Something Is Squeezing My Skull

I relate to this song and I think it's about depression. People will always tell us to "just snap out of it" or other stupid, unnecessary comments. In the end you don't even bother trying to explain it, so you just tell them "I'm doing very well". Depression is something that is constantly on your mind, bothering you and like he says - 'squeezing your skull'. I think this is such a great song and I LOVE the attitude it has!

I actually think this song is pretty straight forward, as least as far as Morrissey goes. Autobiographical? Maybe. Maybe in parts.

I think the overarching theme of the song is everything other people do and say to people who are depressed and anxious, seeking to get them to be like everyone else in spite of what pressures they feel externally.

"I'm doing very well" - Others always say, "you're doing so well," regardless what you feel

"I can block out the present and the past now" - Just don't think about all the things that bother you

"I know by now you think I should have/Straightened myself out" - Pull it together! You shouldn't still be moping about!

Thank you, drop dead! - And here's what the narrator says, and then what he thinks.

Cue into the "something is squeezing my skull" - there's something wrong with the way the world is constructed, and it isn't coming from inside me.

"I'm doing very well" - So now we're going to parallel the construction of the previous verse, which will be important.

"It's a miracle I even made it this far" - You've made so much progress! Don't backslide now!

"The motion of taxis excites me" - You just need to learn to take pleasure in the little things in your life.

"When you peel it back" - Reference to the psychiatry saying about "peeling back the onion" and trying to figure out what's lying under the surface making you miserable.

"and bite me" - And what the narrator wants to respond.

Now it gets fun. Again, autobiographical? Some of it, certainly:

"Diazepam; that's valium' - Benzo for anxiety. Morrissey says in Autobiography that's one of the first things he was prescribed back in the days of the Smiths.

Temazepam - Another benzo, commonly prescribed for trouble sleeping. Anyone with depression and anxiety probably has some trouble sleeping; Morrissey will reference this later in "I Wish You Lonely," when he says "remember how I can't sleep."

Lithium - Commonly prescribed for bipolar disorder

HRT - Hormone replacement therapy. In men, it is often prescribed if they have low testosterone, which could potentially make a man feel his masculinity was tenuous or unpredictable.

ECT - Electroconvulsive therapy or shock treatment. Certainly the most extreme therapy, but one that even Carrie Fischer used.

How long must I stay on this stuff? - So, just sod it; nothing really works, so let me get on with my life.

Anyway,the song rings true to me. True for who? Well, that's the question.

I think these lyrics are about right, there might be a few mistakes. Like 'good day' might be 'drop dead' but I don't know. Anyway its a cracking song, will probably appear on his new album later this year. I think its about depression and the narrator is struggling with it. The drugs they take for it and that only seem to make things worse, the narrators fed up with the constant medication, but still seem to be struggling. He makes it out as though he's improving right enough but its clear the depression still exists. Like he still insists 'there is no love in modern life' and that he 'should have straightened myself out'. Thats my view on it anyway. Love the way he sings the last lines

Ok, made the relevant changes as I now possess the official lyrics in the booklet pages from the Years Of Refusal album. A few interesting changes (eg will you peel it back and bite me?). What can I say, great studio version of the song, a cracker to open the album. Great song

Seems pretty right on with Mr Soul's definition.

I see this as a song about a person who has been sectioned (put into a psychiatric institute) even though there's nothing actually wrong with them. Think "One flew over the Cuckoo's Nest". I think that he's "doing well" because he's trying to cure himself the way that people tell him to. The "something" squeezing his skull is in fact the effect of the drugs and the "therapy". For example "will you peel it back and bite me" refers to an injection. When he goes on about HRT (Hormone Replacement Treatment) and ECT (Electroconvulsive Therapy) alongside the drugs, these are supposed to be the "treatments" offered by the doctors (who are symbolic of society, knowing Morrissey) which actually do make him psychotic/abnormal. By the end the person truly has turned and is now abnormally paranoiac and anxious which shows the irony of how people can really do more damage to you when they think they're helping you.

I was initially in agreement with Mr_Soul except to add that I don't feel that it's just depression the narrator is dealing with - perhaps some sort of personality disorder or the racing dysphoric mania of bipolar II or something. However, I think J.Skeleton's interpretation is a very valid one - great analysis, and the "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" comparison works well. I suppose I would contend that if this is indeed the meaning behind the lyrics, there is not nothing wrong with the narrator; however, I can agree that whatever it may or may not be is not indeed worthy of sectioning.

Interesting observations. Great song, probably the best on the album, though it's all very good.

Its about enlightment blackmail.

This song makes me chuckle. I love the theatrical delivery of the word "skull" and the repetitive part shows that he is at his wits end and cracking up completely. He is two seconds away from going postal on someone. Something about this song makes me imagine a character in a play- an antagonist you should keep your eye on. Sometimes when I watch or listen to Morrissey interviews I hear this "guy" lurking underneath the surface- like a Hannibal Lecter type that wants to take a bite out of you then spit you out because you and the rest of humankind are idiots.

I think this song is a satire of the attitude that if someone is depressed or upset, then there is some problem with them, as opposed to it being a natural reaction to a messed up world. People think if you cannot cope with the lack of love, hope & friends in modern life, then you're the one who is messed up (depressed, disordered, whatever ; "by now I should have straightened myself out" - when the world is what needs to be straightened out). So the drugs numb you up to it all (can block out the present & the past), so you have no feeling to tell you when something is a violation. The idea that you should be calm & collected & happy all all the time is emphasized by the idea of being "excited" by the motion of a taxi, as if that slight raise in emotion is something which needs to be tranquilized by an injection. The begging at the end of "you swore" is indicative of someone overmedicated who is not really any happier, just unable to articulate anymore what it is that is the problem (something is squeezing my skull, something I can barely describe).