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In the absence of your love
And in the absence of human touch
I have decided
I'm throwing my arms around, around Paris
Because only stone and steel accept my love.
In the absence of your smiling face
I traveled all over the place
And I have decided
I'm throwing my arms around, around Paris
Because only stone and steel accept my love
I'm throwing my arms around, around Paris
Because only stone and steel accept my love.
I'm throwing my arms around Paris
Because nobody wants my love
Nobody wants my love
Nobody needs my love
Nobody wants my love
Yes, you made yourself plain
Yes, you made yourself very plain
And in the absence of human touch
I have decided
I'm throwing my arms around, around Paris
Because only stone and steel accept my love.
In the absence of your smiling face
I traveled all over the place
And I have decided
I'm throwing my arms around, around Paris
Because only stone and steel accept my love
I'm throwing my arms around, around Paris
Because only stone and steel accept my love.
I'm throwing my arms around Paris
Because nobody wants my love
Nobody wants my love
Nobody needs my love
Nobody wants my love
Yes, you made yourself plain
Yes, you made yourself very plain
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Those who tend to have Paris Syndrome often get a low evaluation in their own country and try to find anywhere greater than their country. They want to believe that anywhere greater than their country (often France and Paris) can give them a higher evaluation, and they can get a happier life there. But in most cases, they will be disillusioned by Paris and go back home depressed.
The narrator in this song says that ' only stone and steel accept my love' and he's throwing his arms around Paris, so he is in the phase 1 of the disease.
The phase 2 (disillusionment and depression) is not mentioned in the lyrics, but it will surely come to him.
And this is roughly about Morrissey himself, I suppose.
He mentioned his French ability in the gig recorded for the live album Beethoven Was Deaf.
One of Morrissey's idols is Oscar Wilde who he has included in more than one song, "Cemetery Gates" is one song that jumps to mind, and I think this song is about Wilde as well.
After a long affair with the Marquess of Queensbury's son Alfred Taylor, Wilde was imprisoned for "posing as a somdomite." Public perception turned on Wilde and a few years later when he got out of prison he was no longer welcome in London. Wilde's wife wouldn't even see him or let him see his children whom he loved fondly, having even written several childrens books for them. He left England and trooped around Eruope for a while, even met up with Alfred Taylor again but it didn't work out. Prison did a number on Wilde and he was very weak. He ended up living in Paris, where he eventually died.
Wilde's imprisonment is said to be the end of the Victorian Era in Literature.
Wilde would have been "in the absence of your (Alfred Taylor's) love
So he threw his arms around Paris, at least that's how I interpreted the song.
I think Morrissey is using "Paris" here that way as well. He can't have what he really wants and he's come to accept that to some degree. After a lifetime of fighting with himself trying to figure out what he wanted and being terribly conflicted about how to get it (or if he even could get it), he's made a decision- he's embracing Plan B.
Of course, talking about "stone and steel" works for both the unemotional second choice as well as seamlessly ties into Paris the city. And Morrissey, being a musician, travels to cities all over the world to perform. So... maybe that IS his Plan B, the love and affection he gets from the world for his music, as opposed to a personal love that he has repeatedly failed to find or keep.
Mr Soul has pretty much summed it up. On the first few listens, and well before I came across this site for the first time, I was almost sure it was related to the channel 5 UK documentary "Married to the Eiffel Tower". The main subject of the documentary was about a woman who defined herself not as hetero, homo or bisexual but as objectum-sexual (literally being sexually and emotionally attracted to objects). It was quite a farcical documentary but this woman claimed to be married to the Eiffel Tower and consumated the relationship regularly.
I refuse to believe that Morrissey was not in some way inspired by this documentary or the concept of objectum-sexuality and is being very witty and ironic by comparing his own situation to it. Indeed he is the quintessential enigmatic outsider who refuses to define himself as hetero, homo or bisexual. He's cleverly disguised it as a simple ditty about falling in love with his Parisian surroundings instead of waiting for real love with a person.
On another note there was an episode of US comedy/drama Nip Tuck recently where a man also claimed to be objectum-sexual. He was running about the office shagging furniture. It was both hilarious and utterly ridiculous.
Relax...I'm Joking.
the 'absence of human touch' is probably about his lack of sex life. Morrissey was celibate until like...2006. And this song, i think, is about a relationship that went wrong so instead of looking for love he's embracing where he is. Which happens to be Paris.