The Smiths – Rubber Ring

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A sad fact widely known
The most impassionate song
To a lonely soul
Is so easily outgrown
But don't forget the songs
That made you smile
And the songs that made you cry
When you lay in awe
On the bedroom floor
And said : "Oh, oh, smother me Mother..."
No...
Rubber ring, rubber ring, rubber ring, rubber ring
La...

The passing of time
And all of its crimes
Is making me sad again
The passing of time
And all of its sickening crimes
Is making me sad again
But don't forget the songs
That made you cry
And the songs that saved your life
Yes, you're older now
And you're a clever swine
But they were the only ones who ever stood by you

The passing of time leaves empty lives
Waiting to be filled (the passing...)
The passing of time
Leaves empty lives
Waiting to be filled
I'm here with the cause
I'm holding the torch
In the corner of your room
Can you hear me?
And when you're dancing and laughing
And finally living
Hear my voice in your head
And think of me kindly
No ...
Rubber ring, rubber ring, rubber ring, rubber ring
La...
No...
Rubber ring, rubber ring, rubber ring, rubber ring

Do you
Love me like you used to?
Oh...
Rubber ring, rubber ring, rubber ring, rubber ring
La...

You're clever
Everybody's clever nowadays
You're clever
Everybody's clever nowadays

You are sleeping
You do not want to believe
You are sleeping
You do not want to believe
You are sleeping
You do not want to believe
You are sleeping

Send "Rubber Ring" Ringtone to Cell


Lyrics submitted by weezerific:cutlery

Track duration: 03:50

"Rubber Ring" as written by Steven Morrissey, Johnny Marr

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

Lyrics powered by LyricFind


Rubber Ring song meanings
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44 Comments

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  • +1
    General Comment:My mum is always telling me off for listening to too much music. Says it's unhealthy. She also says it's a teenager thing, that when you 'discover' music at about 13, for the rest of your adolescence, it's one of the most important, all consuming things to you. Then apparently when you're an adult, music gets a lower status and is only enjoyed on occasion. (Jeez, I'm only 15! I pray that doesn't happen to me!)

    Anyway, point being, that could be sort of what this song is about- how in your youth you find the special songs that can help you overcome any adversity, but that it's a hard job trying to remember them later on:
    A sad fact widely known
    The most impassionate song
    To a lonely soul
    Is so easily outgrown
    But don't forget the songs
    That made you smile
    And the songs that made you cry
    When you lay in awe
    On the bedroom floor
    And said : "Oh, oh, smother me Mother..."
    Flag manic4manicson January 10, 2013   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I think it's about how music and the songs you love are the only things that stick with you, and how they shouldn't be forgotten. Also, the title 'Rubber Ring' I think is a reference to a rubber float used by people swimming. It helps keep them up and stops the from sinking, just as peoples favorite songs do.
    Flagged JScott97on September 22, 2012   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation:Surprised nobody's suggested this.

    For me, this song being about simply growing out of favourite songs seems a bit cliche and dull for Morriseey. Obviously this is only my opinion, but Morrissey being the genius of a lyricist he is may have used "songs" as a metaphor for friends. Therefore this song would be about growing out of old best friends and no longer having any contact with them. "And the songs that saved your life" - don't really see how a song can massively save one's life, so leads me to think it is indeed about old friends.

    Just my thoughts anyway, probably my favourite Smiths song.
    Flag elliotwhaton June 24, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Anyone else notice the Othello references in this song?

    'when you lay in awe on the bedroom floor and said: Oh oh smother me ....'

    'I'm here with the cause, I'm holding the torch, in the corner of your room can you hear me?

    Great song
    Flag dbeeon May 19, 2012   Link
  • +3
    My Opinion:Hands down my favorite Smith's song. Everyone has their own opinion about what it means in general, and they're mostly right. But this is what it means to me, and it's extremely important to me. Plus, this is the only place I can actually seriously talk about it. Bear with me.

    Isn't nostagia one of the greatest/worse feelings ever? Whenever I hear this song, I think back to the most horrible period of my life. Well, I thought it was my most horrible. Typical teenage angst. Now, I know that that was one of the greatest times of my life.

    "A sad fact widely known
    The most impassionate song
    To a lonely soul
    Is so easily outgrown
    But don't forget the songs
    That made you smile
    And the songs that made you cry
    When you lay in awe
    On the bedroom floor..."

    I lived in the middle of nowhere and I was an only child. So, I spent a lot of time in my bedroom bemoaning my fate. But then...I discovered music. REAL music. My music. It wasn't being fed to me through the popular radio stations. Oh, that is a great personal discovery, isn't it? Finding music that speaks to you. Especially if you're all alone in the middle of nowhere with only the cows to keep you company. I would 'lay in awe on the bedroom floor' for hours listening to that beautiful release.

