Morrissey A-Z: "Father Who Must Be Killed, The"

"No hand to touch me / And no Bible-belters to mess with me" makes me think of sexual abuse. Maybe that's why the stepfather says "I'm sorry" before he dies?

Yes, good point.
I had been wondering what it was that he actually did to her, because it's not explicitly mentioned (violence is implied and then there's also the loud chewing - the latter being one of the worst and most unforgivable offenses on the planet of course).
 
This song is dismal! The music, the words, the arrangement. Compare it to the sparkling musical delights of Once I Saw the River Clean, Knockabout World, Hurling Days, etc. and just be grateful that M teamed up with a brilliant song-writing and production team. Of course, Alain wrote a few great songs but too much Morrissey/Whyte material was in the same league as this.
 
Yes, good point.
I had been wondering what it was that he actually did to her, because it's not explicitly mentioned (violence is implied and then there's also the loud chewing - the latter being one of the worst and most unforgivable offenses on the planet of course).

Seems to have been the last straw.

But I think it’s a great way to describe a type of hatred for someone when the particular way he chewed his food, this simple action, pains and makes her hate him that much more. I just picture the scene of these two at the table eating, and
the mood is suffocating and intense, when all goes silent and all she can hear is the sound of his chewing as it grows louder and louder in her head driving her insane.

This really is a horror film delivered in a 3:54 ‘pop’ song.



This is weird, any collectors know the why behind this? Can’t find any info, guessing it’s a boot, but why did they choose this song ? ...

 
It’s obviously about a murder-suicide and the fact that there will be “No Bible-belters to mess with me” when she is dead gives a pretty big clue as to the motive for her actions. I think it’s a wonderful lyric.
 
This song is dismal! The music, the words, the arrangement. Compare it to the sparkling musical delights of Once I Saw the River Clean, Knockabout World, Hurling Days, etc. and just be grateful that M teamed up with a brilliant song-writing and production team. Of course, Alain wrote a few great songs but too much Morrissey/Whyte material was in the same league as this.
While I agree that Alain's music in the chorus is incredibly lazy, I think the rest of it is OK. The bass line is pretty cool. And, lyrically, it's better than most of Morrissey's stuff between 2009 and 2019.
 
Seems to have been the last straw.

But I think it’s a great way to describe a type of hatred for someone when the particular way he chewed his food, this simple action, pains and makes her hate him that much more. I just picture the scene of these two at the table eating, and
the mood is suffocating and intense, when all goes silent and all she can hear is the sound of his chewing as it grows louder and louder in her head driving her insane.

Yes, absolutely. I was only half-joking. It's not hard to imagine that it would drive her mad, human chewing is one of the most excruciating sounds imaginable (for me).

This really is a horror film delivered in a 3:54 ‘pop’ song.

The lyric is fantastic. Shame about the music. 😬
 
I vividly remember walking into HMV on the day the album came out - garlanded by five star reviews - and this was playing on the tannoy. My heart sank immediately. Little did I know, there was FAR worse to come (Low In High School)
 
Ashamed to say, I like the music :blushing:

Guess I should actually listen to it again, huh? I haven't in a while and I only really remember the vocal melody and that I never liked anything about the music at all...
 
yes, loud.

OK, I just did.

I like that effect that comes in after she kills him, at about 2:05. It starts on the right side and seems to works its way straight through your brain. Feels very multidimensional.

I love the drums at the beginning and the tremolo/creaking door/creepy children's voices at the end. I still think the rest is rather unappealing and the vocal sounds a bit lazy too.
 
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