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.
Yes
Morrissey Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The good things, just the bad things, oh
Yes, I am blind, no I can't see
There must be something horribly wrong with me
God, come down if You're really there
Well, You're the one who claims to care
I'm the one who shopped you
I'm the one who stopped you
'Cause in my sorry way I love you
Love's young dream
Are you sorry for what you've done?
Well, you're not the only one
And in my sorry way I love you
Yes, I am blind but I do see
Evil people prosper over the likes of you and me, always
God, come down if You're really there
Well, You're the one who claims to care
Little lamb on a hill run fast if you can
Good Christians, they wanna kill you
And your life has not even begun
You're just like me, you're just like me
Oh, your life has not even begun
You're just like me, you're just like me
And your life has not even begun
You're just like me, just like me
And your life has not even begun
You're just like me, you're just like, just like me
And your life has not even begun
Morrissey's song Yes is a haunting introspective examination of self-doubt and the struggles of one's own morality. The repetition of the phrase "Yes, I am blind, no I can't see" serves as a reminder of the singer's blindness to the good things in life, as they are consumed by the bad, alluding to a sense of hopelessness and despair. The singer's queries to God to "come down if You're really there" give a glimpse of their desperation and need for some form of higher power to intervene and provide hope.
The song's title, Yes, ironically reiterates the same defeatism present throughout, with the singer's self-pitying questioning "There must be something horribly wrong with me." The line "Love's young dream, I'm the one who shopped you, I'm the one who stopped you" portrays the singer's bitterness towards a past love, who they seem to have betrayed, adding further to feelings of guilt and inadequate self-worth.
The song's reference to the innocent "little lamb on a hill" evokes biblical imagery, and the suggestion that "good Christians" want to "kill" the lamb taps into a sense of hypocrisy and the mistreatment of the vulnerable by the powerful. The repeated assertion that "your life has not even begun" conveys the idea that despite the struggles and troubles present, one shouldn't give up but instead live life to the fullest.
Overall, Yes paints a bleak portrait of a narrator tormented by doubt, self-loathing, and a yearning for divine intervention in a world where the innocent are preyed upon and those in power do little to help.
Line by Line Meaning
Yes, I am blind , no I can't see
I am unable to see the good things in life, only the negative
There must be something horribly wrong with me
I feel there is something fundamentally flawed within myself
God, come down if You're really there
I am questioning the existence of a higher power and seeking divine intervention
Well, You're the one who claims to care
If a higher power does exist, I am calling on them to act on their supposed caring nature
Love's young dream
The idealistic notion of young love
I'm the one who shopped you
I am the one who betrayed or sold out the person I loved
I'm the one who stopped you
I am the reason why our love couldn't prosper or continue
'Cause in my sorry way I love you
Despite my failings and regrettable actions, I still have love for you
Are you sorry for what you've done?
I am questioning if the other person regrets their actions towards me
Well, you're not the only one
I am acknowledging that I am not alone in my pain or regrets
Yes, I am blind but I do see
Although I cannot see the good things in life, I am aware of the injustices around me
Evil people prosper over the likes of you and me, always
It seems as though those who are immoral or unethical are more successful than those who are not
Little lamb on a hill run fast if you can
A metaphor for the innocence and vulnerability of youth
Good Christians, they wanna kill you
Even those who claim to be good or righteous can still act in harmful ways towards the innocent or weak
And your life has not even begun
There is still so much potential and opportunity for someone young and innocent
You're just like me, you're just like me
We are both vulnerable and victims of a harsh and unfair world
And your life has not even begun
There is still so much ahead for someone young and innocent
You're just like me, just like me
We are both struggling in similar ways
And your life has not even begun
There is still so much possibility and promise for someone young and innocent
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Written by: ANDY ROURKE, STEVEN PATRICK MORRISSEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind