The “greatest lyricist that has ever lived”, according to Morrissey
Say what you like about the direction he’s found himself rapidly slipping towards in recent years, but Morrissey‘s lyrical ability during the peak of his career was almost unmatched.
Sadly, now known for being an anti-woke whingebag, his efforts since the middle of the 2010s have been a sorry state, and aren’t a patch on the pure poetry that he was capable of producing when with The Smiths and in his early solo career. It’s a crying shame that he wasn’t able to keep up the momentum he’d had in his early years by using the wisdom that people usually acquire in their later life, but it would appear that said wisdom was either abandoned or has evaded to miserable Mancunian.
Melancholic, morbid and occasionally maudlin, Morrissey was undoubtedly a genius wordsmith, and while his lexical abilities haven’t necessarily gone anywhere, they lack any of the beauty or nuance they once had, given how most of his energy is spent complaining rather than invested in darkly humorous storytelling.
If only he’d held onto some of his earlier influences and tendencies rather than focusing on being an antagonistic so-and-so, then perhaps his career wouldn’t have gone to the dogs, and we wouldn’t be listening to Make-Up Is A Lie with our heads in our collective hands.
While you could argue that he has a unique perspective on the world, he’s always had that, just from a different angle, and it’s a disappointment to hear that he’s allowed this to develop into meandering diatribes about the current state of affairs that are no more intellectually engaging than pissed chatter overheard at the local working men’s club. Morrissey was once an inspiration to many other songwriters, and a large part of that is down to how he previously took cues from one of the greatest lyricists to have ever lived.
One of his favourite songwriters of all time is Joni Mitchell, someone who maintained her ability to use her songs as a vehicle for impeccably detailed songwriting that was rich with layers and deeper meaning, and while the perspectives she sang from aren’t necessarily the same as Morrissey’s, there’s still a poeticism that the two have always shared.
Having first come across her through her 1971 album, Blue, he was immediately enthralled by her way with words, but when he was handed the opportunity to interview the Canadian icon in 1997 for Rolling Stone, he revealed that it was a later record of hers that he became obsessed with.
“I must say that The Hissing of Summer Lawns was the first album that completely captivated me,” he said to Mitchell. “You have an extraordinary balance with words. I think you’re the greatest lyricist that has ever lived.”
While this is high praise indeed and is certainly one of many albums where she was at her best, it’s a shame that Morrissey wasn’t able to channel this energy for longer. Thankfully, Mitchell knew to quit while she was ahead and retire from releasing new music before things soured, and hasn’t tarnished her reputation by saying inflammatory things either. If Morrissey did the same, maybe it would be easier to find a way to fall in love with his music again.
