The band's long career has seen them successfully adopt many different musical genres; including glam pop, power pop, electronic dance music and mainstream pop. Despite these many styles, a recognizable "Sparks sound" remains throughout, and they have enjoyed a large cult following since their first releases. Sparks have been highly influential on the development of popular music, in particular on the late 1970s scene, when in collaboration with Giorgio Moroder (and Telex subsequently), they reinvented themselves as an electronic pop duo, and abandoned the traditional rock band line up. In contrast to the esteem in which they are held by such peers as Depeche Mode, New Order, Morrissey and They Might Be Giants, who all cite Sparks as a major influence, their almost constantly changing styles and unique visual presentations have sometimes seen them dismissed as a novelty act.
The 2002 release of Lil' Beethoven, their self-described "genre-defining opus", and 2006's Hello Young Lovers (their 20th studio album) have brought Sparks renewed critical and commercial success, and seen them continue to "steer clear of pop conventions."
The 2021 documentary film 'The Sparks Brothers', directed by Edgar Wright, has renewed interest in the band for a new audience.
Lighten Up Morrissey
Sparks Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
'Cause my intellect's paper thin
She won't go out with me no she won't go out
Since my intellect's not like him
So lighten up Morrissey
She won't hang out with me no she won't hang out
She won't hang out with me no she won't hang out
'Til my quick retort's quick as his
So lighten up Morrissey?
Lighten up lighten up
Lighten up lighten up
Lighten up Morrissey
Lighten up lighten up
Lighten up Morrissey
She won't have sex with me no she won't have sex
'Less it's done with a pseudonym
She won't do sport with me no she won't do sport
Says it's way way too masculine look at him
So lighten up Morrissey?
Lighten up lighten up
Lighten up lighten up
Lighten up Morrissey
Lighten up lighten up
Lighten up Morrissey
I got comparisons coming out my ears
And she never can hit the pause
If only Morrissey weren't so Morrisseyesque
She might overlook all my flaws
So lighten up Morrissey
Lighten up lighten up
So lighten up Morrissey
Lighten up lighten up
Lighten up lighten up
Lighten up Morrissey
Lighten up lighten up
Lighten up Morrissey
She won't dine out with me no she won't dine out
Says my t-bone steak is at fault
She won't dine out with me no she won't dine out
With a murderer pass the salt
Lighten up lighten up
Lighten up lighten up
Lighten up Morrissey
Lighten up lighten up
Lighten up lighten up
Lighten up Morrissey
Lighten up lighten up
Lighten up Morrissey
In this song, the singer is experiencing difficulty getting a woman to go out, hang out, have sex, or dine out with him because he doesn't meet her intellectual, witty and masculine standards. She wants the singer to be more like Morrissey, the legendary singer-songwriter who is known for his sharp wit, intellectual lyrics, controversial views and androgynous fashion sense. She compares the singer with Morrissey and finds him lacking. The singer wishes Morrissey could be less Morrisseyesque for just a moment, so that he could be more appealing to the woman.
The song is titled Lighten Up Morrissey, which can be interpreted in two ways: as a command to Morrissey to lighten up his intellectual and androgynous image, or as a plea to the woman to lighten up her expectations and be more flexible.
The song's humorous lyrics and upbeat melody make it a playful take on the modern dating scene and people's unrealistic expectations.
Line by Line Meaning
She won't go out with me no she won't go out
The person being sung about is unable to go out with his crush because he is not as intelligent as Morrissey.
'Cause my intellect's paper thin
The person being sung about believes that his intellect is not deep enough to impress his crush.
Since my intellect's not like him
The person being sung about believes that his crush prefers Morrissey's intellect over his own.
She won't hang out with me no she won't hang out
The person being sung about is also unable to hang out with his crush because he does not have the same biting wit that Morrissey does.
'Til my biting wit bites like his
The person being sung about needs to improve his wit to meet his crush's standards, which are inspired by Morrissey.
'Til my quick retort's quick as his
The person being sung about needs to improve his ability to quickly respond with clever comments, like Morrissey can.
