Oh! Take me back to dear old Blighty,
Put me on the train for London Town,
Take me anywhere,
Drop me anywhere,
Liverpool, Leeds or Birmingham
But I don't care,
I should like to see my

I don't bless them
Farewell to this land's cheerless marshes
Hemmed in like a boar between arches
Her very Lowness with a head in a sling
I'm truly sorry, but it sounds like a wonderful thing

I said Charles, don't you ever crave
To appear on the front of the Daily Mail
Dressed in your Mother's bridal veil?
Oh
And so, I checked all the registered historical facts
And I was shocked into shame to discover
How I'm the 18th pale descendant
Of some old queen or other

Oh, has the world changed, or have I changed?
Oh has the world changed, or have I changed?

Some nine-year old tough who peddles drugs
I swear to God
I swear, I never even knew what drugs were
Oh
So, I broke into the palace
With a sponge and a rusty spanner
She said, "Eh, I know you, and you cannot sing"
I said, "That's nothing, you should hear me play piano"

We can go for a walk where it's quiet and dry
And talk about precious things
But when you're tied to your Mother's apron
No-one talks about castration
Oh

We can go for a walk where it's quiet and dry
And talk about precious things
Like love and law and poverty
Oh, these are the things that kill me

We can go for a walk where it's quiet and dry
And talk about precious things
But the rain that flattens my hair
Oh, these are the things that kill me

All their lies about make-up and long hair, are still there

Past the pub who saps your body
And the church who'll snatch your money
The Queen is dead, boys
And it's so lonely on a limb
Past the pub that wrecks your body
And the church, all they want is your money
The Queen is dead, boys
And it's so lonely on a limb

Life is very long, when you're lonely
Life is very long, when you're lonely
Life is very long, when you're lonely
Life is very long, when you're lonely



Lyrics submitted by weezerific:cutlery

Track duration: 04:05

"The Queen Is Dead (Take Me Back to Dear Old Blighty) [Medley]" as written by Steven Patrick/marr Morrissey

Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group

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The Queen Is Dead song meanings
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29 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment:"We can go for a walk where it's quiet and dry
    and talk about precious things
    like love and law and poverty
    these are the things that kill me

    We can go for a walk where it's quiet and dry
    and talk about precious things
    but the rain that flattens my hair
    these are the things that kill me"

    The first I think would maybe be the guy talking about real stuff, love, law, and poverty, serious issues, while the girl, the queen or whoever it may be, is worrying about her hair, a very superficial issue, which shows how much she cares about the serious issues at hand.
    Flag asdfcrison November 01, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I always saw this song as a general social commentary on modern Britain. It uses imagery of typically British things such as the royal family, pubs and the Daily Mail. It has a feel of "broken Britain" about it, this is most obvious in the line "Oh has the world changed, or have I changed?" - Morrissey grew up with old fashioned values and in recent times those values have been compromised.

    Morrissey is anti-Monarchist, and I think this contributes to Morrissey's attack on modern Britain - the line about Charles appearing on the front of the Daily Mail - two things that are wrong with Britain in Morrissey's eyes. It's a very sarcastic, dry humoured line.

    The line about Morrissey playing piano...not sure what that might mean but I get the feeling he's trying to say "well, it could be worse". The Queen think he isn't a good singer - things are bleak - but if you think that's bad, then look at it this way - at least he's not playing piano.

    "Life is very long when you're lonely" - Probably a reference to how Morrissey feels alone in his views, he's looking from the outside in and it's taking a strain on him.

    Anyway, a great song. Hypnotic rhythms, again some great guitar work from Marr and some fantastic stream-of-consciousness lyrics from Moz.
    Flag lukefunon June 18, 2010   Link
  • +2
    General Comment:Perhaps Morrissey had in mind the idea of a National Anthem. In the UK it is "God Save The Queen" - of which the clear opposite is "The Queen is Dead". Morrissey probably reckoned a national anthem ought to close with "life is very long when you are lonely" on repeat. -it certainly hits hard. Interestingly Radiohead did a song called "The National Anthem" i think that is not dissimilar - in fact a cousin or baby brother song.
    Flag ScottishAngleon January 21, 2010   Link
  • +4
    General Comment:This song is about the codependent relationship between the royal family and its subjects. There was a time - war time as M points out - when the Family and the population were united. Now the Family is hopelessly out of touch, stuck in the past, and in denial of human emotions ("Charles don't you ever crave") and circumstances ("nine year old who peddles drugs"). The Family is vaguely aware of this disconnect and so they periodically appear in garden walk TV interviews where they launch into talks about precious things, but still they come across as insincere, stuck up, and outdated. But the population is not without blame. It would rather medicate in pubs and cling to the church being incapable of renewing or creating a "healthy national spirit" and so the codenpendency continues.
    When I first heard the phrase "sponge and a rusty spanner" it made me think of sponge as a methaphor for female and spanner as male, but I've abandoned that idea.
    Flag MissForstaaelseon November 29, 2009   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:Well I've always thought the spanner and the sponge referred to the castration of Charles etc. As in,
    making sure the royal line ends. He refers to the castration literally. I think the queen is murdered during the walk. He forces her outside "to have a chat". "Let's go for walk where it's quiet and dry", but it rains... (Also mocks his own vanity indeed.)
    Flag Duffoon October 21, 2009   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:I just finished reading Oedipus Rex and the line "the Queen is dead" occurs a few times, obviously there are no connections with the story, but maybe that's where Morrissey found the song title? Hmmmmmmmmmm
    Flag awwwshugaron September 29, 2008   Link
  • -2
    General Comment:i think the sponge and the rusty spanner reffer to hitting her in the head and then mopping up the blood, personally
    Flag freebleon April 20, 2008   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:Even recently, morrissey has been outspoken about how he feels britain has changed for the worse and lost it's identity. I feel the song gives references to the "dear old blighty" that no longer exists. "Oh has the world changed or have I changed?" confirms this. There is also no denying the anti-royalist themes in this song. "how I'm the 18th pale descendent of some old queen or other" is a humourous lyric, showing royal shock of just being a royal by accident of birth.
    Flag m25roaron March 11, 2008   Link
  • -2
    General Comment:Now this may all seem a little bizarre but there's a conspiracy between Princess Diana's death and Morrisey. The amount of times he foreshadows her death is remarkable, and I think everyone should visit this site dianamystery.com
    The more I think about it, the eerier the situation seems.
    I would really love to hear Morrisey's opinion on the conspiracy.
    Flag leiologyon February 26, 2008   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:Hehe, I have a friend who sang that one verse,
    So I broke into the Palace
    with a sponge and a rusty spanner
    she said: "Eh, I know you, and you cannot sing"
    I said: "that's nothing - you should hear me play piano"

    over and over and over. (He actualy sang it better than the Smiths did, in my opinion) I really like this song because it is funny and humorou, but has a message, and the music is pretty cool.
    Flag lycan13on September 24, 2007   Link

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