The Smiths Meat Is Murder released

Meat Is Murder The Smiths

Released: February 11, 1985 Peak: 110 US, 11 UK, 40 CN, 58 AU Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): 0.10 US Genre: college rock

Tracks: Click on a song title for more details. The Headmaster Ritual [4:52] Rusholme Ruffians [4:20] I Want the One I Can’t Have [3:14] What She Said [2:42] That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore [4:59] How Soon Is Now? [6:44] * Nowhere Fast [2:37] Well I Wonder [4:00] Barbarism Begins at Home [6:57] Meat Is Murder [6:06] * on US version of album Total Running Time: 46:31 Other Songs from This Era: Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now Girl Afraid William, It Was Really Nothing Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want Oscillate Wildly Shakespeare’s Sister Stretch Out and Wait The Players: Morrissey (vocals) Johnny Marr (guitar, etc.) Andy Rourke (bass) Mike Joyce (drums)

Rating: 3.765 out of 5.00 (average of 21 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

Moving Beyond Their Debut “After their debut, Manchester’s finest sons went into the studio with the mission statement of making a record that would better represent their live sets and BBC sessions.” RD The latter were captured on the 1984 Hatful of Hollow collection which bundled nine BBC performances alongside early singles and B-sides. “Not that The Smiths had been a total disappointment, but guitarist Johnny Marr…would truly amaze with his guitar palette this time around.” RD On “Meat Is Murder, the Smiths begin to branch out and diversify, while refining the jangling guitar pop of their debut. In other words, it catches the group at a crossroads, unsure quite how to proceed…the group crafts more sweeping, mid-tempo numbers” AM but “the Smiths are at their best when they stick to their strengths – The Headmaster Ritual and I Want the One I Can’t Have are fine elaborations of the formula they laid out on the debut.” AM However, at other points “Meat Is Murder is muddled, repeating lyrical and musical ideas of before without significantly expanding them or offering enough hooks or melodies to make it the equal of The Smiths or Hatful of Hollow.” AM Production “The first album was a disappointment when it came to the production.” TG-19 Here “the production is more detailed than before.” AM The Smiths produced the album themselves with assistance from engineer Stephen Street, who later produced Blur, The Cranberries, Kaiser Chiefs, and others. TG-19 Morrissey Fighting for a Cause Since the first album, “Morrissey had become quite a public figure in the UK, with the newspapers and magazines revelling in his extremely quotable replies in interviews.” TG-19 Moz used his publicity to promote his causes. He “was an outspoken supporter of animal rights and Meat Is Murder was his way to help the cause and maybe get a few fans to turn to a plant-based lifestyle.” TG-19 The Songs Here’s a breakdown of each of the individual songs.

Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now The Smiths

Writer(s): Morrissey (lyrics), Johnny Marr (music) Recorded: March 1984 at Fallout Shelter (Island) in London Released: 5/21/1984 (single), Hatful of Hollow (archives: 1983-84), Louder Than Bombs (archives: 1983-87), The Very Best of (compilation: 1983-87, released 2001) B-sides: “Suffer Little Children,” “Girl Afraid” Peak: 5 CO, 10 UK, 5 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 787.39 streaming

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Song: The title of the Smiths’ fourth single was inspired by Sandie Shaw’s 1969 song “Heaven Knows I’m Missing Him Now.” “There’s a common misunderstanding among non-fans that Morrissey is a miserable fellow, and this title is probably one of the reasons for that, even though the lyrics are far from his darkest, rather the opposite…The lyrics once again concern a relationship waiting to happen (or is it?), with the narrator admitting shyness…around his romantic interest.” TG-16 “Marr’s light and airy melody is absolutely gorgeous, and it’s no wonder that this is one of the Smiths’ best-loved songs.” TG-16

Girl Afraid The Smiths

Writer(s): Morrissey (lyrics), Johnny Marr (music) Recorded: ? Released: 5/21/1984 (B-side of “Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now”), Hatful of Hollow (archives: 1983-84), Louder Than Bombs (archives: 1983-87) Peak: 39 CO, 19 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 62.78 streaming About the Song: This is “one of those hidden gems that finally got the attention it deserved when it was included on the Hatful of Hollow compilation. If not, Girl Afraid might just have been a forgotten B-side.” TG-16 “The song was written by Marr on the same day that he wrote it’s a-side, and he has said that he considers them to be a pair, which you can almost hear when listening to them back-to-back. Lyrically, Morrissey has explained that he wanted to write a song about the fact that just because you’re in a relationship with someone, it doesn’t mean you know everything about each other.” TG-17

