I Have Forgiven Jesus :: Morrissey

I have this deep, peculiar love for Morrissey, who unabashedly rips open his chest and lets whatever is in there fall out for the whole world to see, however weird or ugly it may be.

This song completely kills me every time I hear it. On first impression, one might think, oh my, is this sacrilege? Is this blasphemy, for a human to say he forgives Jesus??? But the lyrics are stunning. Morrissey laments the curse of being trapped in his body, in mortal flesh, when he is so much more than that. He feels cursed because he has so much love and desire inside of himself, but no way to let it out. He asks, "Why did you stick me in self-deprecating bones and skin? Jesus, do you hate me? Do you hate me?" Man, I love this guy. :-D

I was a good kid
I wouldn't do you no harm
I was a nice kid
With a nice paper-round
Forgive me any pain
I may have brung to you
With God's help I know
I'll always be near to you
But Jesus hurt me
When he deserted me, but

I have forgiven Jesus
For all the desire
He placed in me when there's nothing I can do
With this desire

I was a good kid
Through hail and snow I'd go
Just to moon you
I carried my heart in my hand
Do you understand?
Do you understand?
But Jesus hurt me
When he deserted me, but

I have forgiven Jesus
For all of the love
He placed in me
When there's no-one I can turn to with this love

Monday - humiliation
Tuesday - suffocation
Wednesday - condescension
Thursday - is pathetic
By Friday life has killed me
By Friday life has killed me

(Oh pretty one, Oh pretty one)

Why did you give me
So much desire?
When there is nowhere I can go
To offload this desire
And why did you give me
So much love
In a loveless world
When there's no one I can turn to
To unlock all this love
And why did you stick me in
Self-deprecating bones and skin
Jesus - do you hate me?
Why did you stick me in
Self-deprecating bones and skin
Do you hate me? do you hate me?
Do you hate me? do you hate me?
Do you hate me?

Irish Blood, English Heart :: Morrissey

I'm a completely unabashed Morrissey fan. I think it's because he's so introspective and self-exploring (or self-obsessed, however you think of it). He delves into every part of himself and somehow wrenches it into a song.

"Irish Blood, English Heart" is a pretty simple song at first. Morrissey's parents were Irish, but they moved to England, so he grew up English. He thinks about his country and his identity, and yearns for the day when "to be English...is not to be baneful..." Then the song gets more complex. It references a semi-scandal he was involved with back in the day. He posed for a cover of a music magazine with a British flag, and people attacked him for racism because of it. This totally hurt his feelings- why should posing next to a British flag be racist? Anyway, you can read more about "this charming man" (nudge, wink) by clicking HERE. I'll also include the Wikipedia for Oliver Cromwell HERE.

Irish blood, English heart, this I'm made of
There is no-one on earth I'm afraid of
And no regime can buy or sell me

I've been dreaming of a time when
To be English is not to be baneful
To be standing by the flag not feeling
Shameful, racist or partial

Irish blood, English heart, this I'm made of
There is no-one on earth I'm afraid of
And I will die with both my hands untied

I've been dreaming of a time when
The English are sick to death of Labour
And Tories, and spit upon the name of Oliver Cromwell
And denounce this royal line that still salute him
And will salute him forever