Written by Morrissey & Boz Boorer
Produced by Steve Lillywhite
Record… Read Full Bio ↴Written by Morrissey & Boz Boorer
Produced by Steve Lillywhite
Recorded Summer 1993
Released 14th March 1994 on Vauxhall and I

Personnel
Guitars - Alain Whyte
Guitars & clarinet - Boz Boorer
Bass - Jonny Bridgwood
Drums - Woodie Taylor

Notes The looped sample of "What's your name?", heard before the last verse and at the end, was lifted from the 1942 film [[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Which_We_Serve]In Which We Serve". The voice is that of actress Kay Walsh.

Lifeguard Sleeping Girl Drowning
Morrissey Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Always looking for attention
Always needs to be mentioned
Who does she
Think she should be?
The shrill cry through darkening air
Doesn't she know he's
Had such a busy day?

Tell her sshhh
Somebody tell her sshhh
Oh, no way, no way, there's no movement
Oh, oh, hooray
Slowest

It was only a test
But she swam too far
Against the tide
She deserves all she gets
The sky became marked with stars
As an out-stretched arm slowly
Disappears

Hooray
Oh hooray
No, oh, oh, woh, there's no movement
No, oh, hooray
Oh, hooray

Please don't worry
There'll be no fuss
She was nobody's nothing

(What's your name?)
(What's your name?)
(What's your name?)
(What's your name?)

When he awoke
The sea was calm
And another day passes like a dream
There's no no way

(What's your name?)
(What's your name?)
(What's your name?)
(What's your name?)
(What's your name?)
(What's your name?)
(What's your name?)

(What's your name?)
(What's your name?)

Overall Meaning

The song Lifeguard Sleeping Girl Drowning by Morrissey offers a dark and melancholy look into a near-drowning incident. The song highlights the shallow nature of people who are attention seekers and are always in need of affirmation. The girl in the song was swimming alone and way too far out into the sea. As a result, she almost drowned in the sea. The lifeguard of the beach was sleeping when the girl was drowning and woke up only when the sea was calm again, which indicates that the girl might have died.

The shrill cry of the girl is a reference to the calls for help that she might have made while swimming. Despite her calls, nobody came to her aid, and she drowned alone. The line "Always looking for attention, always needs to be mentioned" highlights the tragic sense of people who are lonely and crave attention, leading them to make unhealthy relationships or engage in unhealthy activities to fill the void.

In the end, "She was nobody's nothing." It implies that nobody knew her, and nobody had a relationship or connection to her, which is tragic in every sense. Overall, the song explores the themes of loneliness, longing for attention, and the apathy of people towards each other.

Line by Line Meaning

Always looking for attention
The girl is constantly seeking attention and wants to be noticed.

Always needs to be mentioned
She has a deep desire to be talked about and acknowledged by others.

Who does she Think she should be?
Morrissey is questioning the girl's sense of self-entitlement and a need to have a big ego.

The shrill cry through darkening air Doesn't she know he's Had such a busy day?
The girl is making too much noise by screaming for attention, oblivious of the fact that Morrissey has had a long and tiring day.

Tell her sshhh Somebody tell her sshhh
Morrissey is asking someone to quiet the girl down and make her stop making so much noise.

Oh, no way, no way, there's no movement Oh, oh, hooray Slowest
The girl is not moving or doing anything exciting, but Morrissey is ironically cheering for her to continue with her mundane behavior.

It was only a test But she swam too far Against the tide She deserves all she gets
The girl is taking unnecessary risks and will face the consequences of her actions.

The sky became marked with stars As an out-stretched arm slowly Disappears
As the girl succumbs to her fate, the sky marks her departure from the living world with stars, while her outstretched hand slowly disappears.

Please don't worry There'll be no fuss She was nobody's nothing
Morrissey is trying to reassure his listeners that the girl's death will not cause any commotion, and no one will miss her since she had no significant impact in anybody's life.

(What's your name?) (What's your name?) (What's your name?) (What's your name?)
Morrissey repeats the question as if he's trying to ask the girl in her last moments what her name was, but it's too late now.

When he awoke The sea was calm And another day passes like a dream There's no no way
The calmed sea signifies the end of the dramatic episode, and Morrissey wakes up to another day like yesterday - this time as if it was a dream that quickly passed by.

Lyrics © DOMINO PUBLISHING COMPANY, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: STEVEN MORRISSEY, MARTIN JAMES BOORER

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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Comments from YouTube:

MatthewDean

4y↑9

One of his best tracks and that is saying so much. Cheers everyone from 2020.

Josh Grotesque

3y↑4

"Always looking for attention,always needs to be mentioned,who does she think she should be?" A line that really be it in 1994 resignates so strong in 2021. Really sums up today's youth & their desire for acceptance within the world of social media.