Morrissey A-Z: "Hold On To Your Friends"

BookishBoy

Well-Known Member



Our song for today is this one: the second single from Vauxhall and I - and the first Morrissey single which failed to make the Top 40 in the UK. (Not a reflection, in my view, on the quality of the song - but a very strange choice for a single!)

Anyhow: what do we think of this one?
 



Our song for today is this one: the second single from Vauxhall and I - and the first Morrissey single which failed to make the Top 40 in the UK. (Not a reflection, in my view, on the quality of the song - but a very strange choice for a single!)

Anyhow: what do we think of this one?

Video unavailable
 
Great song. Took me a while to learn what friends are.
 
I agree that it’s not an obvious choice for a single, but my lord what a beautiful song this is. Gorgeous guitar, fragile and brave lyrics, excellent, warm production. The fact that it might not even be in the top 3 of the Vauxhall and I songs says everything you need to know about that album.
 
What can be said about this song that doesn't already hit you right in the chest? The song is wonderful.
 
Just about perfect on every level. Always liked it, but it's a song I've come to appreciate more as I've gotten older than I did in 1994.

I'd love to hear the story of the frenemy that inspired the lyrics. ;)
 
Last edited:
Just such an amazing song that unearths it’s secrets as it moves through different phases. Lyrics are poignant and hard-hitting, with the music taking a detour from some of Alain’s hallmarks to deliver something quite different, but no less beautiful. The ending, as always with many Moz songs, is stunning too.
10/10
 
Classic Morrissey, great lyrics and beautiful music by Alain, the closest he got to actually sounding like Marr. Should have done better in the charts but with no promotion (video, fresh b-sides, Tour) it was always going to fail. Such a shame as this album in hindsight could be the peak of Moz solo.

8,8
 
This song has a beautiful intro, a gorgeous verse but a rubbish chorus melody. Try whistling the chorus. It's just not a very enjoyable sequence of notes. So, although it's clearly a good song, it's also the most overrated thing he's ever done.
 
A fine album track. I think one of the reviews (maybe in The NME?) suggested that it had the potential to be a hit single, but that always seemed optimistic. Perhaps someone on here can remember why Now My Heart is Full couldn't be issued as the 2nd single in the U.K. as originally planned.

While Your Arsenal is impressive due to the production, Morrissey's lyrical abilities really returned on Vauxhall and I.

In the poll on the Hoffman board it ranked 33rd from 264 solo songs.
 
its all been said,vivamozz.
11/10.
 
I bow to one of the greatest Morrissey solo songs ever. Grace and elegance paired with timelessness and melody. Nothing sounded like this single in the early summer of 1994, which of course made no impression on the charts.
 
This song has a beautiful intro, a gorgeous verse but a rubbish chorus melody. Try whistling the chorus. It's just not a very enjoyable sequence of notes. So, although it's clearly a good song, it's also the most overrated thing he's ever done.

I agree. The intro is pretty great and I like the guitar line but it ends up fading into a sort of boring song imo. The sentiment of the song is nice but the words don’t do much for me and I don’t really care for some the production choices for this album though that was probably just the times. This track doesn’t get a lot of replay here
 
A beautiful, timeless song, Hold On To Your Friends is, for this agnostic, heaven on every level. As others have pointed out, the fact that this isn’t the best song on Vauxhall and I is testament to the strength of this defining album. Aware that Morrissey has something of an obsession with chart placings I thought I would look up where this song got to in the UK – only 48! Clearly most of The World Wont Listen, or were too busy buying up copies of Wet Wet Wet’s rendition of Love Is All Around. Stiltskin at number 8 – remember them?
 
A beautiful song which fits perfectly into the album but should not have been a single (although the 'Moon River' b-side is lovely).
 
Tags
morrissey a-z
Back
Top Bottom