Morrissey's 20th Century Vocabulary

[Bill Poster]

As I sat drinking a 40oz in my car today listening to YoR, something occurred to me. The vocab used on the album is very 20th century, with absolutely no twitterisms or textspeak or bastardized part-letter-part-number spellings or such stuff. It's very very very Received Pronunciation, all words spelled correctly, all grammar correct, and could pretty much have been written, apart from drug refs in Something Is Squeezing My Skull, at any point in the 20th century. This is obviously indicative of Morrissey's half-century age and, I would assume and presume, lack of interest in consuming contemporary English and its presentation representation. Which seems odd to me, cos if anybody is interested in words and their usage and abusage (not a real word I know, but it works so it's real for this post), ignoring all contemporary spellings and verbal manifestations is lazy and backward-looking (we expect nothing else from Wee Stevie) and outdated.

"And he was a miserable bollocks and bitch's bastard's whore" - The Pogues (on my fonez right now).

Discusssssssss.

 

[CrystalGeezer]

Re: Morrissey's 20th Century Vocabulary.

I don't really want to be pressurized into responding to one of your threads, but this is an interesting point.

 

[sol]

Re: Morrissey's 20th Century Vocabulary.

As I sat drinking a 40oz in my car today listening to YoR, something occurred to me. The vocab used on the album is very 20th century, with absolutely no twitterisms or textspeak or bastardized part-letter-part-number spellings or such stuff. It's very very very Received Pronunciation, all words spelled correctly, all grammar correct, and could pretty much have been written, apart from drug refs in Something Is Squeezing My Skull, at any point in the 20th century. This is obviously indicative of Morrissey's half-century age and, I would assume and presume, lack of interest in consuming contemporary English and its presentation representation. Which seems odd to me, cos if anybody is interested in words and their usage and abusage (not a real word I know, but it works so it's real for this post), ignoring all contemporary spellings and verbal manifestations is lazy and backward-looking (we expect nothing else from Wee Stevie) and outdated.

"And he was a miserable bollocks and bitch's bastard's whore" - The Pogues (on my fonez right now).

Discusssssssss.

so to speak

But in my heart it was so real
And you even spoke to me, and said :
"If you're so funny
Then why are you on your own tonight ?

 

[troubleluvsme]

I don't really want to be pressurized into responding to one of your threads, but this is an interesting point.

You don't want to be "pressurized" into responding...

 

[oscillate wildly]

smth is squeezin my skull
m@m@ lay s0ftly on da rivabed
bLaCk cLoUd
throwin my armz round parris
all u need iz me
when i last texted carol
thatz how ppl grow ^
one day g2g will b farewell
it's not ur bday n e more
u were gud in ur time
sry dont help
i'm aight by myself

kind of like that?

 

[CrystalGeezer]

smth is squeezin my skull
m@m@ lay s0ftly on da rivabed
bLaCk cLoUd
throwin my armz round parris
all u need iz me
when i last texted carol
thatz how ppl grow ^
one day g2g will b farewell
it's not ur bday n e more
u were gud in ur time
sry dont help
i'm aight by myself

kind of like that?

SO FUNNY!!!!

I don't get this one: g2g as goodbye? Good to go?

 

[oscillate wildly]

SO FUNNY!!!!

I don't get this one: g2g as goodbye? Good to go?

"got to go"

 

[jwizjam]

Who are you??? The last thing I want to hear from Morrissey is 20th Century vocabulary. Technology is creating some very lazy tongues only because so many have become so text-dependent and are constantly looking for new ways to shorten the language. Most people cannot hold an interesting conversation anymore because of it! Don't get me wrong, texting is great as a form of communication. It frees one from actually having to speak to humans with whom we don't care to be that close. I, for one, absolutely do not want this lazy/abbreviated language infiltrating the spoken word . . . especially if it's Morrissey!

