Someone on YouTube asked what this song was about, which made me discover this site and this is how I answered:
Few of the songs by The Smiths can ever be explained in terms of “what they are about”, per se, which is exactly what makes them so attractive to their fans; their entire body of work is open to interpretation. People appreciate their odd lyrics (or not) because they usually involve wit, puns and other clever wordplay, often juxtaposing morose imagery with happy, jangly guitar music, meaning that you have to pay attention to the lyrics to “get it”.
Their music often describes everyday situations or sexually-ambiguous situations, something which appealed tremendously to a great many disaffected youth then. So, The Smiths drove some people bananas while completely clicking with others, who immediately and forever related with them, even though they can’t quite explain (nor feel compelled to explain) why.
Be that as it may, to me, this one particular song’s title evokes people who start off telling jokes by saying “Stop Me if…”, meaning that they are generally extroverts and consequently annoying. (Introverts will immediately relate to the gnashing of teeth that occurs when an extrovert decides to take over a crowd like that and will be able to commiserate with fellow introverts who feel likewise.) It goes on to say how love can really be a pathetic joke… but that’s just my interpretation.
Someone on YouTube asked what this song was about, which made me discover this site and this is how I answered:
Few of the songs by The Smiths can ever be explained in terms of “what they are about”, per se, which is exactly what makes them so attractive to their fans; their entire body of work is open to interpretation. People appreciate their odd lyrics (or not) because they usually involve wit, puns and other clever wordplay, often juxtaposing morose imagery with happy, jangly guitar music, meaning that you have to pay attention to the lyrics to “get it”.
Their music often describes everyday situations or sexually-ambiguous situations, something which appealed tremendously to a great many disaffected youth then. So, The Smiths drove some people bananas while completely clicking with others, who immediately and forever related with them, even though they can’t quite explain (nor feel compelled to explain) why.
Be that as it may, to me, this one particular song’s title evokes people who start off telling jokes by saying “Stop Me if…”, meaning that they are generally extroverts and consequently annoying. (Introverts will immediately relate to the gnashing of teeth that occurs when an extrovert decides to take over a crowd like that and will be able to commiserate with fellow introverts who feel likewise.) It goes on to say how love can really be a pathetic joke… but that’s just my interpretation.