Is Jackie about Brexit, Britain, or not?

[Uncleskinny]

Surprised it's still being debated tbh.The subject of the song is pretty clear to me. The Brexit thing is a red herring.

How do you know?

 

[Surface]

How do you know?

I thought Morrissey himself said it wasn't about Brexit in that Times interview or am I missing something?

 

[Uncleskinny]

I thought Morrissey himself said it wasn't about Brexit in that Times interview or am I missing something?

Well, yes, but as I posted above, he would say that, wouldn't he. He doesn't have a great track record of being truthful about songs.

 

[Tibby the cat 93]

How do you know?

There's no mention or even hint of it in the lyrics ? Plus explicit denial in interview. Short of taking a full page advert in the national dailies there's not much else he can do ? That said the lyrics are likely to be playfully altered at least once live in the U.K.

 

[Uncleskinny]

There's no mention or even hint of it in the lyrics ? Plus explicit denial in interview. Short of taking a full page advert in the national dailies there's not much else he can do ? That said the lyrics are likely to be playfully altered at least once live in the U.K.

Well, yeah, but there are so many layers. For example, The Queen Is Dead is a very clever bit of lyric writing, but ultimately it's about the man not wanting to be overtly gay anymore...'all those lies about make-up and long-hair - they're still there' - he has form in masking his original lyric intention.

 

[Surface]

Well, yeah, but there are so many layers. For example, The Queen Is Dead is a very clever bit of lyric writing, but ultimately it's about the man not wanting to be overtly gay anymore...'all those lies about make-up and long-hair - they're still there' - he has form in masking his original lyric intention.

I never figured that about The Queen Is Dead, you learn something every day. Going to have to get it out and have a listen now!

 

[From Buenos Aires]

Yes, it's about Britain and with some references to the Brexit... The lyrics are very obvious.

It is not by chance that his "biopic" movie has been titled "England is mine"... which is of course a line taken from a Smiths song, but still, from ALL the lines he wrote for The Smiths, the director picked that one.

You know... if it has four legs, hair, a long tail and it barks... then it's not a wild guess to say: "Hey, it's a dog!".

He obviously has a love/hate relationship with England and such thing has been expressed in many songs all over the years, since the times of The Smiths.

 

[Hotplatters]

You'll notice that he is not wearing a shirt which (according to the Rutland book of the Dead) is an Italian symbol for 'leaving'. The smiley badge on his jacket lapel signifies that he is 'laughing at us' and it is RED which is one of the colours of the Union Jack. Make up your own conclusions - the evidence is compelling.

 

[001]

You'll notice that he is not wearing a shirt which (according to the Rutland book of the Dead) is an Italian symbol for 'leaving'. The smiley badge on his jacket lapel signifies that he is 'laughing at us' and it is RED which is one of the colours of the Union Jack. Make up your own conclusions - the evidence is compelling.

Plus you can see his chest! What is hidden in his chest? Only his heart! Hearts are red! His eyes are blue and white! Morrissey can make a Fist. He also has Legs and Arms! Also, a Gut!!!

So, add all that together! Red, white and blue plus F, L, A, G! HOLY CRAP!!!

 

[Peterb]

I just have to laugh a little out of pity when you English think you're anything more than the equivalent of the captain of the Titanic.

I know its been a long time but I thought we were chums?

 

[Tbevie]

He has said twice now that it's not. If it was why would he deny it? The majority of the UK population who voted, voted for Brexit. It's not a dirty word.

 

[Anonymous]

If you want it to be about Brexit, it's about Brexit.

But it really very obviously is not about Brexit, and if you think otherwise, you're a prune.

 

[NealCassidy]

He has said twice now that it's not. If it was why would he deny it? The majority of the UK population who voted, voted for Brexit. It's not a dirty word.

And he always tells the truth, direct and to the point!

