"Bigmouth Strikes Again" is a 1986 song by the English
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band
the Smiths from their third album ''
The Queen Is Dead''. Written by
Johnny Marr
Johnny Marr (born John Martin Maher, 31 October 1963) is an English musician, songwriter and singer. He first achieved fame as the guitarist and co-songwriter of the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. He has since performed with numerous ...
and
Morrissey
Steven Patrick Morrissey (; born 22 May 1959), known professionally as Morrissey, is an English singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the frontman and lyricist of rock band the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. Since then ...
, the song features self-deprecating lyrics that reflected Morrissey's frustrations with the music industry at the time. Musically, the song was inspired by the
Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...
' "
Jumpin' Jack Flash" and centres around a guitar riff that Marr wrote during a 1985 soundcheck.
"Bigmouth Strikes Again" was released as the lead single from the album, bypassing
Rough Trade's preferred choice, "
There Is a Light That Never Goes Out". The single reached number 26 in the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
and has since seen critical acclaim along with several version recorded by other artists.
Background
"Bigmouth Strikes Again" began as a lyric written by
Morrissey
Steven Patrick Morrissey (; born 22 May 1959), known professionally as Morrissey, is an English singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the frontman and lyricist of rock band the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. Since then ...
in the summer of 1985.
The lyric was the final one of three written about Morrissey's frustration with the music industry, the previous two being "
The Boy with the Thorn in His Side
"The Boy with the Thorn in His Side" is a song by the English rock band the Smiths. It was released as a single in September 1985, reaching No. 23 in the UK Singles Chart. A remixed version appeared on their third album ''The Queen Is Dead'' in ...
" and "Rubber Ring." "Bigmouth Strikes Again" specifically reflects Morrissey's negative experiences with the music press. When asked by the ''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'' about the song, Morrissey replied, "I can't think of one sentence
regret saying We're still at that stage where if I rescued a kitten from drowning, they'd say: 'Morrissey Mauls Kitten's Body'. So what can you do?"
Morrissey intended the lyrics of the song to be humorous; he explained, "I would call it a parody if that sounded less like self-celebration, which it definitely wasn't. It was just a really funny song".
Drummer
Mike Joyce commented, "What a fantastic title – one of Mozzer's better ones. And with this song, you can see why he made journalists cream their pants. Listen to the lyrical content. He was a one-off."
Johnny Marr
Johnny Marr (born John Martin Maher, 31 October 1963) is an English musician, songwriter and singer. He first achieved fame as the guitarist and co-songwriter of the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. He has since performed with numerous ...
based the song's music on a guitar riff he had written during a soundcheck of the band's 1985 tour. Marr later claimed that he had been inspired by
the Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...
' "
Jumpin' Jack Flash", stating, "I wanted something that was a rush all the way through, without a distinct middle eight as such. I thought the guitar breaks should be percussive, not too pretty or cordial".
Marr described the song as being "as close as getting to the sound of my heroes as we came".
Music and lyrics
During the song, the protagonist compares himself to
Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc (french: link=yes, Jeanne d'Arc, translit= an daʁk} ; 1412 – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the coronati ...
as "the flames rose to her
Roman nose" and also says "now I know how Joan of Arc felt".
In recent solo performances, Morrissey has changed the lyric "and her ''
Walkman
Walkman, stylised as , is a brand of portable audio players manufactured and marketed by Japanese technology company Sony since 1979. The original Walkman was a portable cassette player and its popularity made "walkman" an unofficial term for ...
'' started to melt", to the more technologically current "and her ''
iPod
The iPod is a discontinued series of portable media players and multi-purpose mobile devices designed and marketed by Apple Inc. The first version was released on October 23, 2001, about months after the Macintosh version of iTunes ...
'' started to melt".
Morrissey included the lyric "and her hearing aid started to melt" as a tribute to the band's deaf and hard-of-hearing fans.
