Lyrics (Over)Analysis – Rubber Ring by The Smiths

The Smiths developed a reputation of attracting a fan base of lonely socially awkward teenagers that used The Smiths as a sort of therapy for their own problems because they were able to relate to his introspective lyrics.  There was a criticism of the The Smiths that their target audience are immature teenagers and that once those teenagers grew up and overcome their shyness and get laid, they will no longer need The Smiths and the band will become obsolete. This song explores the phenomenon that adults tend to think of troubles they suffer as kids and as adolescent as trivial and now they are more “clever” then that.

Cleverly enough Morrissey decided to satirically write about this phenomenon and this song is about Morrissey lamenting the fans “growing up” and abandoning The Smiths when they no longer needed the band as therapy. I have to say it’s one of the things I like about Morrissey and The Smiths that elevate them above other mope-rockers is that they have a sense of humour albeit a self-mocking one. This is probably my favorite Smith song in terms of quality of the lyrics.

“A sad fact widely known
The most impassionate song
To a lonely soul
Is so easily outgrown”

The song starts off with Morrissey acknowledging that even the greatest song that speaks for the lonely broken hearted person will become obsolete when the person becomes happy.

“But don't forget the songs
That made you smile
And the songs that made you cry
When you lay in awe
On the bedroom floor
And said : "Oh, oh, smother me Mother..."”

This is Morrissey pleading to his fan base not to forget him and his songs and remember the times when they were depressed lying on the floor listening to ‘I Know It’s Over” with awe (smother me mother is a reference to that song from Queen Is Dead album which is probably known as one of his most emotionally dramatic song of his career).

“No...
Rubber ring, rubber ring, rubber ring, rubber ring
La...”

I interpret that the ring in the chorus is used to symbolise a wedding ring. This is recognizing the loyalty that the fan has with their favourite group to be akin to a marriage. However because the ring is made out of rubber which I believe is connected to the ring-shaped flotation device that was originally made out of rubber that prevented people from drowning.  Essentially this is a disposable ring that may save the lives of the fan but the fans will eventually discard and dispose when it is no longer useful to them once they have grown up.

“The passing of time
And all of its crimes
Is making me sad again
The passing of time
And all of its sickening crimes
Is making me sad again”

The passage of time will make Morrissey to remain cynical and sad as he considers the fan that “grows out” of the music to be considered a betrayal or a “sickening crime”. As all his fans will eventually move on, he will always remain the same.

“But don't forget the songs
That made you cry
And the songs that saved your life
Yes, you're older now
And you're a clever swine
But they were the only ones who ever stood by you”

This is another plea from Morrissey to his fan that even though the fan is now older, wiser and “clever” and more emotionally stable, that they should always keep his songs close to their hearts because those were the songs that stood by them and “saved” their lives  when life was rough.

“The passing of time leaves empty lives
Waiting to be filled (the passing...)
The passing of time
Leaves empty lives
Waiting to be filled

I'm here with the cause
I'm holding the torch
In the corner of your room
Can you hear me?”

However despite the passage of time leading to people growing out of listening to The Smiths, the passing of time also leaves a new generation of depressed lonely socially awkward people needing their lives to be fulfilled by someone that can empathized with them. Morrissey will always be available to comfort the new generation of fans and will hold the flame for every generation of socially awkward youths.

“And when you're dancing and laughing
And finally living
Hear my voice in your head
And think of me kindly”

He is reminding the people that when the depressed socially awkward fans finally recover to be happy with their lives to continue to remember and honour Morrissey for keeping thems afloat when times were tough.

“Do you
Love me like you used to?
Oh...
Rubber ring, rubber ring, rubber ring, rubber ring
La...”

Morrissey then emotionally pleads to the fans that grew out of him whether they still love him and then lament that his songs are just the rubber ring to the fans. Just like previous Smiths songs cover the topics of shyness and social rejection and isolation, this song is about the isolation and rejection he feels about fans who previously had kinship and related with him.

“You're clever
Everybody's clever nowadays”

The audio sample plays over Morrissey lament over the chorus snidely remarking that everybody is clever, too clever for The Smiths when the teenager becomes adults.

“You are sleeping
You do not want to believe”

The song end with an enigmatic sample from an LP "Breakthrough: An Amazing Experiment In Electronic Communication With The Dead" by Latvian psychologist Konstantin Raudive that supposedly is translation of people who hear from the dead. I interpret the last line of the typical Smiths fan who do not believe in themselves and are waiting to be “awaken” by The Smiths and eventually grow out of the group.

Lyrics (Over)Analysis - This Charming Man By The Smiths

This time I am analysing the lyrics of The Smiths which is a band that has my favourite lyricist in Morrissey. The song I'm analysing is This Charming Man where you can hear the song above.

Just remember that when I'm interpreting lyrics from songs not written by me, I'm not saying my interpretation are an objective truth or that my interpretation matches the lyricist himself. This is just how I choose to perceived the lyrics to be about. I'm quite sure that Morrissey probably has different opinion on what the song is about.

I interpret that this song is about a homosexual man who is confused over his own identity and then met "this charming man" who helped him become comfortable with it.

I believe this song has beautiful and funny lyrics

A punctured bicycle
On a hillside desolate
Will nature make a man of me yet ?

I interpret that the punctured bicycle on a hillside desolate implies that the main protagonist feels lost and isolated.

When he cursed nature to make a man of him, he is implying that his feeling of lost and isolation is due to his homosexuality and he is blaming nature for making him that and wished that nature turn him into a normal straight man.

When in this charming car
This charming man

However he sees a charming man drives in like a knight in shiny armour to save the day

Why pamper life's complexity
When the leather runs smooth
On the passenger seat ?

Maybe this interpretation reveals more about my sick mind then the song itself. However I see it as a humorous comment that means, why worry about life's complex problem (why pamper life's complexity) when you can have sex on the smooth passenger seat of a luxury car. I admit that this interpretation would have made more sense if he wrote "When the leather runs smooth on the BACK seat" which is the seat more associated with that act. However this is my interpretation and it makes me laugh when I hear that line even if it may not be the true meaning. 

I would go out tonight
But I haven't got a stitch to wear
This man said "It's gruesome that someone so handsome should care"

This is probably my favourite line of the song. The protagonist was worried about going out when he hasn't got any decent clothes to wear and is self conscious about his appearance (if we follow this song from Hand In Glove, the protagonist is probably dressed in rags as well).

However the charming man reassures him that he is too handsome to care about the clothes he wear.

From personal experience, I have met certain girls who put so much effort on the type of clothes they wear and get so anxious about their appearance when it seems like they would look good wearing anything even if they were dressed in rags (That's an interesting line to used "It's gruesome that someone so pretty should care"). So this line has always resonated with me and it's a beautiful line.

A jumped up pantry boy
Who never knew his place

This was actually a quote from a movie called "Sleuth" that was used when a wealthy class man described a poorer person derogatively who was disobeying him by saying he just a pantry boy (which is the lowest of house servant) who is behaving outside his own social status and class. So it does establish that the protagonist is just a poor boy (albeit a rebellious one). Although originally the quote "who never knew his place" was originally meant that the person didn't know their social status. In the context of this song, this means that the main character did not know his place with his own sexuality.

He said "return the ring"
He knows so much about these things
He knows so much about these things

The charming man than tells the protogonist to return the ring. Marriage is an exclusive domain of heterosexuality in most parts of the world and I believe this line symbolises the charming man telling him to reject heterosexuality and be comfortable with himself. The main protagonist admires the charming man for knowing so much about this issue.

So that's my opinion on what "This Charming Man" by The Smiths was about. Feel free to offer your own interpretations.