU ARE BELIEVING, YOU DO NOT WANT TO SLEEP
Publisher Rough Trade Records (UK)
Format(s) 7" Vinyl, 12" Vinyl, Cassette
Chart position UK #23
Single chronology
Girlfriend In A Coma
I Started Something I Couldn't Finish
Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before

Information

Track list

7" Vinyl

UK - [Rough Trade RT 198]

  1. I Started Something I Couldn't Finish – 3:46 (Morrissey/Marr)
  2. Pretty Girls Make Graves (Troy Tate version) – 3:35 (Morrissey/Marr)

12" Vinyl

UK - [Rough Trade RTT 198]

  1. I Started Something I Couldn't Finish – 3:46 (Morrissey/Marr)
  2. Pretty Girls Make Graves (Troy Tate version) – 3:35 (Morrissey/Marr)
  3. Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others (live) – 5:03 (Morrissey/Marr)

Cassette

UK - [Rough Trade RTT 198C]

  1. I Started Something I Couldn't Finish – 3:46 (Morrissey/Marr)
  2. Pretty Girls Make Graves (Troy Tate version) – 3:35 (Morrissey/Marr)
  3. Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others (live) – 5:03 (Morrissey/Marr)
  4. What's The World? (live) – 2:07 (James)

Lyrics

The lanes were silent
with nothing or no one around for miles
I doused our friendly venture
with a hard-faced
three-word gesture
I started something
I forced you into a zone
and you were clearly
never meant to go
hair brushed and parted
typical me, typical me
typical me
I started something
...and now I'm not too sure
I grabbed you by the guilded beams
that's what Tradition means
and I doused another venture
with a gesture
that was...absolutely vile
I started something
forced you to a zone
and you were clearly
never meant to go
Hair brushed and parted
typical me, typical me
typical me
I started something
...and now I'm not too sure
I grabbed you by the guilded beams
that's what Tradition means
and now eighteen months' hard-labour
seems...fair enough
I started something
forced you to a zone
and you were clearly
never meant to go
hair brushed and parted
typical me, typical me
typical me
I started something
and now I'm not too sure

Music Video (UK)

Credits

Live History

Play count (The Smiths concert): 0


Play count (Morrissey concert): 21

Morrissey live history:

... further results

Appears On

Appears On Covers Compilation

Cover Versions

Discogs Information

Credits

  • Art Direction [Art Co-ordination] - Jo Slee
  • Bass - Andy Rourke
  • Drums - Mike Joyce
  • Guitar - Johnny Marr
  • Layout - Caryn Gough
  • Mastered By - Tim Young
  • Model [Cover Star] - Avril Angers
  • Sleeve - Morrissey
  • Voice - Morrissey
  • Written-By - Johnny Marr
  • Written-By - Morrissey

Notes

RTT 198 printed in white at top right-hand corner of dark green, die-cut inner sleeve.

"I Started Something I Couldn't Finish" Recorded in Bath, March 1987. Mastered at CBS. Taken from the LP "Strangeways, Here We Come". "Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others" Recorded at Brixton Academy, December 12, 1986.

Cover Star: Avril Angers © 1966 Weintraub Entertainments

Side A: © 1987 Warner Bros. Music Ltd. ℗ Rough Trade Records 1987 Side B: © 1983 & 1986 Warner Bros. Music Ltd. Made in England.

Images

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Discogs information (additional release)

Notes

Recorded at Bath, March 1987 Cover Star: Avril Angers © 1966 Weintraub Entertainments Track 3: Recorded at Brixton Academy, London, 12 December 1986. Track 4: Recorded in Glasgow, September 1985.

Images

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Wikipedia Information

I_Started_Something_I_Couldn%27t_Finish_single_cover.png

"I Started Something I Couldn't Finish" is a song by the English rock band The Smiths, written by singer Morrissey and guitarist Johnny Marr and released on the group's 1987 album Strangeways, Here We Come. Featuring a glam rock-inspired guitar riff, the song emerged from a jam during the "Sheila Take a Bow" sessions. Though not originally planned to be released as a single, "I Started Something I Couldn't Finish" was released as the album's second single after "Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before" was banned by the BBC for references to mass murder after the Hungerford Massacre. Released in November 1987, it reached number 23 in the UK Singles Chart, a relative commercial underachievement. It was the first single released after the band had announced their split. "I Started Something I Couldn't Finish" has seen critical acclaim for Marr's guitar work and Morrissey's witty lyricism. It has since appeared on multiple compilation albums.

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