Many of Morrissey's lyrics have always struck me as strange... Think about it - A vicar in a tutu; he's not strange; he just wants to live his life this way... or Young ones groan and the rocks below say "throw your skinny body down son..." etc. etc.
So I never really tried too hard to interpret them, though I'm sure they all had some type of meaning. But the meaning of the Smiths' "Bigmouth Strikes Again" just kind of came to me the other day. Maybe cause I've said things in the recent past that I've regretted... And that's precisely what the song's about - someone who said the wrong thing to a loved one, and is now suffering as a result...
Let me break it down for ya'll...
First, here's the lyrics:
Sweetness, sweetness
I was only joking when I said I’d like to
Smash every tooth in your head
Oh ... sweetness, sweetness,
I was only joking when I said by rights you
Should be bludgeoned in your bed
And now I know how Joan of Arc felt
Now I know how Joan of Arc felt, oh
As the flames rose to her Roman nose
And her walkman started to melt
Oh ...Bigmouth, la ... bigmouth, la ...
Bigmouth strikes again
I’ve got no right to take my place
In the human race
And now I know how Joan of Arc felt
Now I know how Joan of Arc felt, oh
As the flames rose to her Roman nose
And her hearing aid started to melt
Whatever this person said to his loved one was pretty stupid - an unforgivable type of stupid, so it comes as no surprise that his apology comes off as, well, inadequate:
Sweetness, I was only joking when I said I’d like to Smash every tooth in your head
I was only joking when I said by rights you Should be bludgeoned in your bed
His lyrics here are actually kind of funny... this person really messed up... I mean I'd like to smash every tooth in your head ? Yikes!
Bigmouth struck again, and now he has no right to take [his] place In the human race
He's being punished by his loved one... to the point that he feels like he can't even be counted among the human race. The person he offended is being merciless - offering no forgiveness whatsoever.
The person he offended is going to make him pay! That's why he says And now I know how Joan of Arc felt... as the flames rose to her Roman nose...
He is being burned at the stake so to speak!
We all know that it was Joan of Arc's "big mouth" that got her in trouble. But there's an interesting thing we learn about our "Joan of Arc" here - not only does he or she got the tendency to speak rashly, without thinking, but he is hard of hearing.
Hence, the significance of her walkman and her hearing aid. Which of course melt, but too late to do anything about it!
Tell me what you think... Is my interpretation right on?
4 comments:
Liked the breakdown of the SMITH's song. Interpretation was pretty right on. We sometimes say things we shouldn't or dont use much wisdom when we speak them... fruits due to our actions are seen afterwards... they are not always simple to remedy or erase. Christian or not, forgiving and the process of letting wounds heal are hard.
Indeed they are hard... I speak as an experienced "Bigmouth"!
Words can wound greatly, like the Proverbs say,
"Death and life [are] in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof."
And as the apostle James said,
"For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body.
... the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles!
And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell.
For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind.
But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.
With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God.
Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so."
Right-on with the interpretation, Marvin!
I think that Jade is right,Christian or not, we struggle continously with forgiveness and allowing our wounds to heal. Because just when we think they are healed, they open up again, reminding you of those hurtful words that assured you that perhaps you are not worthy, perhaps you really are "stupid," or that you are unlovable and cold. Those words conjure up old feelings, and I am sure that, although they might not be as detrimental for us as before, they are still there in our being--waiting to creep up at the most vulnerable moments in our lives.
However, I think that the saddest aspect of this whole thing is not the fact that we carry old wounds and that they still hurt us to the point of not being able to forgive, it's in the fact that we do the exact same thing to others with our words and we don't know it.
So, Marvin, I think that being a "big mouth" as you perceive yourself to be is more common in all of us that we would like to accept.Sometimes I think that we focus too much on being hurt and healing our wounds, that we forget that we need to watch our mouth too!
Right on bloggers. I agree with all stated.
The ideal lifestyle would be to actually be aware of this weakness that we all bear and stop the cycle; possible? Yes. Whether being imperfect beings falling short of God's grace every day- be WILLING to try to realize this dream? .... maybe so.
Depending on the level of hurt that we have endured, because it is until that point in our lives when we are that hurt and broken that we begin to reflect on all the damage that we have done. We then make a decision to live differently and accept (as anonymous said) that we too are 'big mouths' too.
It's always easier to point the spec in someone else's eye than to see the log in our own ....
With this have I said too much?
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