 

[Chad]

Who are you??? The last thing I want to hear from Morrissey is 20th Century vocabulary. Technology is creating some very lazy tongues only because so many have become so text-dependent and are constantly looking for new ways to shorten the language. Most people cannot hold an interesting conversation anymore because of it! Don't get me wrong, texting is great as a form of communication. It frees one from actually having to speak to humans with whom we don't care to be that close. I, for one, absolutely do not want this lazy/abbreviated language infiltrating the spoken word . . . especially if it's Morrissey!

Someone doesn't know when the 20th century was.

 

[mcrickson]

kind of like that?

I, instead of minimizing the messages conveyed in the song titles, expanded upon them:

1. An Unidentified Object, Possibly of Psychological Origin, is Compressing My Cranium

2. The Female Whose Womb for Nine Months Housed Me and Led to My Birthing is Indulging in Riparian Entertainments

3. An Immense Cumulo-nimbus Matter of Dark Color Lingering in the Atmosphere Predicts an Ominous Fate for the Duration of My Outdoor Activities Due to the Precipitation it Threatens to Incur

4. I Am Quite Concerned, As I Feel I Am Starting to Develop Sexual Yearnings for the Capital of France

5. I Happen to Be Everything Required For You to Make A Sizable Living, While Still Maintaining a Generous Amount of Leisure Time

6. On the Previous Occasion Whence Carol and I Had a Heated Discussion on the Color Scheme of the Drapery in the Guest Bathroom

7. It is in This Way Which, After A Nine-Month Gestation Period Following Conception, A Biped of the Homo Sapien Specification Exits the Womb, and Begins the Process By Which He or She Will Physically and Mentally Progress into the State of Adulthood

8. I Tell You, Charlotte, It Will Come to Be That When I Inform You that I Am Going Down to the Shop to Get Milk, I Will in Fact Be Going on A Rather Expensive Lengthy Cruise Holiday With My Mistress, Margaret, Who is At the Same Time Less Visually Vacant than You While Being More Sexually Available to Me. She Happens to Be Eighteen Years Old and Intends to Further Her Education in the Field of Graphic Design -- What Have You Done With Your Life, You Old Packhorse?

9. I Suggest You Dispose of the Cake Which Your Mother Brought to Our Flat to Celebrate the Occasion of the Anniversary Your Birth, As It's Twelve Years On Now, and The Smell Exuding From It Is Enough To Make Me Want To Hang Myself With My Large Intestine

10. You Know, Before Age Set In, You Were Exceptionally Proficient in the Bedroom

11. Honestly, I Do Not Comprehend How Your Apologies Are Going to Bring My Dog Back To Life and Erase That Most Cruel Muzzle-Shaped Stain Off the Fender of Your Hatchback

12. I Am Certain I Can Make Do Without A Conventional Relationship With Another Person. Oh, Undoubtedly, I Will Have Urges of Sexual Nature, However, That Is Why I Intend to Peruse the Market of Loose Streetwomen, Who, In Return For Monetary Compensation, Will Provide Me With the Relief That is Necessary When One Tires of the Feeling of His Own Hand

 

[jwizjam]

So true. That's what I get for having a few glasses of wine and then reading Poster's forums. I stand corrected. Actually I do know when the 20th century was just didn't last night!

 

[jwizjam]

What I meant to say:
Who are you??? The last thing I want to hear from Morrissey is 21st Century vocabulary. Technology is creating some very lazy tongues only because so many have become so text-dependent and are constantly looking for new ways to shorten the language. Most people cannot hold an interesting conversation anymore because of it! Don't get me wrong, texting is great as a form of communication. It frees one from actually having to speak to humans with whom we don't care to be that close. I, for one, absolutely do not want this lazy/abbreviated language infiltrating the spoken word . . . especially if it's Morrissey!

 

[MindlessRuffian]

smth is squeezin my skull
m@m@ lay s0ftly on da rivabed
bLaCk cLoUd
throwin my armz round parris
all u need iz me
when i last texted carol
thatz how ppl grow ^
one day g2g will b farewell
it's not ur bday n e more
u were gud in ur time
sry dont help
i'm aight by myself

kind of like that?

