Morrissey’s Most Depressing Songs

The jangly guitar riffs and epic indie-pop melodies often masked the rather depressing nature of The Smiths’ output. But Morrissey hasn’t earned his eternal miserablist reputation for nothing and amongst both his solo and former band’s back catalog, there are a plethora of songs that are so immediately unremittingly bleak that they make Leonard Cohen look like Miley Cyrus. Here’s a look at eight of his most doom-laden tunes.

Unhappy Birthday
Taken from their fourth and final studio album, Strangeways Here We Come, Morrissey unleashes the kind of venom he would later become renowned for on possibly the most spiteful birthday message ever recorded. Not content with claims that he will kill both himself and his dog, his spurned lover routine also sees him brazenly promise that he wouldn’t cry if his cheating former lover died herself. Obviously, hell hath no fury like a Morrissey scorned.

Seasick Yet Still Docked
Appearing on his third solo effort, 1992’s Your Arsenal, this melancholic ballad is one of his most lyrically simplistic efforts. But drenched in a potent mix of self-loathing, jealousy and sadness, it’s also one of his most heart-breaking as his ‘pour freezingly cold soul’ pines over the object of his affections that will always remain unattainable.

I Know It’s Over
Penned by Morrissey and Marr during a marathon writing session for 1986’s The Queen Is Dead, “I Know It’s Over” is arguably one of the band’s bleakest odes to unrequited love, combining suicidal thoughts (“the knife wants to slit me, do you think you can help me”) with a begrudging well-wish to the newlywed who spurned his advances (“sad veiled bride, please be happy”) and a despairing cry for his mother.

One Day Goodbye Will Be Farewell
The title says it all. Appearing on his ninth studio album, Years Of Refusal, “One Day Goodbye Will Be Farewell” is a bitter look at the twilight years of a man’s life which manages to balance unrepentant statements of intent (“And when I die, I want to go to hell”) with flashes of dark humour (“And the smiling children tell you that you smell”). Proof that even as he entered his fifties, Morrissey remained as utterly morbid as ever.

Girlfriend In A Coma
The lead single from The Smiths’ swansong is possibly the most famous example of Morrissey’s fondness for seriously unhealthy relationships as he reflects on the several occasions where he could quite happily have murdered the girlfriend who is now in a coma, before asking the doctor about the chances of her pulling through in a manner which suggests he hopes the answer is zero.

Asleep
Recently featured prominently in coming of age drama The Perks Of Being A Wallflower, “Asleep” is one of The Smiths’ best-loved and most emotionally devastating B-sides. Explicitly tackling the subject of suicide, Morrissey has never sounded more morose than when he’s muttering the lines, “sing me to sleep, and then leave me alone, don’t try to wake me in the morning” whilst accompanied by Stephen Street’s ghostly piano-led production.

There’s A Place In Hell For Me And My Friends
The torch song closer from his 1991 solo LP, Kill Uncle, “There’s A Place In Hell For Me And My Friends” appears to tackle the perception that all gay people are sent to eternal damnation when they meet their maker. The kind of defiant, if achingly sad, song you can easily imagine Morrissey requesting as his funeral song.

Suffer Little Children
However, Morrissey’s tales of self-angst are nothing compared to the emotionally devastating subject matter covered in “Suffer Little Children,” the standout from The Smiths’ 1984 eponymous debut. Addressing the heinous crimes of Ian Brady and Myra Hindley that were dubbed as ‘The Moors Murders,’ the track was initially greeted with controversy for the fact it referenced each of the victims by name. But after Morrissey managed to convince that its intentions were honorable, it is now widely regarded as one of the band’s most haunting pieces of work.