 

[NealCassidy]

I have never claimed I think the song is about brexit just because it rhymes with exit. I heard him say brexit when he sang it on the BBC. No other thought about the song actually being about the UK or brexit crossed my mind. Then somebody on here posted this:

Here's a rundown of one possible meaning behind the lyrics of 'Jacky' (I'm using the incomplete version of the lyrics which has been posted online):

Jacky's always happy when she's up on the stage [Jacky = Union Jack = Britain. Up on stage = powerful on the world stage; being centre of attention, making waves, leading the way with others following along behind.]
I make this claim now let me explain
Since she lost you [a loss of national sovereignty and being in control of its own affairs.]
Jacky's always happy when she's up on the stage
She's [?] the truth of make believe [Make believe = Britain has been in a state of denial about its loss of influence and relevance, and about cultural changes morphing it into a place beyond recognition.]
Since she lost you
She is determined to prove
How she can build up the pain
Of every lost and lonely day

Jacky's always happy when she's up on the stage
She'll make you believe what you'll never believe
Since she lost you
Jacky's only Jacky when she's up on the stage [Being conquerors, innovators, and being at the head of the pack is how Britain made its name; it isn't Britain when it goes quiet and fades into the background or since it became just another country in an 'ever closer union'.]
Since she lost you
She is determined to prove
How she can build up the pitch
Of every lost and lonely day [Determined to prove, to themselves and to the world, that what has been lost can be regained.]

Queue lights I am singing to my lover at night [the lover is the country; daydreaming and waxing lyrical about what the country used to be and could be again.]
Scene two everyone who comes must go [The crass explanation is that immigrants/refugees must be sent back to their countries of origin. It could also be a reference to death and therefore cultural change/loss.]
Scene four it's blacker than ever before [a metaphor for the bleak fate of Britain, the more crass reading here is that it refers to the ethnic make-up of a sizable percentage of the new arrivals. It could be either, or both (or neither).]
Scene six this country is making me sick [see scene four]

Jacky cracks when she isn't on stage [societal breakdown]
Seen the effects of sexual neglect [sexual neglect = native Britons not having enough children of their own, with birth rates below replacement level?]
No script, to crew, no autocue
No audience telling her what to do [breaking free of 'experts', media, celebrities, and politicians dictating to them the direction in which the country should go; henceforth going it alone.]
Exit, exit
Everybody's heading to the exit, exit
Everybody's running to the exit, exit
[The people have had enough of the current state of affairs and are taking steps towards determining their own destiny again. Exit = Brexit.]

Script/autocue/audience = EU superstate, Eu autocrats, court of human rights etc ‘telling us what to do’ - the big argument on Brexit was loss of sovereignty over our own laws

 

[ZOOM FROM GLOOM]

Script/autocue/audience = EU superstate, Eu autocrats, court of human rights etc ‘telling us what to do’ - the big argument on Brexit was loss of sovereignty over our own laws

Maybe M doesn't know yet that it's about Brexit ? maybe someone should tell him, during a show of course.

 

[Shyness 1s nice]

Maybe M doesn't know yet that it's about Brexit ? maybe someone should tell him, during a show of course.

Have you heard him mention this before Ket? 'He claims the police searched his home in 1988 over his anti-Thatcher song ‘Margaret on the Guillotine’

 

[ZOOM FROM GLOOM]

Have you heard him mention this before Ket? 'He claims the police searched his home in 1988 over his anti-Thatcher song ‘Margaret on the Guillotine’

''He claims the police searched his home in 1988 over his anti-Thatcher song ‘Margaret on the Guillotine’'

yes, I've read that before. Is that what you're asking me?

 

[Shyness 1s nice]

''He claims the police searched his home in 1988 over his anti-Thatcher song ‘Margaret on the Guillotine’'

yes, I've read that before. Is that what you're asking me?

Yeah. I read it in an article online today. I had never heard it mentioned before. Writing this now, I am listening to a discussion on an MP potentially being sacked because the POLICE raided the House of Commons because he had PORN on his laptop - this crap continues. FREEDOM anybody?

 

[Anonymous]

The title The Queen is Dead derives from a chapter from Last Exit to Brooklyn which was an early reference to Brexit as in Last Brexit to Brooklyn.

 

[Eraserhead]

I’d say it’s an ambiguous lyric, but the subject of Brexit is surely there in one reading. It’s also not the first time Morrissey has evaded the real meaning of a lyric in interviews. He said that ‘I can have both’ is about growing up working class with no choices...and then finding himself in a different position in later life. This is perfectly true, but there is another reading about gender and sexual preference.