William, It Was Really Nothing The Smiths

Writer(s): Morrissey (lyrics), Johnny Marr (music) Recorded: July 1984 at Jam studio in London B-sides: “Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want,” “How Soon Is Now?” Released: 8/20/1984 (single), Hatful of Hollow (archives: 1983-84), Louder Than Bombs (archives: 1983-87), The Very Best of (compilation: 1983-87, released 2001) Peak: 10 CO, 17 UK, 8 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 57.90 streaming About the Song: “According to Morrissey, this song is about a man speaking to another man and telling him that marriage is ‘really nothing,’ that it’s a waste of time. He thought that all pop songs that concerned marriage were written from the female point of view and that it was about time that the male perspective got some attention.” TG-17 “It’s widely believed that Morrissey borrowed a lot of the lyrics, at least the theme of them, from one of his favorite novels, Billy Liar by Keith Waterhouse.” TG-17 “There were also rumors that the song was about Billy Mackenzie (singing in The Associates, a brillian Scottish post-punk/new wave band), who was friends with Morrissey for a short while. The Associates later recorded a song called ‘Stephen, You’re Really Something,’ which was meant as a reply to the Smiths’ song (though they misspelt Morrissey’s name).” TG-17

Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want The Smiths

Writer(s): Morrissey (lyrics), Johnny Marr (music) Recorded: ? Released: 8/20/1984 (B-side of “William, It Was Really Nothing”), Hatful of Hollow (archives: 1983-84), Louder Than Bombs (archives: 1983-87), The Very Best of (compilation: 1983-87, released 2001) Peak: 9 CO, 2 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): 0.20 UK Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 13.00 video, 579.72 streaming

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Song: I discovered the Smiths in 1986 because of this song. It is a mournful plea “with its lullaby-like melody” TG-17 “written from the perspective of someone in desperate need of some good luck.” SF It appeared on the Pretty in Pink soundtrack along with some of the other staples of college rock such as New Order, INXS, Echo & the Bunnymen, the Psychedelic Furs, and Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. Like those other groups, though, the Smiths were already well established in the UK. I just hadn’t caught up yet. Note: The Dream Academy, best known for “Life in a Northern Town,” covered the song in 1986 and it was featured in the movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. In the tradition of great British ‘60s groups like the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, the Smiths were adamant about treating albums and singles as different products. That meant the songs that climbed the charts in the UK (and were ignored stateside) were rarely featured on their albums. Their first two singles – 1983’s “Hand in Glove” and “This Charming Man” have become new wave staples. “Please Please Please,” however, wasn’t even a single. Instead, it was the B-side of “William, It Was Really Nothing,” which reached #17 in the UK in 1984. Morrissey later said, “Hiding it away on a B-side was sinful.” SF He explained that the record company, Rough Trade, asked “Where’s the rest of the song?” Morrissey, however, defended the length as “a very brief punch in the face [and] lengthening the song would, to my mind, have simply been explaining the blindingly obvious.” SF At just under two minutes, this is the shortest song in the Smiths’ catalog but “also one of the most beloved” TG-17 and “probably one of the most played Smiths’ songs.” TG-17 After the Pretty in Pink soundtrack introduced me to the Smiths, I was ready to embrace them. In early 1987, they released Louder Than Bombs, a career-retrospective of their non-album singles and B-sides. It was a U.S. release that consolidated much of the material featured on the UK collections Hatful of Hollow and The World Won’t Listen into one double album. It became a pivotal album for me, introducing me to treasures such as “Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now” and “Half a Person” which had managed to fly under my radar. However, “Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want” remains my favorite.

