How many songs are about Johnny Marr?

bredbasket

Active Member
How many solo songs do y'all reckon is about Marr. For me, "Billy Budd" and "Suedehead" seem like big contenders.
 
A lot of the early ones in the VH era, I would say. "Angel, Angel", "I Know Very Well How I Got My Name", "He Knows I'd Love to See Him", "Disappointed", "I Don't Mind If You Forget Me", etc.
I would suggest "There Speaks A True Friend", "Never-Played Symphonies" and "Forgive Someone" too.

Topic has been done to death a bit on here - might be worth having a look through some of the older threads?
 
we can guess till the end of time or until M actually tells us.
people on here think M is obsessed with marr even to this day,both have moved on.
somebody should make a thread,how many songs has marr wrote about M.
 
How about "How many Johnny Marr songs are about Moz?"
 
Billy Budd is clearly about Marr.

"Things have been bad, but now it's 12 years on...and I took up with you..." - the song was on Vauxhall & I, released in 1994. Twelve years on from 1982, the year The Smiths formed.

In following years when singing the song live, Morrissey often updated the line to reflect the number of years that had elapsed since 1982. (See note 5 here http://www.passionsjustlikemine.com/lyrics/moz-bb.htm).

So clearly the year in the song specifically refers to 1982, the year Morrissey 'took up' with Marr.

The "things have been bad" line may refer to the acrimonious Smiths split and Morrissey and Marr's falling out.

Billy Budd is also the title of a novel by Herman Melville, who also wrote the poem "John Marr and Other Sailors".

Case closed.
 
How about "How many Johnny Marr songs are about Moz?"
Possibly reaching, but it was always my hunch that 'The Messenger' was maybe directed at Moz. It was written around the time their relationship didn't seem to be completely fractured, a potential Smiths reunion had been discussed a couple of years before and maybe hints at Johnny being open to repairing the relationship, but who wants to make the first move?

"I'm seeing in you something
The life you're wanting takes long
You seem so heavy, I'm fine just talking if you want
Don't wanna be the messenger
I'm seeing in you something
Your eyes are open and you're on
I'm here and I'm ready, my time's for taking if you want"




Also, slightly more negatively, maybe 'The Trap', which seems to be about someone being wary of getting involved with another person?

Watching and yearning
But just see what you've done
It's gone all wrong
At zero degrees
It got to be that way
You see it come
And now it feels like
You won't be what you was
Your force and words and lies to disguise
It's a trap, it's a trap…



I do remember in interviews around the time his solo career started, Johnny denying any songs were written about Morrissey, as it would be too obvious - but it would be kind of weird if some of those emotions didn't bleed out into the odd line here and there.
 
How about "How many Johnny Marr songs are about Moz?"
How many Johnny Marr songs are about anything, though? Apart from 1 or 2 songs, his lyrics are complete nonsense.
 
I always thought the title of Johnny's Autobio was a shot in M's direction, Set The Boy Free.
And that comment about assembling a super-group and going on an "I Told You I Was Right" tour... things between them have obviously been on his mind, at least.
 
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Possibly reaching, but it was always my hunch that 'The Messenger' was maybe directed at Moz. It was written around the time their relationship didn't seem to be completely fractured, a potential Smiths reunion had been discussed a couple of years before and maybe hints at Johnny being open to repairing the relationship, but who wants to make the first move?

"I'm seeing in you something
The life you're wanting takes long
You seem so heavy, I'm fine just talking if you want
Don't wanna be the messenger
I'm seeing in you something
Your eyes are open and you're on
I'm here and I'm ready, my time's for taking if you want"




Also, slightly more negatively, maybe 'The Trap', which seems to be about someone being wary of getting involved with another person?

Watching and yearning
But just see what you've done
It's gone all wrong
At zero degrees
It got to be that way
You see it come
And now it feels like
You won't be what you was
Your force and words and lies to disguise
It's a trap, it's a trap…



I do remember in interviews around the time his solo career started, Johnny denying any songs were written about Morrissey, as it would be too obvious - but it would be kind of weird if some of those emotions didn't bleed out into the odd line here and there.


I was going to say "The Trap" too! Also "Too Blue" from 7 Worlds Collide - this would have been after that 2008 meeting between the two of them. Jeff Tweedy is supposedly credited with the lyrics, but tellingly, it's sung by Marr.
 
I'm trying to get into Johnny Marr's solo stuff after quickly dismissing it. Where do I start?
Call the Comet - his most recent solo album - is the best.
"New Town Velocity" from his first album (The Messenger) is a great tune, Smiths-like.
"Sexuality" is a good Billy Bragg co-write.
 
The silly boy flipped his grip way worse than morrissey did, abandoned ship and now.....johnny flaps about stewing in the puny town of Portland as it burns away. He fled Portland after antifas lit his v.w. van ablaze, proclaiming, "Your a Snuffss capitalist and greedy like Willoby, Oglesby", ....or what ever the old buzzards name is. Now the dear laddie bops about Devon and works a new corner every weekend for a few extra quid an a pint or 2. The graveyard crowd, at lands end is the last crowd the olboy sings to now. Good luck and prayers for finding a solo effort, save those cool demo tapes he'd give Oglesby way back when. His child has made a record with the off spring of billie shears & ...Willoughby, entitled, Christmas Favorites of Willoughby.
 
"Hown many songs are about Johnny Marr." ? Well...How about "Bengali in Platforms." ?
 
Easy money money, that's money money, that's money mon-ey.
 
There Speaks A True Friend was a direct response to a member of Right Said Fred putting Morrissey down and saying he was unduly miserable. He said this on a radio programme when they were reviewing his releases and Morrissey wasn't best pleased. He said something along the lines that Morrissey didn't deserve to live and this was Morrisseys response.
 
They’re ALL about Johnny Marr.



:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:
 
Imagine having an art career that spans 4 decades and still having people speculate about how much of your work was written to/for/about someone you haven't had a relationship with for 35 of those 40 years. It's the price Morrissey pays for creating a legend, but still.

That said, "Billy Budd" and "Angel Angel Down We Go Together" definitely with "He Knows I'd Love to See Him" possibly. Beyond those, I don't think there's any more.
 
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