Morrissey A-Z: "Black-Eyed Susan"

I had forgotten that the alternate version had more vocals in the noisy middle section.




And does anyone know who did the backing vocals? Sounds more like a female voice than Alain's...
 
Last edited:
It has a lovely vocal harmony. But I am clueless what the words are about. Always thought that Black-eyed Susan had to be a metaphor for someone or something, but couldn't figure it out. Reading the comments here, it might be about Siouxie ? The instrumental interlude is just ambient noise, I am always happy when the vocals kick back in but that is probably part of the hook in this song.
 
Wasn't this included on "My Early Burglary Years"?

Yes it is. I didn't buy the Sunny EP until recently because all of its 3 songs were on that album anyway. But as Verso mentioned above, the song works better on the EP, where it is still the weakest of the 3 but a good bridge between Sunny and Swallow.
 
As it’s not on an LP/12, I can’t remember the last time I listened to it. I’ve just took the 7’ out of the box and played it, and it’s very much Morrissey from that era. The weaker of the 3 Sunny tracks but, all the same, worth being reunited with this morning. One great pity though, Buggery Years should have been released on vinyl - a great album :highfive:
 
I dug out my copy of Rogan's Morrissey - The Albums. Interesting that it was one of the songs they worked on at the beginning of the sessions without Lillywhite. Billy Budd was another one.

As expected, the instrumental part was Morrissey’s idea. "For two minutes!" :lbf:
I always wonder if many of his musical ideas are somehow lost in translation because he doesn't communicate in musician's terms.


BES1.jpg

BES2.jpg
 
Forgettable demo material for me, lazy lyrics and the 'sound collage' just doesn't work.
 
If you took the sound collage out or replaced it with an actual idea i could listen to this all day. I love the vocal melody and the jaunty acoustic strum and the songs pace. I like the idea of the middle section and the tempo changes but as it stands it kills the songs potential
 
Not impressed with the, "wall of sound" eh?
Nope, it just doesn't add anything. That kind of approach worked far better in other songs (eg. the crowd noises from the miners' strike used in Last Night I Dreamt), but not in this one.
 
I had forgotten that the alternate version had more vocals in the noisy middle section.




And does anyone know who did the backing vocals? Sounds more like a female voice than Alain's...


.



I have a friend that has a friend that knows someone that actually likes this song!


Kidding aside, it’s a weird one by Morrissey’s design, think of Sweetie Pie.
Some nice lyrics.. ‘born-again atheist, bitten fingers, shakes to break’. Though some of the lyrics can just as easily be about himself..
‘No is always easier than Yes".

Regarding the strange breakdown, the band members are not experimental musicians
so it’s not really gonna work out satisfactorily though, is it?
Because of the echoes and some backwards stuff it makes me think of ‘Piper at the gates of dawn’
an album that maybe only Boz was familiar with.

Those backing vocals still sound like Alain to me, It’s possible that Lillywhite could have pitched them up a little.

Really like the ‘one day, someday’ lines in the ‘psychedelic’ breakdown
gives it a little structure, should have kept it!
Actually, when listening back to the original during the breakdown it would have been a good part to throw in a sample of children singing a nursery rhyme or something.

one of his faves....



 
Last edited:
You learn something every day. While googling the lyrics, I learnt that Black-Eyed Susan is also "a North American flowering plant in the sunflower family, native to Eastern and Central North America and naturalized in the Western part of the continent as well as in China" (Wikipedia). That's one way to look at the lyric and its various meanings.

As for the song, it's a nice little oddity. It's funny how it starts in medias res, without an intro, like the first 45 seconds were cut off. Then it goes nowhere except down that avant-garde cul-de-sac. I can't really see how this could have worked on Vauxhall, but as a b-side from the era when singles had two extra tracks this makes the cut.
 
If you took the sound collage out or replaced it with an actual idea i could listen to this all day. I love the vocal melody and the jaunty acoustic strum and the songs pace. I like the idea of the middle section and the tempo changes but as it stands it kills the songs potential
Agreed. It's a curious decision to put that cacophonous middle in this song - almost seems like an attempt at self-sabotage. I really wish Moz & Gang had taken the time and effort to develop this as a "normal" song - seems like it really had potential.
 
.I have a friend that has a friend that knows someone that actually likes this song
I like this song.

Kidding aside, it’s a weird one by Morrissey’s design, think of Sweetie Pie.
Some nice lyrics.. ‘born-again atheist, bitten fingers, shakes to break’. Though some of the lyrics can just as easily be about himself..
‘No is always easier than Yes".
It's quite interesting that the "born-again atheist" appears in Nobody Loves Us again.

Those backing vocals still sound like Alain to me, It’s possible that Lillywhite could have pitched them up a little.
Probably. Perhaps even Moz himself pitched higher? Still not sure.



Really like the ‘one day, someday’ lines in the ‘psychedelic’ breakdown
gives it a little structure, should have kept it!
Reminds me of the ending of I Won't Share You, which is always a good thing.
 
Yeah, I got it. I just couldn’t believe you were serious. Maybe just say voila in future?

Serious? Because folks [US] use that phrase when emphasizing results or presenting things in a dramatic fashion. Frankly, not tracking you on this... non-issue. Clearly you are offended - by what I am uncertain. If this was "Morrissey-Solo Arabia" then perhaps you'd have a point. Mashallah - it isn't!

If I wanna say voila, wa-la, or walla in the future - I will do so however and whenever I please. Especially when performing magic tricks!

1612163338043.png
 
Last edited:
I like the alternativ version. Works far better with more Morrissey in the weird middle part. Thanks for digging this out.
 
I’m sure this was played on the last lot of gigs (pre videos)
A
New found liking for it.
Yes, it was.

(See #37).
 
Yes, it was.

(See #37).
Thanks
They all role Into one now.
I heard Everlasting Love (Love Affair) quite recently and thought that was played at the March ones but, later noticed a video I had of one of the Latin American gigs at the end of 2018, and was surprised that was so long ago. Time, eh...
 
Tags
morrissey a-z
Back
Top Bottom