How Soon Is Now? The Smiths

Writer(s): Morrissey (lyrics), Johnny Marr (music) Recorded: 1984 at Jam studio in London Released: 8/20/1984 (B-side of “William, It Was Really Nothing”), 1/28/1985 (single), Hatful of Hollow (archives: 1983-84), Meat Is Murder (US version, 1985), The Very Best of (compilation: 1983-87, released 2001) B-side(s): “Well I Wonder,” “Oscillate Wildly” First Charted: 2/9/1985 Peak: 1 CO, 16 UK, 12 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): 0.40 UK Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 35.50 video, 420.33 streaming

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Song: “The epic, layered How Soon Is Now?” AM is “a hallmark of the brief yet significant songwriting partnership of Morrissey and Marr.” TB It became one of the group’s most celebrated songs “without being particularly representative of the band.” XFM This is “very much a Johnny Marr song, its teaming, bubbling guitars and shimmering riff seethe with a masculinity and stridence that were rarely Smiths trademarks.” XFM The record company originally released it as the B-side of “William, It Was Really Nothing” in August 1984. However, the song got picked up by night-time British radio and became the most-requested track on request shows by DJs John Peel and others. WK It was then featured on the compilation Hatful of Hollow compilation in November. That month it was also released as a single in the United States and was accompanied by a video which the band had no involvement in making. Morrissey said he detested the video. The song failed to chart in the U.S. In January 1985, it was released as a single in the UK and a month later “was haphazardly inserted into the middle of the [Meat Is Murder] album for its American release.” AM It is “darker and more dance-oriented than the remainder of the album.” AM On its second go-round, the single reached #24 on the UK charts. The song had become a club favorite and it was expected to do better on the charts. However, it had probably been hurt by being released in multiple forms before finally being released as a single in its own right. WK As the band’s producer, John Porter, said, “the Smiths’ fans already had it.” WK In 1992, it was re-released and got to #16. The song has connections to early ‘50s rock and roll. Marr recorded “How Soon Is Now?” with bandmates Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce during a jam session. Porter thought the basic riff needed something more, which led to an impromptu jam session of Elvis Presley’s “That’s All Right.” Marr worked in his chord progression for “How Soon Is Now?” (then known as “Swamp”), inspiring the song’s arrangement. WK Marr was also “inspired by Bo Diddley’s distinctive syncopated shuffle guitar style” WK and, in fact, the rhythm of “How Soon Is Now?” has been compared to Diddley’s “Mona.” WK Morrissey’s “ever-ambiguous lyrics continued to fuel speculation about the singer’s sexuality.” TB Written about his crippling shyness, “How Soon Is Now?” became “an anthem for the alienated and socially isolated.” SF The title came from a question posed in one of Morrissey’s favorite books, Popcorn Venus, a feminist film study by Marjorie Rosen. SF

Well I Wonder The Smiths

Writer(s): Morrissey (lyrics), Johnny Marr (music) Released: 1/28/1985 (B-side of “How Soon Is Now?”), Meat Is Murder (1985) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 120.66 streaming About the Song: This song features “soft, acoustic backing and Morrissey’s nostalgic and touching lyrics. He’s writing about someone he can’t get out of his head…The sound effects of rain add to the sadness.” TG-21

Oscillate Wildly The Smiths

Writer(s): Morrissey (lyrics), Johnny Marr (music) Recorded: ? Released: 1/28/1985 (B-side of “How Soon Is Now?”), The World Won’t Listen (archives: 1984-87), Louder Than Bombs (archives: 1983-87) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, -- streaming About the Song: While this song is credited to Morrissey and Marr, the former only contributed the title for this instrumental. It was one of only three non-vocal tracks released by the band, the other two being “Money Changes Everything” and “The Draize Train.” “According to both the singer and the guitarist, Morrissey encouraged Marr to write and record a song without him writing any words to it…The melody is heavily based on the piano, played by Marr.” TG-18 He wrote it “on the upright piano that came with his new house in Bowdon. Rourke can also be heard playing the cello, a rarity on recordings by The Smiths.” TG-18