She won't have sex with me no she won't have sex
The person being sung about is unable to have sex with his crush until he uses a pseudonym because she is not comfortable being with the real him.
'Less it's done with a pseudonym
Using a pseudonym is the only way for the person being sung about to have sex with his crush.
She won't do sport with me no she won't do sport
The person being sung about is not able to participate in sport with his crush because she believes it is too masculine, similar to how Morrissey may have thought.
Says it's way way too masculine look at him
The person being sung about believes that his crush compares him unfavorably to Morrissey, who was also not known for being sporty.
I got comparisons coming out my ears
The person being sung about is constantly compared to Morrissey and wishes those comparisons would stop.
And she never can hit the pause
The person being sung about's crush is constantly making comparisons between him and Morrissey and is unable to stop doing so.
If only Morrissey weren't so Morrisseyesque
The person being sung about believes that his crush would be more forgiving of his flaws if Morrissey was not a standard of comparison.
She might overlook all my flaws
The person being sung about believes that his crush would be more accepting of his shortcomings if she was not comparing him to Morrissey.
She won't dine out with me no she won't dine out
The person being sung about is unable to go out to eat with his crush because she does not approve of his food choices.
Says my t-bone steak is at fault
The person being sung about's crush does not approve of his choice of steak, which is yet another instance where the comparison to Morrissey comes up.
With a murderer pass the salt
The person being sung about's crush would rather eat with a murderer than the person being sung about himself.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: RONALD D MAEL, RUSSELL CRAIG MAEL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Andy.Moore.AndysTreasureTrove
She won't go out with me, no, she won't go out
Cause my intellect's paper thin
She won't go out with me, no, she won't go out
Since my intellect's not like him
So, lighten up, Morrissey
She won't hang out with me, no, she won't hang out
'Til my biting wit bites like his
She won't hang out with me, no, she won't hang out
'Til my quick retort's quick as his
So, lighten up, Morrissey
She won't have sex with me, no, she won't have sex
'Less it's done with a pseudonym
She won't do sport with me, no, she won't do sport
Says it's way, way too masculine, look at him
So, lighten up, Morrissey
I got comparisons coming out my ears
And she never can hit the pause
If only Morrissey weren't so Morrissey-esque
She might overlook all my flaws
So, lighten up, Morrissey
She won't dine out with me, no, she won't dine out
Says my t-bone steak is at fault
She won't dine out with me, no, she won't dine out
With a murderer, pass the salt
So lighten up, Morrissey
@NoxiousRob
The best line from this song.....'if only Morrisey wasn't so Morrisey-esque, she might overlook all my flaws'.
@old5333
Should've been Morose-y-esque
@sexobscura
@@old5333
👍
@GeraldYniguez
@@old5333 Good ear!!!
@keter1234
I've been listening to everything from left and right field... anything different ... for a long time.... And I didn't discover Sparks until last week... Where tah hell have I been??? I love them... I just bought their new CD and I love it.
@rubenv101
I'm like you Keith. I didn't discover Sparks til just a few months ago. I don't know how I missed out on them. They are amazing!!
@marilurasonyi218
Happened the same with me....50 days ago. SPARKS <3
@bansheefan57
I admit I'm the same since last year. I only stumbled onto them through the song "Armies of the Night" from the 'Fright Night' SDTK. WOW! These guys are amazing and spontaneous. Love 'em! Heard everything the've done and await more!
@N1ckMar0
I first became aware of them in 2006 when Weird Al did the style parody Virus Alert. I didn't do any research then, just looked up who they were, but didn't listen to anything. (Because I'm a genius or something.) I then got the Kick-Ass OST in 2011. Listened to This Town Ain't Big Enough For the Both of Us a lot. But again, didn't really listen to anything else they did. (Once again, because I'm a genius or something.) Only within the past month had I started listening to various band stations on Google Play. Sparks got played a lot and that's when I realized that I had heard A LOT of their songs in movies.
Now I'm asking myself why the hell haven't I paid attention to them? This is definitely a band I would have listened in my late teens/early twenties as the oddball comic geek.
@215Gallagher
Welcome new Sparks people, they are a fun duo