Lyrics (Over)Analysis - Everyday Is Like Sunday by Morrissey

This song is often one of the examples used to demonstrate Morrissey miserable nature and whilst I would certainly say that reputation is somewhat deserved, I don’t believe that completely captures the message of the song. Usually the line “Everyday is silent and grey” is often the line that is focus on to show his miserable nature but I think that is quite deceptive

This song was inspired by Morrissey visited a seaside resort and thought it was terrible idea for a holiday resort to be based in England due to the infamous English weather where normally it is “silent and grey” This context adds a certain dark humour to the song about spending time in a british holiday resort on the beach marred by terrible weather wishing for the town to be nuked to end the drabness of the experience.

However the one thing people often overlook when discussing this song is the title. If you notice the song is called “Everyday Is Like Sunday” not “Every Day Is Like Sunday” and the fact that everyday isn’t separated is done deliberately.  Singing, “Every Day is like Sunday, every day is silent and grey” would be a hymn to miserable depressing life where every single day of life is terrible without a light at the end of the tunnel.

However “Everyday is Silent and Grey” doesn’t project that message and is a clever switch by Morrissey.  Everyday is defined as “the ordinary or routine day or occasion”. This song isn’t telling people that every single day is silent and grey but is essentially having message that the routine normalcy of life is silent and grey.

If that’s what the line says then perhaps the message is actually a more optimistic calling people to not behave, dress, think and live in such an everyday manner as life would be dull if everyone was like that. Perhaps this song is call to arms of a free-spirited mentality by depicting the drudgery of the outcome of “everyday” mentality. The call for the nuclear bomb is less of a call for wishing you were dead to but a rather dark humour call for something exciting to break the tedium of "everyday" life .

This song plays with the expectation of mopey and miserable Morrissey and the downtempo music adds to that vibe. The song was deliberately written for people to misinterpret it to be how "every day is silent and grey"  but with just a single change in word from Every Day to Everyday Morrissey subverts that expectation in a clever way.