This is why I love you

 

[zulu sierra]

I, instead of minimizing the messages conveyed in the song titles, expanded upon them:

1. An Unidentified Object, Possibly of Psychological Origin, is Compressing My Cranium

2. The Female Whose Womb for Nine Months Housed Me and Led to My Birthing is Indulging in Riparian Entertainments

3. An Immense Cumulo-nimbus Matter of Dark Color Lingering in the Atmosphere Predicts an Ominous Fate for the Duration of My Outdoor Activities Due to the Precipitation it Threatens to Incur

4. I Am Quite Concerned, As I Feel I Am Starting to Develop Sexual Yearnings for the Capital of France

5. I Happen to Be Everything Required For You to Make A Sizable Living, While Still Maintaining a Generous Amount of Leisure Time

6. On the Previous Occasion Whence Carol and I Had a Heated Discussion on the Color Scheme of the Drapery in the Guest Bathroom

7. It is in This Way Which, After A Nine-Month Gestation Period Following Conception, A Biped of the Homo Sapien Specification Exits the Womb, and Begins the Process By Which He or She Will Physically and Mentally Progress into the State of Adulthood

8. I Tell You, Charlotte, It Will Come to Be That When I Inform You that I Am Going Down to the Shop to Get Milk, I Will in Fact Be Going on A Rather Expensive Lengthy Cruise Holiday With My Mistress, Margaret, Who is At the Same Time Less Visually Vacant than You While Being More Sexually Available to Me. She Happens to Be Eighteen Years Old and Intends to Further Her Education in the Field of Graphic Design -- What Have You Done With Your Life, You Old Packhorse?

9. I Suggest You Dispose of the Cake Which Your Mother Brought to Our Flat to Celebrate the Occasion of the Anniversary Your Birth, As It's Twelve Years On Now, and The Smell Exuding From It Is Enough To Make Me Want To Hang Myself With My Large Intestine

10. You Know, Before Age Set In, You Were Exceptionally Proficient in the Bedroom

11. Honestly, I Do Not Comprehend How Your Apologies Are Going to Bring My Dog Back To Life and Erase That Most Cruel Muzzle-Shaped Stain Off the Fender of Your Hatchback

12. I Am Certain I Can Make Do Without A Conventional Relationship With Another Person. Oh, Undoubtedly, I Will Have Urges of Sexual Nature, However, That Is Why I Intend to Peruse the Market of Loose Streetwomen, Who, In Return For Monetary Compensation, Will Provide Me With the Relief That is Necessary When One Tires of the Feeling of His Own Hand

Great titles ! ..... I remember at high school when the teacher had asked us to write a short story , I came up with one so short that had a longer title than the story itself

 

[oscillate wildly]

I, instead of minimizing the messages conveyed in the song titles, expanded upon them:

1. An Unidentified Object, Possibly of Psychological Origin, is Compressing My Cranium

2. The Female Whose Womb for Nine Months Housed Me and Led to My Birthing is Indulging in Riparian Entertainments

3. An Immense Cumulo-nimbus Matter of Dark Color Lingering in the Atmosphere Predicts an Ominous Fate for the Duration of My Outdoor Activities Due to the Precipitation it Threatens to Incur

4. I Am Quite Concerned, As I Feel I Am Starting to Develop Sexual Yearnings for the Capital of France

5. I Happen to Be Everything Required For You to Make A Sizable Living, While Still Maintaining a Generous Amount of Leisure Time

6. On the Previous Occasion Whence Carol and I Had a Heated Discussion on the Color Scheme of the Drapery in the Guest Bathroom

7. It is in This Way Which, After A Nine-Month Gestation Period Following Conception, A Biped of the Homo Sapien Specification Exits the Womb, and Begins the Process By Which He or She Will Physically and Mentally Progress into the State of Adulthood

8. I Tell You, Charlotte, It Will Come to Be That When I Inform You that I Am Going Down to the Shop to Get Milk, I Will in Fact Be Going on A Rather Expensive Lengthy Cruise Holiday With My Mistress, Margaret, Who is At the Same Time Less Visually Vacant than You While Being More Sexually Available to Me. She Happens to Be Eighteen Years Old and Intends to Further Her Education in the Field of Graphic Design -- What Have You Done With Your Life, You Old Packhorse?

