In my opinion, the song details the breakdown of a once beautiful friendship.
Morrissey sings the part of one who has suffered an incredibly hard relationship breakdown -- their best friend has ceased to return their affection due to some unspecified event (an unrequited romantic interest, most likely). The spurned party appreciates that, despite the intense-sounding history, any appeal directed at their best friend/would-be lover is futile; the relationship is irreparably broken. And yet, such is the strength of feeling for the dismissive friend, he keeps thrashing around like a snared animal. The disinterested friend knows this all too well and exerts control, casually manipulating him -- possibly for revenge or just for the thrill of having somebody's heart on a string.
The relationship (if, by this point, you can call it that) becomes almost like a sick joke -- both parties know the script, yet the main character's ineffable fondness for the other party dooms them to repeat their behaviour: "I would do anything for you, but what difference does it make when you do not and will not care about me?".
Finally, the spurned friend cannot sink any lower, gets a grip of their senses and retreats. Even after the horrendous suffering and humiliation, he is still (almost ruefully) fond of the friend.
This basically mirrors something that happened to me, so perhaps I saw what I wanted to see. Some of the lyrics are so beautifully phrased, they fit like a glove. This song helped me to recognise and understand my behaviour and slowly move on.
@someberk this is also my interpretation, and something similar happened to me. I might be seeing it the same way because of that, but still it's good to know I'm not the only one who has a similar interpretation of this great song.
@someberk this is also my interpretation, and something similar happened to me. I might be seeing it the same way because of that, but still it's good to know I'm not the only one who has a similar interpretation of this great song.
In my opinion, the song details the breakdown of a once beautiful friendship.
Morrissey sings the part of one who has suffered an incredibly hard relationship breakdown -- their best friend has ceased to return their affection due to some unspecified event (an unrequited romantic interest, most likely). The spurned party appreciates that, despite the intense-sounding history, any appeal directed at their best friend/would-be lover is futile; the relationship is irreparably broken. And yet, such is the strength of feeling for the dismissive friend, he keeps thrashing around like a snared animal. The disinterested friend knows this all too well and exerts control, casually manipulating him -- possibly for revenge or just for the thrill of having somebody's heart on a string.
The relationship (if, by this point, you can call it that) becomes almost like a sick joke -- both parties know the script, yet the main character's ineffable fondness for the other party dooms them to repeat their behaviour: "I would do anything for you, but what difference does it make when you do not and will not care about me?".
Finally, the spurned friend cannot sink any lower, gets a grip of their senses and retreats. Even after the horrendous suffering and humiliation, he is still (almost ruefully) fond of the friend.
This basically mirrors something that happened to me, so perhaps I saw what I wanted to see. Some of the lyrics are so beautifully phrased, they fit like a glove. This song helped me to recognise and understand my behaviour and slowly move on.
@someberk this is also my interpretation, and something similar happened to me. I might be seeing it the same way because of that, but still it's good to know I'm not the only one who has a similar interpretation of this great song.
@someberk this is also my interpretation, and something similar happened to me. I might be seeing it the same way because of that, but still it's good to know I'm not the only one who has a similar interpretation of this great song.