Morrissey A-Z: "Drag the River"

Think he's looking for his specs...

Looking for his pecs? Sorry this isn't the Frink thread!


EDIT: Due to the blurry photo, here is the clearer one of him and the former for comparison. Amazing what a little focus reveals...
 

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This song and 'Mama Lay Softly on the Riverbed' seem to be too watery peas in a pod, and maybe even connected? "She would call into the river as she'd cry out for her mother..."
 
If only he recorded 10 more like this... World Peace could have equalled Vauxhall and I.
 
When World Peace came out, Morrissey said that he felt that he had overused certain themes and words, so he decided to write about new subjects. I guess that's why we got the clumsy politics of the title track, the declarative I'm Not a Man, songs about Irish prisons in the 19th century and whatever the f*** Neal Cassidy was about. After he had got those out of his system, Morrissey wrote a bunch of understated songs about his usual obsessions and relegated them to the bonus disc. There's not a bad track among them. Drag the River is one of the lesser bonus tracks but still superior to at least half of the album proper.
 
When World Peace came out, Morrissey said that he felt that he had overused certain themes and words, so he decided to write about new subjects. I guess that's why we got the clumsy politics of the title track, the declarative I'm Not a Man, songs about Irish prisons in the 19th century and whatever the f*** Neal Cassidy was about. After he had got those out of his system, Morrissey wrote a bunch of understated songs about his usual obsessions and relegated them to the bonus disc. There's not a bad track among them. Drag the River is one of the lesser bonus tracks but still superior to at least half of the album proper.

Interesting. I was not aware that he felt that way. So basically that entire album was contrived! Makes sense in that context.
 
Interesting. I was not aware that he felt that way. So basically that entire album was contrived! Makes sense in that context.
"Contrived" is exactly right. For instance I never felt that the drama of Istanbul truly came alive. Morrissey can be a masterful storyteller in pop, but the song just felt forced.
 
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"Contrived" is exactly right. For instance I never felt that the drama Istanbul came alive. Morrissey can be a masterful storyteller in pop, but the song just felt forced.

Agreed. And during this period he also produced many songs and song titles based on a variety of international locales... makes one think of an unvarnished attempt to curry favor with a wider international audience. Again, comes across as contrived - to me at least. Why not a song about Cleveland or Sheffield?

This was during the time he would "publish" a statement over his top-ten concerts he just toured.
 
Looking for his pecs? Sorry this isn't the Frink thread!

This blurry preview had me looking for my specs!

What a snack.
 
The thing I find most interesting about the lyric here is that he's quoting himself (like he does on Forgive Someone as well).
"Every second of my life" is reminiscent of Life Is A Pigsty and "On the coastal shore", though not verbatim, reminds me of Everyday Is Like Sunday.

I also wonder if "drag the river" was taken from Baldwin's Giovanni's Room. The expression is used a couple of times at a pivotal point in the story and it appears he took some phrases from it before (during The Smiths). It seems the lyric (or poem, actually) was built around this line, so maybe something he wrote down and picked up again after some time?

A very pleasing song that showcases the warmth and depth of his maturing voice.

To drown by your side ..... ?


Yes a very interesting lyric! What is
his thing with water, reflection? Self reflection? from Charming Man sleeve, from fountains to oceans wide wild lost and a girl drowning to softly on the riverbed to
dragging the river to once seeing it clean?
Mirrors of time, looking into death eyes and seeing ones own? self/reflection and life on this planet and our place/ no place in it? the passing of time, inevitable change, and our inevitable end? and death warmly inviting us the living loveless to be reunited with the great mystery and unknown that is death and our true home?


Or just another pop song that we shouldn’t dare look too deeply into?


And there’s this ....

Origins of the name Morrissey...

“Irish: Americanized form of Ó Muirgheasa ‘descendant of Muirgheas’, a personal name apparently derived from muir ‘sea’ + geas ‘taboo’, ‘prohibition’.”


:cool:
 
To drown by your side ..... ?


Yes a very interesting lyric! What is
his thing with water, reflection? Self reflection? from Charming Man sleeve, from fountains to oceans wide wild lost and a girl drowning to softly on the riverbed to
dragging the river to once seeing it clean?
Mirrors of time, looking into death eyes and seeing ones own? self/reflection and life on this planet and our place/ no place in it? the passing of time, inevitable change, and our inevitable end? and death warmly inviting us the living loveless to be reunited with the great mystery and unknown that is death and our true home?


Or just another pop song that we shouldn’t dare look too deeply into?


And there’s this ....

Origins of the name Morrissey...

“Irish: Americanized form of Ó Muirgheasa ‘descendant of Muirgheas’, a personal name apparently derived from muir ‘sea’ + geas ‘taboo’, ‘prohibition’.”


:cool:

So you are saying he's some kinda merman? <cough> Merman!
 
So you are saying his some kinda merman? <cough> Merman!
Well, he certainly has the Blue Steel to go along with that...
 
Agreed. And during this period he also produced many songs and song titles based on a variety of international locales... makes one think of an unvarnished attempt to curry favor with a wider international audience. Again, comes across as contrived - to me at least. Why not a song about Cleveland or Sheffield?

This was during the time he would "publish" a statement over his top-ten concerts he just toured.

I think he'd genuinely started to like travelling & was trying to write about the places he was going to.

Whenever I go somewhere I always think it'll be great research for something & it hardly ever is.
 
I think he'd genuinely started to like travelling & was trying to write about the places he was going to.

Whenever I go somewhere I always think it'll be great research for something & it hardly ever is.
Of course. Just look at the last 50 or so pages of Autobiography. Travelling was all he did in those years. It's all on this album, some of it works better than other parts but I think it's much less 'forced' than some of the stuff on LIHS.
 
Why not a song about Cleveland or Sheffield?
There is always the possibility that 'When You Open Your Legs' was written from the viewpoint of someone about to receive a Cleveland Steamer - hence the strained mixture of passion and fear in the vocals. That's how I interpret the song, anyway.
 
There is always the possibility that 'When You Open Your Legs' was written from the viewpoint of someone about to receive a Cleveland Steamer - hence the strained mixture of passion and fear in the vocals. That's how I interpret the song, anyway.

And this is why I come here.... And how I may never again interpret it any other way.
 
Looking for his pecs? Sorry this isn't the Frink thread!


EDIT: Due to the blurry photo, here is the clearer one of him:
How dare you. Now I have to retract my heart eye reaction.
 
Agreed. And during this period he also produced many songs and song titles based on a variety of international locales... makes one think of an unvarnished attempt to curry favor with a wider international audience. Again, comes across as contrived - to me at least. Why not a song about Cleveland or Sheffield?

This was during the time he would "publish" a statement over his top-ten concerts he just toured.

“And when the palmist said
"One Thursday you will be dead"
I said: "No, not me, this cannot be
Dear God, take him, take them, take anyone
The stillborn
The newborn
The infirm
Take anyone
Take people from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Just spare me!"
 
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