9. I Suggest You Dispose of the Cake Which Your Mother Brought to Our Flat to Celebrate the Occasion of the Anniversary Your Birth, As It's Twelve Years On Now, and The Smell Exuding From It Is Enough To Make Me Want To Hang Myself With My Large Intestine

10. You Know, Before Age Set In, You Were Exceptionally Proficient in the Bedroom

11. Honestly, I Do Not Comprehend How Your Apologies Are Going to Bring My Dog Back To Life and Erase That Most Cruel Muzzle-Shaped Stain Off the Fender of Your Hatchback

12. I Am Certain I Can Make Do Without A Conventional Relationship With Another Person. Oh, Undoubtedly, I Will Have Urges of Sexual Nature, However, That Is Why I Intend to Peruse the Market of Loose Streetwomen, Who, In Return For Monetary Compensation, Will Provide Me With the Relief That is Necessary When One Tires of the Feeling of His Own Hand

if these were the actual titles, I probably would have considered actually buying the album.

 

[MindlessRuffian]

I, instead of minimizing the messages conveyed in the song titles, expanded upon them:

1. An Unidentified Object, Possibly of Psychological Origin, is Compressing My Cranium

2. The Female Whose Womb for Nine Months Housed Me and Led to My Birthing is Indulging in Riparian Entertainments

3. An Immense Cumulo-nimbus Matter of Dark Color Lingering in the Atmosphere Predicts an Ominous Fate for the Duration of My Outdoor Activities Due to the Precipitation it Threatens to Incur

4. I Am Quite Concerned, As I Feel I Am Starting to Develop Sexual Yearnings for the Capital of France

5. I Happen to Be Everything Required For You to Make A Sizable Living, While Still Maintaining a Generous Amount of Leisure Time

6. On the Previous Occasion Whence Carol and I Had a Heated Discussion on the Color Scheme of the Drapery in the Guest Bathroom

7. It is in This Way Which, After A Nine-Month Gestation Period Following Conception, A Biped of the Homo Sapien Specification Exits the Womb, and Begins the Process By Which He or She Will Physically and Mentally Progress into the State of Adulthood

8. I Tell You, Charlotte, It Will Come to Be That When I Inform You that I Am Going Down to the Shop to Get Milk, I Will in Fact Be Going on A Rather Expensive Lengthy Cruise Holiday With My Mistress, Margaret, Who is At the Same Time Less Visually Vacant than You While Being More Sexually Available to Me. She Happens to Be Eighteen Years Old and Intends to Further Her Education in the Field of Graphic Design -- What Have You Done With Your Life, You Old Packhorse?

9. I Suggest You Dispose of the Cake Which Your Mother Brought to Our Flat to Celebrate the Occasion of the Anniversary Your Birth, As It's Twelve Years On Now, and The Smell Exuding From It Is Enough To Make Me Want To Hang Myself With My Large Intestine

10. You Know, Before Age Set In, You Were Exceptionally Proficient in the Bedroom

11. Honestly, I Do Not Comprehend How Your Apologies Are Going to Bring My Dog Back To Life and Erase That Most Cruel Muzzle-Shaped Stain Off the Fender of Your Hatchback

12. I Am Certain I Can Make Do Without A Conventional Relationship With Another Person. Oh, Undoubtedly, I Will Have Urges of Sexual Nature, However, That Is Why I Intend to Peruse the Market of Loose Streetwomen, Who, In Return For Monetary Compensation, Will Provide Me With the Relief That is Necessary When One Tires of the Feeling of His Own Hand

mcrickson, you never cease to amaze me

 

[death below the stairs]

Is this really an interesting point?

I mean Morrissey has nearly always used English in a slightly old world way.
He uses slang but old slang. He sings about the new world but with old words

 

[mcrickson]

mcrickson, you never cease to amaze me

I've still got to record you a video.

 

[MindlessRuffian]

I've still got to record you a video.

This is true