Initially the band had asked
Kirsty MacColl
Kirsty Anna MacColl (10 October 1959 – 18 December 2000) was a British singer and songwriter, daughter of folk singer Ewan MacColl. She recorded several pop hits in the 1980s and 1990s, including "There's a Guy Works Down the Chip Shop Swears He ...
to contribute backing vocals, but Marr found her harmonies "really weird" and they were left off the final recording. Instead, the backing vocals were recorded by Morrissey and altered to a higher pitch. This is credited to "Ann Coates", a reference to the
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
district of
Ancoats
Ancoats is an area of Manchester in Greater Manchester, England. It is located next to the Northern Quarter, the northern part of Manchester city centre.
Historically in Lancashire, Ancoats became a cradle of the Industrial Revolution and has ...
.
Release
Though "Bigmouth Strikes Again" was initially planned to be released as the debut single from ''
The Queen Is Dead'' in autumn 1985, by spring 1986,
Rough Trade head
Geoff Travis pushed for the band to release "
There Is a Light That Never Goes Out" instead.
At Marr's insistence, the band stuck with "Bigmouth Strikes Again": Marr preferred to release a more assertive single and liked the idea of releasing a single-calibre song as an album track on every Smiths album.
"Bigmouth Strikes Again" was released as a single in May 1986, with the non-album instrumental song "Money Changes Everything" as the B-side. Marr later reused the music from "Money Changes Everything" for
Bryan Ferry's 1987 hit single "
The Right Stuff", which featured new lyrics from Ferry.
The single version's sleeve cover contains a photograph of
James Dean
James Byron Dean (February 8, 1931September 30, 1955) was an American actor. He is remembered as a cultural icon of teenage disillusionment and social estrangement, as expressed in the title of his most celebrated film, ''Rebel Without a Cause' ...
by Nelva Jean Thomas. On the 12 single, the band quoted
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...
's famous line "Talent borrows, genius steals" on the runout groove.
The single reached number 26 in the UK.
[
]
A live version of the song appeared as the closing song on the band's only live album, ''
Rank''. Another live version, recorded at the Greek Theatre in
Berkeley
Berkeley most often refers to:
*Berkeley, California, a city in the United States
**University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California
* George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher
Berkeley may also refer ...
, California in August 1986, was released in 2017 to promote a collector's edition of ''The Queen Is Dead.''
Reception
"Bigmouth Strikes Again" has seen critical acclaim since its release. Decades later critic
Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, occ ...
of
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
would praise the song's "minor-key rush,"
while ''
Clash'' wrote that the song's "brash Stones-esque rock and sharp guitar lines still sound vital today."
''Far Out'' wrote that the song was "the perfect combination of Morrissey’s playful self-deprecating lyricism coupled with Johnny Marr’s ferociously upbeat riff which is a combination that many other acts have tried to replicate but nobody has managed to capture the magic that these two would create in their five active years together."
Several publications have ranked the song as one of the band's best songs. ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' ranked the song as the band's second best,
while ''NME'' named it the band's fourth best.
''
Paste'' called it the band's tenth best,
while ''Louder'' included it in their unranked top ten, writing, "This could be their most iconic song." ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' ranked it as the Smiths' 13th best, writing, Bigmouth' was the funniest song they'd ever done – that drum break alone is a comic masterpiece."
''
Consequence of Sound'' listed the song as the band's 19th best.
Track listing
Charts
Certifications
Cover versions
Treepeople version
Seattle-based, Idaho indie rock/grunge band
Treepeople
TreePeople is an educational and training environmental advocacy organization based in Los Angeles, California. The TreePeople organization advocates and works to support a sustainable urban ecosystems in the Greater Los Angeles area through e ...
covered "Bigmouth Strikes Again" on their 1992 double EP ''Something Vicious for Tomorrow/Time Whore,'' released by an independent Seattle label
C/Z Records
C/Z Records was a Seattle-based punk rock record label that was established in early 1985 by Chris Hanzsek and Tina Casale. It started with the release of '' Deep Six'' which collected the earliest recordings of what later came to be known as ...
