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 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.
@Ogden The thing about the onion is very perspicacious!
@Ogden The thing about the onion is very perspicacious!