When asked about the group's name, Morrissey explained: "It was the most ordinary name and I thought it was time the ordinary folk of the world showed their faces." "Smith" happens to be the most common surname in England. The Smiths were unique in that they never used artwork for their album covers, instead electing for photos of people Morrissey admired like James Dean, Truman Capote, and Pat Phoenix.
The Smiths signed to the independent label Rough Trade Records in 1983 and released their first album, The Smiths, in 1984. They based their songs on the songwriting partnership of Morrissey and Marr. Their focus on a guitar, bass, and drum sound and a fusion of 1960s rock and post-punk was a rejection of the synth-pop sound that was predominant at the time. Several Smiths singles reached the top 20 of the UK Singles Chart, and all their studio albums reached the top five of the UK Albums Chart, including the number-one album Meat Is Murder (1985). They achieved mainstream success in Europe with The Queen Is Dead (1986) and Strangeways, Here We Come (1987), both of which entered the top 20 of the European Albums Chart.
Internal tensions led to the Smiths' breakup in 1987, followed by public lawsuits over royalties. Their live album Rank (1988) reached the top 10 in Europe. Since the band's dissolution, the members have refused offers to reunite and have all separately stated that the band is finished and will never reunite.
Studio albums
The Smiths (1984)
Meat Is Murder (1985)
The Queen Is Dead (1986)
Strangeways, Here We Come (1987)
Vicar in a Tutu
The Smiths Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Lifting some lead off the roof of the Holy Name church
It was worthwhile living a laughable life
To set my eyes on the blistering sight
Of a vicar in a tutu, he's not strange
He just wants to live his life this way
A scanty bit of a thing with a decorative ring
That wouldn't cover the head of a goose
As Rose collects the money in a canister
Who comes sliding down the banister?
The vicar in a tutu, he's not strange
He just wants to live his life this way
The monkish monsignor with a head full of plaster
Said, "My man, get your vile soul dry-cleaned"
As Rose counts the money in the canister
As natural as rain he dances again, my God
The vicar in a tutu, oh, yeah
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah la la la la
The vicar in a tutu
Oh yeah, ooh
The next day in the pulpit with freedom and ease
Combatting ignorance, dust, and disease
As Rose counts the money in the canister
As natural as rain he dances again and again and again
In the fabric of a tutu any man could get used to
And I am the living sign, I am the living sign
I am a living sign, I am a living sign, sign
I am a living sign
The Smiths' song "Vicar in a Tutu" is about a vicar who enjoys wearing a tutu and dancing flamboyantly. The singer of the song was "lifting some lead off the roof of the Holy Name Church" when he saw the vicar in his tutu. The singer finds the vicar's dancing to be a "blistering sight" and notes that the vicar is not strange, but simply wants to live his life in this way. The song highlights the idea of giving oneself permission to be different and celebrating the freedom to express oneself, even if it goes against social norms and expectations.
As Rose counts the money in a canister, the vicar slides down the bannister and dances with abandon, while the monkish monsignor criticizes him for his decision to wear a tutu. However, despite the monsignor's disapproval, the vicar continues to dance, showing that he is not bound by societal expectations.
The next day, when the vicar is in the pulpit, he again dances with ease and freedom, showing that his tutu and flamboyant dancing are an authentic expression of who he is. Ultimately, the song celebrates the idea of self-expression and encourages listeners to embrace their own unique identity, no matter how unconventional others may perceive it to be.
Line by Line Meaning
I was minding my business
I was doing my own thing
Lifting some lead off
Removing some metal from the roof
The roof of the Holy Name church
The top of a religious building
It was worthwhile living a laughable life
Living a life that others might find ridiculous was still worthwhile
To set my eyes on the blistering sight
To see something amazing
Of a Vicar in a tutu
A religious leader wearing a tutu
He's not strange
The Vicar is not weird
He just wants to live his life this way
He wants to live his life how he chooses
A scanty bit of a thing
A small amount
With a decorative ring
With a ring for decoration
That wouldn't cover the head of a goose
Very small
As Rose collects the money in a canister
A woman named Rose is collecting money in a container
Who comes sliding down the bannister ?
Someone is sliding down a handrail
The Vicar in a tutu
The religious leader is still wearing a tutu
The monkish monsignor
Another religious leader
With a head full of plaster
With a mind that is not open to new ideas
Said : "My man, get your vile soul dry-cleaned"
Told the first person to clean up their behavior
As natural as rain
Completely natural
He dances again
The Vicar starts dancing once more
My God!