. The Treepeople version changes the second line of the first verse from "When I said by rights you should be bludgeoned in your bed" to "When I said I am gonna miss you when you're dead." This version was notable for having been recorded by Seattle grunge pioneer/producer
Jack Endino of
Skin Yard, who had previously worked with
Mudhoney
Mudhoney is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1988, following the demise of Green River. Its members are singer and rhythm guitarist Mark Arm, lead guitarist Steve Turner, bassist Guy Maddison and drummer Dan Peters. Orig ...
,
Nirvana
( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...
and
Soundgarden
Soundgarden was an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1984 by singer and drummer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil (both of whom are the only members to appear in every incarnation of the band), and bassist Hiro Yamamo ...
, as well as having been mixed by Seattle production legend
Steve Fisk, known for his work with notable acts like Nirvana,
Screaming Trees
Screaming Trees was an American rock band formed in Ellensburg, Washington, in 1984 by vocalist Mark Lanegan, guitarist Gary Lee Conner, bass player Van Conner, and drummer Mark Pickerel. Pickerel had been replaced by Barrett Martin by the tim ...
,
Seaweed
Seaweed, or macroalgae, refers to thousands of species of macroscopic, multicellular, marine algae. The term includes some types of '' Rhodophyta'' (red), ''Phaeophyta'' (brown) and ''Chlorophyta'' (green) macroalgae. Seaweed species such as ...
,
The Afghan Whigs
The Afghan Whigs are an American rock band from Cincinnati, Ohio. They were active from 1986 to 2001 and have since reformed as a band. The group – with core members Greg Dulli (vocals, rhythm guitar), Rick McCollum (lead guitar), and John Cur ...
and
Love Battery
Love Battery was an American rock band from Seattle, Washington.
History
Love Battery was formed in 1989 by former rock band Room Nine leader Ron Nine (b. Ron Rudzitis), guitarist Kevin Whitworth (ex-Crisis Party), bassist Tommy "Bonehead" Simp ...
.
Placebo version
The song was covered in 1996 by alternative band
Placebo
A placebo ( ) is a substance or treatment which is designed to have no therapeutic value. Common placebos include inert tablets (like sugar pills), inert injections (like Saline (medicine), saline), sham surgery, and other procedures.
In general ...
, who were asked by the French magazine ''
Les Inrockuptibles'' to perform the song for the various artists compilation ''
The Smiths Is Dead''. This version changed the lyric "and her ''
Walkman
Walkman, stylised as , is a brand of portable audio players manufactured and marketed by Japanese technology company Sony since 1979. The original Walkman was a portable cassette player and its popularity made "walkman" an unofficial term for ...
'' started to melt'" to "and her Discman/Megadrive started to melt." Their rendition of the song also appeared as a
B-side
The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...
to "Nancy Boy", as well as on Disc 2 of the ''
Sleeping with Ghosts
''Sleeping with Ghosts'' is the fourth studio album by British alternative rock band Placebo. It was recorded from late 2002 to early 2003 and released on 1 April 2003 by record labels Virgin and Hut.
''Sleeping with Ghosts'' reached number 11 ...
'' special edition. ''Far Out'' described the band's version as "simply brilliant" and wrote, "
rian
RIA Novosti (russian: РИА Новости), sometimes referred to as RIAN () or RIA (russian: РИА, label=none) is a Russian state-owned domestic news agency. On 9 December 2013 by a decree of Vladimir Putin it was liquidated and its asset ...
Molko's vocal performance is both far removed and utterly akin to Morrissey's own performance, yet somehow Molko takes it to another level."
References
{{authority control
The Smiths songs
1986 singles
Songs written by Morrissey
Songs written by Johnny Marr
1986 songs
Rough Trade Records singles
UK Independent Singles Chart number-one singles