He was the lead singer of The Smiths, one of the most influential alternative bands in the 1980s. The group split up in 1987 and Morrissey started a successful solo career.
His first solo album, Viva Hate was released only six months after The Smiths split, in March 1988. The album's first single "Suedehead" peaked at #5, a higher position than any Smiths single had ever achieved. In 1990, Bona Drag, a collection of his solo singles and b-sides, including popular songs such as "The Last of the Famous International Playboys" and "Everyday is Like Sunday" (which also appears on "Viva Hate")
His second album 1991's Kill Uncle was not as well received as his first, with neither single achieving the Top 20. In 1992, the Mick Ronson-produced Your Arsenal was released and included singles such as "Tomorrow" and "We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful". A live album, Beethoven Was Deaf, followed in 1993.
In 1994, Morrissey released Vauxhall and I, which contained "The More You Ignore Me, The Closer I Get", his biggest hit in the United States, where it peaked at #46. Later that year, Morrissey also recorded a one-off project with Siouxsie of Siouxsie and the Banshees: they sang in duet on the single Interlude.
After "Vauxhall and I", Morrissey released Southpaw Grammar (1995) and Maladjusted (1997), both of which failed to produce a UK Top 20 single.
A period of musical inactivity followed in the late 90s and early 2000s, which was due to failure in finding a suitable label, according to a 2004 interview with Jools Holland. After seven years without a new album release, You Are the Quarry was released on May 17, 2004 (but one day later in the USA). The first single, Irish Blood, English Heart, was released internationally on May 10, 2004. The single reached number three in its first week of sales in the UK singles chart. To date, this is the highest placing chart position for Morrissey in his entire career as both a solo artist and the lead singer of The Smiths (the 2006 release You Have Killed Me also debuted at number three in its first week in the charts). It has sold over a million copies, making the album his most successful, solo or with The Smiths.
Ringleader Of The Tormentors, produced by former David Bowie producer Tony Visconti, was released in April 2006. The album went straight to the top of the UK Album charts.
Morrissey released a new Greatest Hits collection in February 2008, including two new songs: All You Need Is Me and That’s How People Grow Up, both released as singles. Morrissey is now signed to Decca Records.
In 2009, Morrissey released his latest album, Years of Refusal, which was produced by Jerry Finn, his final production credit before his death. Later in the year, Morrissey released the B-sides collection Swords.
2009 also saw the re-releases of Maladjusted and Southpaw Grammar, two of his most critically maligned albums. The Maladjusted re-release ditched two of its singles, Papa Jack and Roy's Keen, in favour of several other tracks from the period, such as I Can Have Both. Sorrow Will Come in the End, written about Morrissey's vicious legal battle with Smiths drummer Mike Joyce, was also re-instated to the UK edition. Southpaw Grammar retained all of its original tracks, albeit re-sequenced, but recieved the addition of other tracks from that time period, including the new album closer Nobody Loves Us.
Two other Morrissey releases came in 2009; The HMV/Parlophone Singles '88-'95 and Swords, the former a 3 CD compilation of singles and B-sides from Viva Hate through to Vauxhall and I, the latter a compilation of B-sides from You Are The Quarry, Ringleader of the Tormentors, and Years of Refusal.
A new Very Best Of collection was released in 2011, accompanied by a UK tour.
Morrissey's eleventh solo album, 'Low in High School', was released on November 17th, 2017. ' Low in high School' was produced by Joe Chiccarelli same producer as Morrissey’s ‘World Peace is None of Your Business’.
Morrissey's twelth studio album "California Son" is released on 24 May 2019 on the singer's label étienne and licensed on BMG, the album is a collection of cover versions. It is recorded in 2018 by Joe Chiccarelli, a frequent collaborator of Morrissey.
Morrissey's new studio album, I Am Not A Dog On A Chain, is scheduled for March 2020 release by BMG. The album was recorded in St-remy, France, with producer Joe Chiccarelli.
Mama Lay Softly on the Riverbed
Morrissey Lyrics
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Mama, who drove you to it?
Was it the pigs in grey suits
Persecuting you?
Uncivil servants
Unconcerned at how they frightened you
Life is nothing much to lose
Mama, why did you do it?
Mama, who drove you to it?
Spare priggish money men
Who scared the life out of you
Bailiffs with bad breath
I will slit their throats for you
Life is nothing much to lose
It's just so lonely here without you, mama
Life is nothing much to lose
It's just so lonely here without you
So, we're gonna run to you
We're gonna come to you
We're gonna lie down beside you, mama
We're gonna be with you
We're gonna join you
We're gonna lie down beside you, mama
And we will be safe and sheltered in our graves
We'll come before you
And we will kiss you
By way of one final hug, mama
The lyrics to Morrissey's song Mama Lay Softly On The Riverbed touch on the theme of suicide, as the singer asks their mother why she did it and who pushed her to it. The song suggests that the mother may have been driven to suicide by the pigs in grey suits, referring to uncivil servants who were insensitive to how they scared the mother. The singer also mentions the spare priggish money men and bailiffs with bad breath who could have been responsible for the mother's suicide.
Despite the heaviness of the theme, Morrissey's lyrics emphasize that life is nothing much to lose and that the singer and others will join the mother in death. It's a song that suggests that death is not an end, but a way to be reunited with loved ones who have passed away.
Overall, the song offers a commentary on the pressures of modern life and the crushing weight of isolation that some people feel. The song seems to suggest that suicide is a psychological response to these pressures, and that it's a way of escaping the loneliness and depression that can be created by a society that is indifferent to the suffering of others.
Line by Line Meaning
Mama, why did you do it?
Why did you take your life, Mama?
Mama, who drove you to it?
Who or what caused you to take your life, Mama?
Was it the pigs in grey suits
Could it have been the officials in grey suits?
Persecuting you?
Harrassing or oppressing you?
Uncivil servants
Non helpful government officials
Unconcerned at how they frightened you
They seem not to care about how their actions hurt you
Life is nothing much to lose
Life is not that important to some people
It's just so lonely here without you
It feels empty here without you
Spare priggish money men
Rich people who think they can do whatever they want
Who scared the life out of you
People who frightened you to the point of despair
Bailiffs with bad breath
Officials whose breath smells terrible
I will slit their throats for you
I want to get revenge for you
So, we're gonna run to you
We will try to reach out to you even though you're gone
We're gonna come to you
We will try to come closer to you
We're gonna lie down beside you, mama
We will try to rest near you
We're gonna be with you
We want to be near you
We're gonna join you
We yearn to be with you
And we will be safe and sheltered in our graves
When we die, we hope to be protected in our graves
We'll come before you
We'll reach wherever you are first
And we will kiss you
We will embrace you fondly
By way of one final hug, mama
This is our way of saying goodbye
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ALAIN GORDON WHYTE, STEVEN MORRISSEY, STEVEN PATRICK MORRISSEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind