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Bigmouth Strikes Again

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"Bigmouth Strikes Again"
Single by the Smiths
from the album The Queen Is Dead
B-side
  • "Money Changes Everything"
  • "Unloveable"
Released19 May 1986 (1986-05-19)
RecordedAugust–September 1985
StudioRAK, London
Genre
Length3:12
LabelRough Trade
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Morrissey
  • Johnny Marr
The Smiths singles chronology
"The Boy with the Thorn in His Side"
(1985) 		"Bigmouth Strikes Again"
(1986) 		"Panic"
(1986)

"Bigmouth Strikes Again" is a 1986 song by the English rock band the Smiths from their third album The Queen Is Dead. Written by Johnny Marr and Morrissey, the song features self-deprecating lyrics that reflected Morrissey's frustrations with the music industry at the time. Musically, the song was inspired by the Rolling Stones' "Jumpin' Jack Flash" and centres around a guitar riff that Marr wrote during a 1985 soundcheck.

"Bigmouth Strikes Again" was released as the lead single from the album, bypassing Rough Trade's preferred choice, "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out". The single reached number 26 in the UK Singles Chart and has since seen critical acclaim along with several versions recorded by other artists.

Background

[edit]

"Bigmouth Strikes Again" began as a lyric written by Morrissey in the summer of 1985.[2] The lyric was the final one of three written about Morrissey's frustration with the music industry, the previous two being "The Boy with the Thorn in His Side" and "Rubber Ring." "Bigmouth Strikes Again" specifically reflects Morrissey's negative experiences with the music press. When asked by the NME about the song, Morrissey replied, "I can't think of one sentence [I regret saying]. We're still at that stage where if I rescued a kitten from drowning, they'd say: 'Morrissey Mauls Kitten's Body'. So what can you do?"

Morrissey intended the lyrics of the song to be humorous; he explained, "I would call it a parody if that sounded less like self-celebration, which it definitely wasn't. It was just a really funny song".[3] Drummer Mike Joyce commented, "What a fantastic title – one of Mozzer's better ones. And with this song, you can see why he made journalists cream their pants. Listen to the lyrical content. He was a one-off."[4]

Johnny Marr based the song's music on a guitar riff he had written during a soundcheck of the band's 1985 tour. Marr later claimed that he had been inspired by the Rolling Stones' "Jumpin' Jack Flash", stating, "I wanted something that was a rush all the way through, without a distinct middle eight as such. I thought the guitar breaks should be percussive, not too pretty or cordial".[2] Marr described the song as being "as close as getting to the sound of my heroes as we came".[4]

Music and lyrics

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During the song, the protagonist compares himself to Joan of Arc as "the flames rose to her Roman nose" and also says "now I know how Joan of Arc felt".[5] In recent solo performances, Morrissey has changed the lyric "and her Walkman started to melt", to the more technologically current "and her iPod started to melt".[6] Morrissey included the lyric "and her hearing aid started to melt" as a tribute to the band's deaf and hard-of-hearing fans.

Initially the band had asked Kirsty MacColl to contribute backing vocals, but Marr found her harmonies "really weird" and they were left off the final recording. Instead, the backing vocals were recorded by Morrissey and altered to a higher pitch. This is credited to "Ann Coates", a reference to the Manchester district of Ancoats.[7]

Release

[edit]

Though "Bigmouth Strikes Again" was initially planned to be released as the debut single from The Queen Is Dead in autumn 1985, by spring 1986, Rough Trade head Geoff Travis pushed for the band to release "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out" instead.[3] At Marr's insistence, the band stuck with "Bigmouth Strikes Again": Marr preferred to release a more assertive single and liked the idea of releasing a single-calibre song as an album track on every Smiths album.[8]

"Bigmouth Strikes Again" was released as a single in May 1986, with the non-album instrumental song "Money Changes Everything" as the B-side. Marr later reused the music from "Money Changes Everything" for Bryan Ferry's 1987 hit single "The Right Stuff", which featured new lyrics from Ferry.

The single version's sleeve cover contains a photograph of James Dean by Nelva Jean Thomas. On the 12″ single, the band quoted Oscar Wilde's famous line "Talent borrows, genius steals" on the runout groove.[9] The single reached number 26 in the UK.[10]

A live version of the song appeared as the closing song on the band's only live album, Rank. Another live version, recorded at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley, California in August 1986, was released in 2017 to promote a collector's edition of The Queen Is Dead.[11]

Reception

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"Bigmouth Strikes Again" has seen critical acclaim since its release. Decades later critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic would praise the song's "minor-key rush,"[12] while Clash wrote that the song's "brash Stones-esque rock and sharp guitar lines still sound vital today."[13] Far Out wrote that the song was "the perfect combination of Morrissey's playful self-deprecating lyricism coupled with Johnny Marr's ferociously upbeat riff which is a combination that many other acts have tried to replicate but nobody has managed to capture the magic that these two would create in their five active years together."[2]

Several publications have ranked the song as one of the band's best songs. Billboard ranked the song as the band's second best,[14] while NME named it the band's fourth best.[15] Paste called it the band's tenth best,[16] while Louder included it in their unranked top ten, writing, "This could be their most iconic song."[17] Rolling Stone ranked it as the Smiths' 13th best, writing, "'Bigmouth' was the funniest song they'd ever done – that drum break alone is a comic masterpiece."[18] Consequence of Sound listed the song as the band's 19th best.[19]

Track listing

[edit]
7" RT192
No.TitleLength
1."Bigmouth Strikes Again"3:12
2."Money Changes Everything"4:40
12" RTT192
No.TitleLength
1."Bigmouth Strikes Again"3:12
2."Money Changes Everything"4:40
3."Unloveable"3:54

Charts

[edit]
Chart Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratop)[20] 38
UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)[10] 26

Certifications

[edit]
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[21] Gold 400,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Cover versions

[edit]

Treepeople version

[edit]

Seattle-based, Idaho indie rock/grunge band Treepeople covered "Bigmouth Strikes Again" on their 1992 double EP Something Vicious for Tomorrow/Time Whore, released by an independent Seattle label C/Z Records. The Treepeople version changes the second line of the first verse from "When I said by rights you should be bludgeoned in your bed" to "When I said I am gonna miss you when you're dead." This version was notable for having been recorded by Seattle grunge pioneer/producer Jack Endino of Skin Yard, who had previously worked with Mudhoney, Nirvana and Soundgarden, as well as having been mixed by Seattle producer Steve Fisk, known for his work with Nirvana, Screaming Trees, the Afghan Whigs and more.[22]

Placebo version

[edit]

The song was covered in 1996 by alternative band Placebo, who were asked by the French magazine Les Inrockuptibles to perform the song for the various artists compilation The Smiths Is Dead. This version changed the lyric "and her Walkman started to melt'" to "and her Discman/Megadrive started to melt." Their rendition of the song also appeared as a B-side to "Nancy Boy", as well as on Disc 2 of the Sleeping with Ghosts special edition. Far Out described the band's version as "simply brilliant" and wrote, "[Brian] Molko's vocal performance is both far removed and utterly akin to Morrissey's own performance, yet somehow Molko takes it to another level."[23]

References

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  1. ^ Molanphy, Chris (31 October 2019). "The Lost and Lonely Edition". Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia (Podcast). Slate. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  2. ^ a b c Taysom, Joe (22 May 2020). "The Story Behind The Song: 'Bigmouth Strikes Again' as The Smiths jab at the music business". Far Out Magazine. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  3. ^ a b Fletcher, Tony (4 December 2012). A Light That Never Goes Out: The Enduring Saga of the Smiths. Crown. ISBN 978-0-307-71597-5.
  4. ^ a b "The Full Story Behind The Smiths' 'The Queen Is Dead'". NME. 16 June 2016. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  5. ^ Stim, Rich (August 1986). "The Queen Is Dead - The Smiths (Rough Trade)". Spin. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  6. ^ Block, Ryan (10 May 2005). "Moz: Bigmouth Strikes Again strikes again with the iPod". Engadget. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  7. ^ DiGravina, Tim. "Bigmouth Strikes Again - The Smiths | Song Info". AllMusic. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  8. ^ Taysom, Joe (30 July 2020). "The Story Behind The Song: How The Smiths song 'There Is A Light That Never Goes Out' became their 'hidden secret'". Far Out Magazine. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  9. ^ Luerssen, John D. (August 2015). The Smiths FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Most Important British Band of the 1980s. Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 978-1-4950-4596-7.
  10. ^ a b "The Smiths". The Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
  11. ^ "Listen: The Smiths, 'Bigmouth Strikes Again' — unreleased live take from Berkeley 1986". Slicing Up Eyeballs. 4 September 2017. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  12. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "The Queen Is Dead - The Smiths | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  13. ^ Beech, Alistair (8 June 2011). "Classic Albums: The Smiths - The Queen Is Dead". Clash Magazine. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  14. ^ Lynch, Joe. "The Smiths' 20 Best Songs: Critic's Picks". Billboard. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  15. ^ "The 20 best Smiths tracks, as voted by NME.COM users". NME. 25 November 2011. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  16. ^ Marino, Nick (14 March 2017). "The 10 Best Smiths Songs". Paste Magazine. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  17. ^ McNerney, Mat (12 January 2016). "The 10 best songs by The Smiths". loudersound. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  18. ^ Sheffield, Rob (1 August 2017). "Rob Sheffield Ranks All 73 Smiths Songs". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  19. ^ "Ranking: Every Song by The Smiths from Worst to Best". Consequence of Sound. 21 February 2019. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  20. ^ "The Smiths - Bigmouth Strikes Again - ultratop.be". Ultratop.
  21. ^ "British single certifications – Smiths – Bigmouth Strikes Again". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
  22. ^ Something Vicious for Tomorrow/Time Whore - Treepeople | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic, retrieved 29 June 2021
  23. ^ "Listen back to Placebo's brilliant cover of The Smiths' 'Bigmouth Strikes Again'". Far Out Magazine. 24 January 2020. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
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