were there ever literally poison pen letters? that would be cool in an Alfred Hitchcock way. Send a letter to someone with poisonous ink.
I just didn't get the part about "get off the roof" in We'll Let You Know. The analysis of it at
that site says
One of Morrissey's best-loved tunes, most mis-interpreted, and hence most controversial. Critics have a ridiculous tendency to selectively quote, and here's a fine example. Never mind the surrounding context, the critics can just pick out "we are the last truly British people you'll ever know" and thereby prove Morrissey's obvious xenophobia. Or not.
The song progresses from an intial state of typical Moz introspection.
The indeterminate "we" is expanded into the community of football hooligans, thus placing the attitude expressed in the lyrics firmly out of Morrissey's personal beliefs. That such a forceful lyrical manoeuvre was purposefully ignored by his critics is rather ironic, as Morrissey rarely makes such a bold move in his more controversial songs.
Morrissey's ambivalent attitude towards the hooligans is a struggle between the cowardice of the people ("we will descend on anyone unable to defend themselves") and his beloved notion of a Lost Britain embodied in the fierce "patriotism" of the hooligans. As he says :
"I understand the level of patriotism, the level of frustration and the level of jubilance. I understand the overall character. I understand their agression and I understand why it must be released ... when I see reports on the television about hooliganism in Sweden and Denmark or somewhere I'm actually amused ... as long as people don't die, I am amused."
Finally at the end, the British character is revealed as someone "you'll never want to know". Seemingly intentionally tempting fate, this line is spoken half-obscured at the end of the song.
Some particularly haunting and unusual sound effects form the middle of the song, with the acoustic guitar providing the linking thread between the demure start of the song and the faux-apocalyptic finale.