“So playful”: The Smiths song that made Johnny Marr feel self-conscious

Posted On September 13, 2024September 13, 2024

Morrissey might be one of the most serious-faced people in the entire business, but the music of The Smiths seems anything but. With its satirical take on traditionally macabre or nontrivial themes, the band quickly became one of the most interesting entities out there, one that seemingly managed to blend the melancholy with the tongue-in-cheek in a more effortless way than perhaps anyone else ever.

Before even becoming the face of the Manchester rock band, Morrissey built a reputation as one of the harshest critics. Growing up, his reviews of others often centred around them not being authentic enough or appearing too simplistic, which, in his view, saw them too often risking becoming merely another drone that existed to pander to the illiterate masses.

In his own lyricism, however, Morrissey adopted an intriguing position as the ultimate self-critique, the one whose nihilism appeared in the form of amusing wordplay and tackled themes that, in other spaces, weren’t to be laughed at. ‘Girlfriend in a Coma’, for instance, might be one of the darkest tracks out there, but the singer made it work by filtering in various layers that made you never truly know if his sinister ponderings were serious or not.

Of course, referring to a significant other as “sweetness” while promising that you were only joking when you said “you should be bludgeoned in your bed” seems too far out to ever be delivered in earnest, but the moments when the band delivered twisted or playful sentiments in a more fearlessly direct way were arguably when they were at their most interesting.

‘Vicar in a Tutu’ might be considered one of the more obvious filler tracks on The Queen is Dead, but its position as a standout—for whatever reason—seems more appropriately connected to the band’s frequent desire to push the boundaries of what constitutes both dark and playful. For starters, injecting the song with a religious theme immediately makes it appear like a statement, as does presenting images of conventionally presenting men in biblical roles showing their femininity.

However, Morrissey attempts to normalise the prospect by addressing it head-on, deeming it “not strange” and suggesting “any man could get used to” the “fabric of a tutu”. It’s out there, that’s for sure, but it doesn’t seem anywhere near the category of too ambitious for a band like The Smiths to pull off. In fact, it seems entirely on brand—interestingly, however, Johnny Marr felt differently initially.

The track is about individuality, and Morrissey’s attempt at celebrating “weirdness”, even if it appears manifested in something that is entirely acceptable by today’s standards. For Marr, however, the singer’s mischievous wordplay made him feel slightly uneasy, likely due to their carefully crafted reputation as a sophisticated band that didn’t bother too much with trivial matters.

“I think I was self-conscious about doing something so playful,” Marr told NME. In truth, Marr likely felt the song was too on the nose compared to their usual subtly humorous musings. After a while, however, he came around to it due to growing familiarity. “I had slides going on it and all sorts of stuff but the lyrics being so funny really helped out with the rest of the recording,” he added.

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