Expressing shock or surprise
Oh yeah
An expression of agreement
The next day in the pulpit
The following day, while giving a sermon
With freedom and ease
With the ability to speak without worry
Combatting ignorance, dust, and disease
Fighting against ignorance, dirt and disease
In the fabric of a tutu
In a tutu
Any man could get used to
Any man could become comfortable with
And I am the living sign
I am a symbol of this freedom
And I'm a living sign
I am a symbol of this freedom
I am a living sign
I am a symbol of this freedom
I'm a living sign
I am a symbol of this freedom
Sign
Symbol
I am a living sign
I am a symbol of this freedom
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Steven Morrissey, Johnny Marr
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@pizzaalraguraguallapizza2376
LYRICS
I was minding my business
Lifting some lead off
The roof of the Holy Name church
It was worthwhile living a laughable life
To set my eyes on the blistering sight
Of a Vicar in a tutu
He's not strange
He just wants to live his life this way
A scanty bit of a thing
With a decorative ring
That wouldn't cover the head of a goose
As Rose collects the money in a canister
Who comes sliding down the bannister?
The Vicar in a tutu
He's not strange
He just wants to live his life this way
The monkish monsignor
With a head full of plaster
Said: "My man, get your vile soul dry-cleaned"
As Rose counts the money in the canister
As natural as rain
He dances again
My God!
The Vicar in a tutu
Oh yeah
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Oh...
The Vicar in a tutu
Oh yeah
Oh...
The next day in the pulpit
With freedom and ease
Combatting ignorance, dust, and disease
As Rose counts the money in the canister
As natural as rain
He dances again and again and again
In the fabric of a tutu
Any man could get used to
And I am the living sign
And I'm a living sign
I am a living sign
I'm a living sign
I am a living sign
I'm a living sign
Sign
I am a living sign
@aldosahagun3350
I was minding my business
Lifting some lead off
The roof of the Holy Name church
It was worthwhile living a laughable life
To set my eyes on the blistering sight
Of a vicar in a tutu
He's not strange
He just wants to live his life this way
A scanty bit of a thing
Chewing the decorative ring
Wouldn't cover the head of a goose
As Rose collects the money in the cannister
Who comes sliding down the bannister?
Vicar in a tutu
He's not strange
He just wants to live his life this way
The monkish monsignor
With a head full of plaster
Said "My man, get your vile soul dry-cleaned"
As Rose counts the money in the cannister
As natural as Rain
And he dances again, my God
Vicar in a tutu
Oh yeah, yeah
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Ooh
The Vicar in a tutu
Oh yeah
Oh
The next day in the pulpit
With freedom and ease
Combatting ignorance, dust with disease
As Rose counts the money in the cannister
As natural as Rain
He dances again and again and again
With a fabric of a tutu
Any man could get used to
And I am the living sign
I'm the living sign
I'm a living sign
I'm a living sign
I'm a living sign
A living sign, sign
I'm a living sign
@georgemessenger2969
I was minding my business
Lifting some lead off
The roof of the Holy Name church
It was worthwhile living a laughable life
To set my eyes on the blistering sight
Of a Vicar in a tutu
He's not strange
He just wants to live his life this way
A scanty bit of a thing
With a decorative ring
That wouldn't cover the head of a goose
As Rose collects the money in a canister
Who comes sliding down the bannister ?
The Vicar in a tutu
He's not strange
He just wants to live his life this way
The monkish monsignor
With a head full of plaster
Said : "My man, get your vile soul dry-cleaned"
As Rose counts the money in the canister
As natural as rain
He dances again
My God!
The Vicar in a tutu
Oh yeah
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Oh...
The Vicar in a tutu
Oh yeah
Oh...
The next day in the pulpit
With freedom and ease
Combatting ignorance, dust, and disease
As Rose counts the money in the canister
As natural as rain
He dances again and again and again
In the fabric of a tutu
Any man could get used to
And I am the living sign
And I'm a living sign
I am a living sign
I'm a living sign
I am a living sign
I'm a living sign
Sign
I am a living sign
@cowboykxm
To the Smiths fans that can actually appreciate this song, you have incredibly good taste
@podonagra
That shift in mood at the very end of the song is fantastic. As the theme quickly changes from a happy, humorous song, to an anguished chorus as the music intensifies. I've never seen another song capture the feeling of being awkwardly strange around people so well. Genius Morrissey.
@AlisonBryen
This song is the perfect example of why I will never accept the detractors who write The Smiths off as miserable.
@sterlingarcher6362
maybe they meant miserable as in how emotionally heavy their songs are?
@sweetnuthin
A lot of their songs definitely are miserable, but some aren't. Either way, they're all full of emotion
@SolarDialectic
lol
@cyberhermit1222
This song is funny...but many songs are depressing.
And 'depressing' is not a reason to dislike them. There's not enough realism in pop.
@HiGlowie
Long love the smiths. Most people who don’t like them listen to nickelback.
@iraplikeyoubreathe
When i graduated highschool in 2005 my father burned me a copy of every cd he had in his collection, this was in there and my god thanks dad.
@NarjesAmmar-u3q
Bhhahahahahahhahahah why is not that bad