    "The passing of time
    And all of its crimes
    Is making me sad again
    The passing of time
    And all of its sickening crimes
    Is making me sad again
    But don't forget the songs
    That made you cry
    And the songs that saved your life
    Yes, you're older now
    And you're a clever swine
    But they were the only ones who ever stood by you."

    It was then that I started to grow up- to find my own self and make up my mind about the world around me. At the time, I thought it was horrible. I'd wallow in my own angst and look around in disdain because no one knew what it was like. (What a tool I was, looking back on it now.) It got to the point that the songs that made me think were old and overplayed. They didn't touch me the way they used to. I didn't think about what was happening to me. I didn't even realize I was losing something precious. I was losing the very thing that made me, well, me. And I slowly forgot about the only ones who every stood by me.

    "The passing of time leaves empty lives
    Waiting to be filled (the passing...)
    The passing of time
    Leaves empty lives
    Waiting to be filled
    I'm here with the cause
    I'm holding the torch
    In the corner of your room
    Can you hear me?
    And when you're dancing and laughing
    And finally living
    Hear my voice in your head
    And think of me kindly."

    I jumped at life and slowly forgot the important songs. I was a music snob. (Oh, yes, I'll say it, I was a music hipster before being a music hipster was cool.) I just listened to them. I didn't feel them. That was my senior year of high school. That was when I was 'dancing and laughing and finally living'. I had friends who thought like me. That was something I never saw coming and I began to take it for granted. Then, it became clear something was missing. I'd be out with friends and I would realize that none of what we were talking about mattered. Don't get me wrong, I had fun. I had A LOT of fun. But it was all vapid. Shallow. Unimportant. I never got that feeling anymore. You know that feeling. When you listen to a song (an important one) and you're whole body aches and you can't breathe and you are so happy and so sad at the same time because somebody knows you. That impossible voice knows you and they want you to know that it's okay it's going to be okay I'm here for you whenever you need me I am yours. (Just thinking about that feeling right now makes me a bit teary-eyed.)

    It was then that I realized I had turned my back on something so precious and innocent. And I would never get it back again. That one moment when you realize you are not alone. It's gone and you can never get it back and it hurts. The only thing you can do is look back and remember that voice in the darkness.

    I can remember everysinglething about that voice. Everything about that voice is important. How it cracked on that one particular word or how it rose and fell in time with the music. And, sometimes, very rarely, I can get that feeling back. Just a ghost of it.

    And I really hope Morrissey* knows how he made people like me feel more alive more than anything else in the world.

    (*I know that The Smiths are more than just Morrissey...but it was his voice that made me feel.)
    Flag LadyStephanieon April 04, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:One of the greatest ever tunes recorded. Love it.
    Flag holyhandgrenadeon December 17, 2011   Link
  • +2
    Song Meaning:The 'rubber ring' in this song refers to the little protective ring (made of rubber of course) on the turntable of a record player. The turntable is made from metal so the rubber ring is on top of the metal turn table to protect the record from damage whilst you're playing your records. I love the double meaning that Morrissey's created: the actual rubber ring on the record player playing Smiths classics and the rubber ring that saves you when you're drowning.
    Flag theghostoftroubledjoeon September 09, 2011   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:I'm surprised such a song even needs to be defined, i find the meaning blatently obvious. I see it as Morrissey's plea, it's said he wrote for misunderstood teenagers, the depressed, the outcasts. This was his way of saying 'You're not always going to feel this way, sometime in the future maybe you won't relate to my songs, but don't forget i was there when it mattered, yeah one day you'll be 'happy', but don't forget me.' Which i believe is a fair enough thing for him to ask, i don't think artists get the credit they deserve for their music, how much it can help somebody and change their lives, they don't seem to get enough thanks, he's begging you to remember him. I think it's probably Morrissey's attention seeking/arrogant behaviour which drove him to write this song, rightly so, the man in my eyes is a God and deserves every single peice of credit he gets. As others have said the 'Rubber ring' is a reference to a life ring, saving somebody in the water, drawing them back to their rightful place. But i also love to think we're all wrong and there is another toally different meaning Morrissey has cleverly hidden, he never did like to be so predictable and easily read, i think he's played a lot of games with his lyrics. Amazing song none the less!
    Flag SmithsGirlon May 07, 2011   Link
  • +3
    General Comment:Teenage agnst is so easily forgoten or ignored when grown up. Music was and is the greatest escape from life's little quirks. Especially when we're young. Some people outgrow the music of their youth, and that's all the song is talking about, to please not forget him (the music) when you're dancing & laughing & finnally living, hear my voice in your head.......
    Flag gurkhabeaston February 13, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Morrissey uses the word "mother" a lot doesn't he? Oh mother, I can feel... Some girls' mothers... I'm sure there are more. I think maybe it means a person feeling really desperate and suicidal, wanting to die, but wanting their mother to help them to die so it's a gentle, caring event? Just a thought...
    Flag TheWorldWontListenon December 16, 2010   Link

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