Shelagh Delaney: The writer to blame for the rise of Morrissey
What would the world be without Morrissey’s music? Some may say better; some may say worse. The Smiths singer and lyricist has always been a controversial figure. Putting his questionable political beliefs and behaviours to one side, his warbling vocals and overtly literary pen are like Marmite – you either it them or hate it.
Despite being one of the biggest bands in British music history and a defining act of the 1980s, The Smiths and Morrissey especially have always been divisive. While pop took its grip on the ’80s as acts like Duran Duran, Tears For Fears and Wham! dominated the sound of the sound of the decade, Morrissey’s wordy lyrics didn’t quite match the radio-friendly favourites of the time.
Even in their earliest tracks like ‘The Hand That Rocks the Cradle’ or ‘Hand In Glove’, Morrissey’s lyrics read more poems than catchy rock songs. In lyrical content, too, the band weren’t afraid of controversy. Writing songs about the Moors Murderers, abuse, the death penalty and a plethora of other grim subject matters, the indie rock originators refused to dumb themselves down or lighten up.
To some, that’s precisely what makes Morrissey great. His fans love him best for his intelligent lyrics and his ability to fit literary images and witty turns of phrase into a catchy indie tune. Arguably the first band of their kind, providing direct inspiration to the lyrics of Alex Turner or any other modern indie leader, The Smiths made rock music literary. Launching a hundred copycat bands and a thousand indie kids or manic pixie dream girls, as referenced in the film 500 Days Of Summer, The Smiths have so much to answer for.
But according to Morrissey, consequence doesn’t lay at his feet but at those of a certain author. Way back in 1986, Morrissey spoke to NME about his lyrical inspirations for one song especially. The 1984 debut album opener ‘Reel Around The Fountain’, which launched Morrissey into the musical world, takes a line directly from Shelagh Delaney’s 1958 play, A Taste Of Honey.
Singing “I dreamt about you last night, and I fell out of bed twice”, fans of Delaney’s writing didn’t take kindly to Morrissey’s appropriation of the line. According to Morrissey, he’s “whipped persistently for the use of that line”.
A play about race, class and poverty, you can see why Morrissey enjoys Delaney’s work. But the singer loves the playwright so much that he credits her for a hefty amount of his work, stating, “I’ve never made any secret of the fact that at least 50 per cent of my reason for writing can be blamed on Shelagh Delaney.”
But Morrissey is adamant that the work of The Smiths isn’t just a bunch of literary references pieced together. He makes sure to get the credit for the rest of his ideas, telling NME, “I have never in my life made any secrets of my reference points. Just because there’s one line that’s a direct lift people will now say to me that ‘Reel Around The Fountain’ is worthless, ignoring the rest of it which almost certainly comes from my brain.”
Elsewhere in the band’s discography, Morrissey references saints like Joan Of Arc (‘Bigmouth Strikes Again’), the works of Virginia Woolf and Shakespeare (‘Shakespeare’s Sister’), the classic romance poets like Yeats and Keats (‘Cemetery Gates’), amongst many many others. The singer was clearly well-read, and he wants you to know it.
