"Asleep" is a song by the English rock band the Smiths. It was released as a B-side to the single " The Boy with the Thorn in His Side" in September 1985, reaching No. 23 in the UK Singles Chart. It appears on the compilation albums ''

The World Won't Listen ''The World Won't Listen'' is a compilation album by English rock band the Smiths, released in the United Kingdom on 23 February 1987 by Rough Trade Records. The album is the second of three compilation albums—following ''Hatful of Hollow''� ...

'' and '' Louder Than Bombs'', and on the deluxe edition of '' The Queen Is Dead'' in 2017.

History

This song was only performed live once on 1 October 1985, at

Eden Court Eden Court Theatre (Scottish Gaelic: Cùirt an Easbaig) is a large theatre, cinema and arts venue situated in Inverness, Scotland close to the banks of the River Ness. The theatre has recently undergone a complete refurbishment and major exten ...

Inverness Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histori ...

, on the final day of their 1985 Scotland tour. A piano was found on stage during soundcheck and the venue management refused to move it off stage. Morrissey performed the song and by the end of it was centre stage in a

foetal position Fetal position ( British English: also foetal) is the positioning of the body of a prenatal fetus as it develops. In this position, the back is curved, the head is bowed, and the limbs are bent and drawn up to the torso. A compact position i ...

Track listing

The original 12-inch and CD singles have "Rubber Ring" and "Asleep" segued into a continuous piece with the voice sample at the end of the former looped and faded into the wind noise preceding the latter. Described by Simon Goddard (in ''Songs That Saved Your Life'', 2nd edition, p. 154) as a "spectacular combination" — a suggestion with which

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 ...

concurs — this carefully executed sequence could only be found on the original 12-inch and CD singles, before the 2017 release of the remaster/re-issue of '' The Queen Is Dead'', which includes the same songs with the same segue as tracks 10 and 11 (respectively) of its "Additional Recordings" bonus disc. The two tracks are separated on all other compilations.

Charts

Reception

Jack Rabid of Allmusic describes "Asleep" as "lullaby-ish", and the entire single as "great ... just another feather in a jeweled cap".

In popular culture

* Although "Asleep" did not appear on the original ''The Queen Is Dead'', it is referenced several times by the main character in Stephen Chbosky's 1999 novel '' The Perks of Being a Wallflower'', and was also featured in the book's

film adaptation A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dial ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Asleep The Smiths songs 1985 singles Songs written by Morrissey Songs written by Johnny Marr 1985 songs Rough Trade Records singles Songs about suicide Songs about sleep