The Headmaster Ritual The Smiths

Writer(s): Morrissey (lyrics), Johnny Marr (music) Released: July 1985 (single), Meat Is Murder (1985) Peak: 28 CO Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 46.77 streaming About the Song: Johnny Marr said this song took longer to finish than any other Smiths’ song. TG-20 It “can be traced back to the sessions with Troy Tate for the first album.” TG-20 “It’s a great song, both musically and lyrically, from Marr’s opening riff to Andy Rourke’s magnificent bass line and on to Morrissey’s emotional lyrics about tyrannical teachers.” TG-20 This is generally seen as Morrissey’s reflection on “his school days at St. Mary’s Secondary School in Stretford, Manchester.” TG-20

Rusholme Ruffians The Smiths

Writer(s): Morrissey (lyrics), Johnny Marr (music) Released: 12/7/1987 (B-side of “Last Night I Dreamt Somebody Loved Me”), Meat Is Murder (1985) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 13.03 streaming About the Song: “Rusholme Ruffians is an infectious stab at rockabilly” AM “which drew musical ‘inspiration’ from ‘His Latest Flame’” RD which was first recorded by Del Shannon but later by Elvis Presley. “Marr never made this a secret, as they even played a medley of the two songs in concert.” TG-20 Tley lyrics “owed quite a lot to the song ‘Fourteen Again’ by British comedian and musician Victoria Wood.” TG-20 The song “studies…a forgotten, fairground life.” RD Rusholme is “an area in Manchester, a few miles south of the city centre.” TG-20

I Want the One I Can’t Have The Smiths

Writer(s): Morrissey (lyrics), Johnny Marr (music) Released: Meat Is Murder (1985) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 43.13 streaming About the Song: “It’s hard to imagine that anyone would hold [this] as their all-time favorite, but that doesn’t mean it’s a weak song.” TG-20 “According to Mike Joyce, the song was more or less written in the studio as a jam, which must be considered a rare thing for the band. In the lyrics, Morrissey tells someone that he’s waiting for ‘the day that your mentality / Catches up with your biology,’ and returns to the line ‘It’s written all over my face.’” TG-20

What She Said The Smiths

Writer(s): Morrissey (lyrics), Johnny Marr (music) Released: 3/18/1985 (B-side of “Shakespeare’s Sister”), Meat Is Murder (1985) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 12.72 streaming

That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore The Smiths

Writer(s): Morrissey (lyrics), Johnny Marr (music) Released: 7/5/1985 (single), Meat Is Murder (1985), The World Won’t Listen (archives: 1984-87), The Very Best of (compilation: 1983-87, released 2001) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 36.09 streaming About the Song: “The melancholy That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore” AM was an example of “the first real hurt in [Morrissey’s] words.” RD It “seems to beg a bully – or worse, a friend – to stop cajoling” RD him. Morrissey has said the song “was an answer to all the journalists who asked the same questions over and over and also tried their very best to prove that he was a ‘fake,’ that he wasn’t the ‘real deal.’” TG-21 Johnny Marr has said this is one of his favorite Smiths’ songs. His “haunting arrangement combines both acoustic and electric guitars in a beautiful way, and Rourke’s intricate bass lines make the song even better. The coda, with Morrissey wailing over Marr’s sliding and trembling guitars, is just amazing.” TG-21

Nowhere Fast The Smiths

Writer(s): Morrissey (lyrics), Johnny Marr (music) Released: 12/7/1987 (B-side of “Last Night I Dreamt Somebody Loved Me”), Meat Is Murder (1985) Peak: 40 CO Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 28.45 streaming About the Song: Nowhere Fast has a “metallic crunch” RD but is also a “nice little boogie rocker.” TG-21 This was the first time Morrissey “badmouthed the British royal family in a song (he had been talking negatively about them in interviews for quite some time, though), a ‘tradition’ he would keep up on the next album.” TG-21

Barbarism Begins at Home The Smiths

Writer(s): Morrissey (lyrics), Johnny Marr (music) Released: Jan. 1985 (single), Meat Is Murder (1985) B-side(s): “Shakespeare’s Sister,” “Stretch Out and Wait” Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 36.54 streaming About the Song: On the Smiths’ second album, they “began incorporating different influences in their songs” TG-19 including “some funk on Barbarism Begins at Home.” TG-19 “While Morrissey sings about child abuse and domestic violence, the rest of the band turns into a funk unit, probably influenced by The Freak Party, Marr’s and Rouke’s former band, which was knee-deep in the funk. If you ever meet someone who wonders what Rourke ever did for the Smiths, play them this song. His bass line moves the whole song forward and when Marr stops playing guitar after more than six minutes, the bass and drums keep going for a while longer.” TG-21

