“I wrote it over two years”: Johnny Marr on his favourite guitar track with The Smiths
No matter the strange squabbles that consistently crop up between Johnny Marr and Morrissey, the music of The Smiths will forever be cherished and appreciated by generations of music fans. To put that theory to the test, just ask someone for their favourite album or tune and watch them deliberate for half an hour about which track truly captures the essence of the band’s brilliance.
Whether for karaoke-specific reasons and the endearing energy of ‘This Charming Man’ or the delicate balance between comedy and the macabre with tracks like ‘Girlfriend in a Coma’, The Smiths became one of the more complex outfits out there by leaning into something many bands are usually too afraid to dabble in—irony and satire.
The casual listener might label them “sad” or even “depressing”, but the band crafted a sound that resonated with deeper listener experiences by challenging expectations and exploring themes and emotions that went beyond the usual tropes of rock and alternative music. For instance, when Morrisey sings about smashing “every tooth in your head” in ‘Bigmouth Strikes Again’, it’s difficult to squash the initial surprise at hearing such an unexpected conviction.
The beauty of such lines came with Marr’s intricate contributions, as his guitar work often provided bright and lighthearted melodies in stark contrast to the words being said. His sounds often appeared jangly, joyful, and energetic, striking a natural balance between Morrissey’s catchy yet biting content. Usually, therefore, when asking others about their favourite Smiths songs, the focus is often placed on the melodies and arrangements rather than the lyrics themselves, proving that they achieved everything they initially set out to achieve.
While this dynamic allowed the band to avoid sounding overly dour or heavy, it gave the songs a sense of spaciousness, even when the subject matter appeared dense or overbearing. Take a song like ‘I Know It’s Over’, for instance. As a quintessential Smiths song wrapped in all the doom and gloom that came to categorise the band, Marr’s guitars appear distinctively ballad-line and heady without distracting from the possibility of multiple perceptions.
In ‘The Headmaster Ritual’, Marr’s guitar work is also a defining feature, but executed with a more melodic precision to create a layered, enticing, charming effect. What’s particularly interesting about his work here is that it oscillates between fingerpicking and more aggressive strumming, giving the track a delicate yet heavy atmosphere. According to the guitar maestro himself, this was one of his best performances.
“‘The Headmaster Ritual’ is one of my favourite guitar tracks,” he told Uncut. Noting the focus on precision and perfectionism, he added: “I wrote it over a period of two years, always looking for the next section I needed. I saw the Radiohead version, yeah. I have shown Ed [O’Brien] the chords, but maybe he was looking out the window! But they do a better job of it than anyone else I’ve heard.”
There’s an element of monotony to his guitar work in this particular song, but it works because it’s delivered with a hypnotic edge thanks to Marr’s desire to pull off something with a consistent sense of movement and urgency. Morrissey’s vocals, perhaps for the first time, almost take a backseat to allow the accompanying arrangements to shine as the centrepiece, resulting in a song that feels deceptively upbeat, almost whimsical.
