Lucky Lisp

Ryan

Notre-DAYUM!
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I often think the brilliance of this song and it's lyrics are way overlooked.

I mean, damn:


When your gift unfurls
when your Talent becomes apparent
I will roar from the stalls
I will gurgle from the circle
The Saints smile shyly
down on you
they couldn't get over
your nine-leaved clover
Lucky lisp was not wasted on you
lucky lisp was not wasted on you
When your name is with the best
will my name be on your guest list?
I will roar from the stalls
oh the balcony fool was me, you fool
Jesus made this all for you, love
He couldn't get over
your Grandma's omen
Lucky lisp was not wasted on you
lucky lisp was not wasted on you
 
I completely agree, Ryan. One of my favorites off Bona Drag.


The lyrics are interesting. On a literal level, they read as a person's meditation on witnessing a close friend's rising star, rejoicing in the fame they always knew was inevitable for this friend, but at the same time seeking reassurance that they won't be forgotten. In this regard it shares some thematic similarities with "Rubber Ring."

However, I've always preferred an alternate interpretation. A lisp is often used as a signifier of homosexuality across a spectrum of creative works and within the media. With that in mind, it's easy to interpret the song as a directive of empowerment to a young homosexual man, reminding him of the legacy of great gay writers, artists, and thinkers that came before him. The "lucky lisp" wasn't wasted on him, meaning that the thing that makes him different may in fact be the thing that emboldens him to make some kind of positive impact in the world.
 
Lucky Lisp is one of my favourite Morrissey songs, and certainly one that deserves to go on an outing more often than it has! I think detritus gives an accurate interpretation of the song, and it's a really upbeat and in some parts quite an ambiguous track which maybe helps to make it so great.

I've always wondered if perhaps it has something to do with Henry James the author. James' play 'Guy Domville' was booed off the stage on its premier night, and a lot of what the song talks about fits to my interpretation. All I know of Henry James comes from Colm Toibin's 'The Master', a fictional autobiography, but it hints at James being gay and mentions the disaster of 'Guy Domville'. 'When your gift unfurls, when your talent becomes apparent, I will roar from the stalls, I will gurgle from the circle' sounds to me like Morrissey saying "when you do something good and worthy, I'll be there to back you". Obviously, 'roar from the stalls' and 'gurgle from the circle' could refer to parts of the theatre. As mentioned, the references to 'lisp' and gay connotations could refer to James' sexuality, but also his differences which (in terms of his writing, perhaps?) which the song says weren't wasted on him and which will soon reward him.

Perhaps someone who knows a thing or two about Henry James could help.
 
great song and who knows but ive always heard the bolan connection. ive also heard a story about certain men puttin on lisps to pick up other men. again who knows but its a good song with a sweet ascending melody
 
Can't believe it's only been played live a handful of times in 2007.
 
Can't believe it's only been played live a handful of times in 2007.

agreed, it deserves to be played more but im guessing that was a weird time for him and that he has a lot of strange mental attachments to some of those songs but yes lets hope it gets played way way more. hes been playing yes i am blind so who knows. would sit next to crashing bores really well in the set list imo
 
I always thought it was about Sir Cliff Richard. Well, either him or Johnny Marr.
 
The lyrics are interesting. On a literal level, they read as a person's meditation on witnessing a close friend's rising star, rejoicing in the fame they always knew was inevitable for this friend, but at the same time seeking reassurance that they won't be forgotten. In this regard it shares some thematic similarities with "Rubber Ring."

Also "Golden Lights".
 
However, I've always preferred an alternate interpretation. A lisp is often used as a signifier of homosexuality across a spectrum of creative works and within the media. With that in mind, it's easy to interpret the song as a directive of empowerment to a young homosexual man, reminding him of the legacy of great gay writers, artists, and thinkers that came before him. The "lucky lisp" wasn't wasted on him, meaning that the thing that makes him different may in fact be the thing that emboldens him to make some kind of positive impact in the world.

Yes. Pretty much all this!
 
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