Meat Is Murder The Smiths

Writer(s): Morrissey (lyrics), Johnny Marr (music) Released: Meat Is Murder (1985) Peak: 25 CO Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 9.37 streaming About the Song: Lyrically, Morrissey’s “attention had turned to his passions for vegetarianism, pacificism, and anti-authoritarianism – the album title, the cover (a shot of a Vietnam solder at war), and in particular the lyrics to the title track, spoke volumes about his lifelong views.” RD “The controversial title track” TG-22 features “one of the most straightforward lyrics that Morrissey has ever written. Unsurprisingly, Morrissey had been a vegetarian since his youth, and this was his chance to tell his fans that they should follow his lead when it came to their diets.” TG-22 “The song begins with a long intro, where Stephen Street turned a BBC Sound Effects album featuring recordings of cows (handed to him by Morrissey) and some additional recordings of machines into a harrowing and creep slaughterhouse.” TG-22 Andy Rourke said, “he found the song hypnotic and that it still gave him goosebumps.” TG-22 “The failed, self-absorbed protest of the title track.” AM

Shakespeare’s Sister The Smiths

Writer(s): Morrissey (lyrics), Johnny Marr (music) Recorded: ? Released: 3/18/1985 (single), The World Won’t Listen (archives: 1984-87), Louder Than Bombs (archives: 1983-87), The Very Best of (compilation: 1983-87, released 2001) Peak: 11 CO, 26 UK Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 14.93 streaming About the Song: The band’s seventh single is “another one of those rockabilly influenced tunes…and the lyrics are once again influenced by Elizabeth Smart (see ‘London’) whilst also taking a few bits from Billy Fury’s ‘Don’t Jump’ from 1962, which is about a man standing at the edge of the cliffs, looking down at the rocks below.” TG-23 Morrissey said the song was “’really about shrugging off the skins of one’s parents and getting out and living and doing what one wants to do.’ Apart from the suicidal tendencies of the lyrics, Morrissey also finds the time to sneak in a little attack on men with acoustic guitars.” TG-23 “The song actually has a piano as its lead instrument, which was a first for The Smiths at this point, being also one of the first songs Marr ever wrote on a piano, and Rourke also managed to play a bit of cello in the background as well.” TG-23

Stretch Out and Wait The Smiths

Writer(s): Morrissey (lyrics), Johnny Marr (music) Recorded: ? Released: 3/18/1985 (B-side of “Shakespeare’s Sister”), The World Won’t Listen (archives: 1984-87), Louder Than Bombs (archives: 1983-87) Peak: 32 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 6.90 streaming About the Song: This has been released in two different versions. The one recorded and released as the B-side of “Shakespeare’s Sister” is available on Louder Than Bombs while the version on The World Won’t Listen features slightly different lyrics. TG-23 “Musically, it’s a breezy and light tune, where Joyce is playing the drums with brushes, and Rourke adds his intricate bass lines, as usual. In the lyrics, Morrissey borrowed a line from the brilliant Australian band The Go-Betweens.” TG-23

Resources/References: AM AllMusic.com review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine RD Robert Dimery (2006). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Quintet Publishing Limited: New York, NY. Page 539. TG Tommy Gunnarsson (2021). On Track…The Smiths & Morrissey. Sonicbond Publishing: United Kingdom. SF Songfacts page for “How Soon Is Now?” SF Songfacts page for “Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want” DT Dave Thompson (2011). 1000 Songs That Rock Your World. Krause Publications: Iola, WI. Page 77. TB Thunder Bay Press (2006). Singles: Six Decades of Hot Hits & Classic Cuts. Outline Press Ltd.: San Diego, CA. Page 218. WK Wikipedia page for “How Soon Is Now?” WK Wikipedia page for “Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want” XFM Mike Walsh (editor) (2010). The XFM Top 1000 Songs of All Time. Elliott & Thompson Limited: London, England. Page 384. Related DMDB Pages: First posted 3/23/2008; last updated 9/20/2026.