"Ouija Board, Ouija Board" is a song by English singer-songwriter

Morrissey Steven Patrick Morrissey ( ; born 22 May 1959), known :wikt:mononym, mononymously 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 198 ...

, released as a single in November 1989. The track appears along with its B-side "Yes, I Am Blind" on the compilation album '' Bona Drag''. A shorter edit, omitting a verse, appeared on the 2010 reissue of ''Bona Drag''. The single was poorly received by the music press and the public; its highest position on the UK Singles Chart was 18, making it the first solo Morrissey single not to reach the top 10. "Yes, I Am Blind" was composed by Morrissey's ex- Smiths partner

Andy Rourke Andrew Michael Rourke (17 January 1964 – 19 May 2023) was an English musician best known as the bassist of the 1980s indie rock band the Smiths. Regarded as one of the greatest bassists of his generation, he was known for his melodic and funk- ...

, and the picture on the sleeve was taken by

Anton Corbijn Anton Johannes Gerrit Corbijn van Willenswaard (; born 20 May 1955) is a Dutch photographer, film director, and music video director. He is the creative director behind the visual output of Depeche Mode and U2,Pitman, Joanna"The silent partner" ...

. In the song, a protagonist uses a

Ouija The Ouija ( , ), also known as a Ouija board, spirit board, talking board, or witch board, is a flat board marked with the letters of the Latin alphabet, the numbers 0–9, the words "yes", "no", and occasionally "hello" and "goodbye", along ...

board to contact a dead friend, who responds to him. During the era of song's release, the press claimed that it promoted

occult The occult () is a category of esoteric or supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of organized religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving a 'hidden' or 'secret' agency, such as magic and mysti ...

dabbling or

Satanism Satanism refers to a group of religious, ideological, or philosophical beliefs based on Satan—particularly his worship or veneration. Because of the ties to the historical Abrahamic religious figure, Satanism—as well as other religious ...

Lyrical content

The song is about the protagonist using a

board to contact a dead friend, who tells him to "push off" ("push oof" in some renditions). It caused some debate in the press at the time over claims it promoted

dabbling or devil worship. Morrissey replied to these claims by retorting: "The only contact I ever made with the dead was when I spoke to a journalist from ''

The Sun The Sun is the star at the centre of the Solar System. It is a massive, nearly perfect sphere of hot Plasma (physics), plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core, radiating the energy from its surface mainly as ...

''."Rogan, Johnny Morrissey - The Album, p. 157

Critical reception

Ian McCann in ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' gave the single a poor review, describing the record as a "dull, fey whine that would never see release unless the singer had a track record".NME Ouija Board Review
/ref> In a retrospective review, Ned Raggett of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

described the lead track as "a weird semi-anthem that almost works" but praised its B-side "Yes, I Am Blind", calling it "a restrained but sharp performance, while the tearjerker-into-glam music is quite lovely."

Music video

The video for the song, directed by

Tim Broad Tim Broad (1955–1993) was a British music video director, best known for his work with the singer Morrissey. In a 1990 interview, he was described as Morrissey's closest friend. Broad directed the video for The Smiths' songs "Girlfriend in a ...

, features Morrissey being led into the woods by some children who take him to see a

spirit medium Mediumship is the practice of purportedly mediating communication between familiar spirits or spirits of the dead and living human beings. Practitioners are known as "mediums" or "spirit mediums". There are different types of mediumship or spir ...

, played by

Joan Sims Irene Joan Marion Sims (9 May 1930 – 27 June 2001) was an English actress and comedienne, best remembered for her roles in the ''Carry On'' franchise, appearing in 24 of the films (the most for any actress). On television, she is known for ...

, the British actress best known for her appearances in the '' Carry On'' film series. The video also features an early appearance by

Kathy Burke Katherine Lucy Bridget Burke (born 13 June 1964) is an English actress and comedian. She appeared in sketch shows such as '' French and Saunders'' (1988–1999), played a recurring role as Magda on the BBC sitcom '' Absolutely Fabulous'' (1992� ...

. It was filmed on location in and around the

Elizabethan The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The Roman symbol of Britannia (a female per ...

house Hook End Manor in

Checkendon Checkendon is a village and civil parish about west of Henley-on-Thames in South Oxfordshire and about north west of Reading in Berkshire on a mid-height swathe of the Chilterns. History The parish records exist from the 7th century. The vi ...

, Oxfordshire, the residential studio where the song was also recorded. The video ranked third on ''Pulp Magazine''s "Most Tweaked Music Videos of All Time" list.PULP Magazine
/ref>

Live performances

Morrissey performed the song live on the 1999–2000 ¡Oye Esteban! tour. The song's distinctive introduction and end sequence had been used to bookend performances of " November Spawned a Monster" during the 1992 tour.

Track listings

7-inch, POP 1622 (UK) 12-inch, 12 POP 1622, CD, POP 1622 (UK)

Musicians

* Morrissey: voice * Kevin Armstrong: guitar *

Kirsty MacColl Kirsty Anna MacColl (, ; 10 October 1959 – 18 December 2000) was a British singer and songwriter. The 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 ...

: backing vocals * Andrew Paresi: drums *

Matthew Seligman Matthew Seligman (14 July 1955 – 17 April 2020) was an English bassist, best known for his association with the new wave music scene of the 1980s. Seligman was a member of the Soft Boys and the Thompson Twins, and was a sideman for Thomas ...

: bass * Steve Hopkins: piano

Charts

References

{{Authority control 1989 songs 1989 singles Morrissey songs His Master's Voice singles Songs about death Song recordings produced by Alan Winstanley Song recordings produced by Clive Langer Songs written by Morrissey Songs written by Stephen Street Ouija