The Smiths song fuelled by Morrissey’s possessive nature
Many influential bands are powered by dynamic duos, from John Lennon and Paul McCartney to Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood. Among the most significant pairs is Morrissey and Johnny Marr of The Smiths. Despite their relatively short tenure as a band, they left an indelible mark on British guitar music, with their influence still felt strongly today.
In just five short years, the four studio albums by the Manchester outfit offered music a way out of the punk era into the ensuing eras of indie and alternative rock. Drawing on established pioneers such as The Stooges, The Byrds, and Neil Young, as well as post-punk innovators Magazine and Siouxsie and the Banshees, Morrissey’s dramatic performances and Marr’s dynamic playing formed the tip of the group’s spear, which would deeply pierce the cultural fabric.
From the gothic atmosphere of the early single ‘What Difference Does It Make?’ to the industrial grooves of ‘How Soon Is Now?’, the quartet covered many bases in their time, with each member becoming a legend in their respective fields. However, in a tale as old as time, things would quickly burn out for the group in 1987, as the competing characters of Morrissey and Marr stoked immense acrimony due to changing artistic tastes and the trappings of fame.
Frontman Morrissey fittingly outlined this in the closing track of 1987’s Strangeways, Here We Come, The Smiths’ fourth and final album. Although musically, it’s a tender acoustic composition, in the song, the frontman displays his possessive nature. It cuttingly expresses his aversion to letting Marr go and work with other people in the post-Smiths world. As explicitly as possible, in one of the verses, he sings: “I won’t share you, no / I won’t share you / With the drive and the dreams inside / This is my time”.
Famously, disagreements about the direction of their careers and Marr working with other artists such as Talking Heads would see things come to a head and be the final nail in the coffin for the duo. Regarding the pointed lyrics of the song, Marr later recalled: “The lyrics were brought to my attention by somebody before we got out of his studio. There were raised eyebrows, and ‘Whaddya think of that then?’ But it was all in a day’s work for me really, still is.”
Typically confident, he added: “If that sentiment was directed towards me, then I feel quite good about it. It’s nice.”
Listen to ‘I Won’t Share You’ below.
