Johnny Marr’s favourite lyric of all time: “This song was very dear to me”
Johnny Marr is something of a musical Zelig—or Forrest Gump, depending on your preferred film reference. The point is, the man has crossed paths with just about everybody during his 40-year career, including collaborations with some of the most revered singers and songwriters of all time: David Byrne, Billy Bragg, Matt Johnson, Chrissie Hynde, Kirsty MacColl, Bernard Sumner, and even that Morrissey fellow, to name just a handful. As a consequence, when Johnny pontificates about the relative talents and significance of other artists, people tend to write down what he says.
A few years ago, as one memorable example, Marr cited his Modest Mouse cohort Isaac Brock as “the greatest lyricist I’ve ever worked with”—a massive compliment that some misconstrued more as a slap in the face to the Mozzer. Devout Modest Mouse fans, of course, knew it as a simple statement of objective fact.
Johnny Marr is also an accomplished singer, songwriter and lyricist, having released five solo albums over the past 20 years, between guitar duties with Modest Mouse, The Cribs, and various others. As a child of the 1970s, his own influences have always been rooted in the music of that decade, both in terms of his guitar style and lyrical touchstones.
A band that made a considerable impact on young Johnny in both of those categories was the Stooges, as the guitar playing of James Williamson and wordplay of Iggy Pop were foundational; even if the thru-lines aren’t immediately as obvious as, say, the jangly Rickenbacker influence of the Byrds’ Roger McGuinn or the Pretenders’ James Honeyman-Scott.
The reverence with which Marr holds Iggy Pop, in particular, was showcased a while back as part of a rather unique HMV advertising campaign. Produced as a series of promotional posters, the “My Inspiration” campaign asked various music legends to choose a favourite lyric by another artist or one that had a major influence on them. Marr’s poster paired him with the following lines from the 1977 song ‘The Passenger’, off Iggy’s Lust For Life album and the lyrics: “We’ll ride through the city tonight / We’ll see the city’s ripped backsides / We’ll see the bright and hollow sky / We’ll see the stars that shine so bright /The sky was made for us tonight”
One of Pop’s signature songs, ‘The Passenger’ was supposedly inspired, in its own right, by Iggy’s experience as a literal passenger in David Bowie’s car as they toured together in the mid ‘70s. It’s one of those tunes that’s broad and vague in all the right ways, just generally capturing the spirit of being out and about in a new city with any possibilities laid out before you. It’s no wonder that it resonated with millions of youngsters like Johnny Marr, daydreaming about a big world beyond their own working-class realities.
In 2023, during a residency with BBC 6Music, Johnny again selected ‘The Passenger’, this time under the category of “The Song to Play for My Younger Self.” He’s also taken to covering the track on stage in 2024, including some collab covers with Tim Booth from James during their recent US tour.
“This song was very dear to me in my teens and I still love it,” Marr confirmed again during a 2024 appearance on BBC’s ‘The Piano Room,’ before performing ‘The Passenger’ with the backing of the BBC Concert Orchestra.
Like many great songs, this one has proven that it easily transcends any decade, genre, or instrumental arrangement. It always communicates its core idea and connects with new generations. With Marr singing the song and its praises, it’s merely a case of game recognising game.
