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PAINT A VULGAR PICTURE Lyrics

Artist: The Smiths
Album: Strangeways, Here We Come

At the record company meeting
On their hands - a dead star
And oh, the plans they weave
And oh, the sickening greed

At the record company party
On their hands - a dead star
The sycophantic slags all say :
"I knew him first, and I knew him well"

Re-issue ! Re-package ! Re-package !
Re-evaluate the songs
Double-pack with a photograph
Extra Track (and a tacky badge)

A-list, playlist
"Please them , please them !"
"Please them !"
(sadly, THIS was your life)

But you could have said no
If you'd wanted to
You could have said no
If you'd wanted to

BPI, MTV, BBC
"Please them ! Please them !"
(sadly this was your life)

But you could have said no
If you'd wanted to
You could have walked away
...Couldn't you ?

I touched you at the soundcheck
You had no real way of knowing
In my heart I begged "Take me with you ...
I don't care where you're going..."

But to you I was faceless
I was fawning, I was boring
Just a child from those ugly new houses
Who could never begin to know

Who could never really know
Oh ...

Best of ! Most of !
Satiate the need
Slip them into different sleeves !
Buy both, and feel deceived

Climber - new entry, re-entry
World tour ! ("media whore")
"Please the Press in Belgium !"
(THIS was your life...)

And when it fails to recoup ?
Well, maybe :
You just haven't earned it yet, baby

I walked a pace behind you at the soundcheck
You're just the same as I am
What makes most people feel happy
Leads us headlong into harm

So, in my bedroom in those 'ugly new houses'
I danced my legs down to the knees
But me and my 'true love'
Will never meet again ...

At the record company meeting
On their hands - at last ! - a dead star !
But they can never taint you in my eyes
No, they can never touch you now

No, they cannot hurt you, my darling
They cannot touch you now
But me and my 'true love'
Will never meet again

Comments/Interpretations

by Sara on 9/6/2008 10:41pm
In case it wasn't already known, this song proves The Smiths are the greatest band.

by Mark on 1/26/2009 11:26am
Such incredible lyrics.

by Dennis on 2/21/2009 2:45am
Now that you mention it, it's worth noting I'm cutting and pasting the whole song for the purpose of it being a favorite quote of mine on my facebook profile.

by Perry on 5/23/2009 7:22pm
Amazing lyrics i love this song.
Although i maintain the best Smiths song is "There is a light that never goes out"

by Kari;D on 3/22/2010 2:33pm
i love this song from the smiths. LONG LIVE THE MOZ GOD...

by Morris of Vancouver on 4/13/2010 9:12pm
Another example of Morrissey's uncanny ability to sing my life.

by Boris on 12/3/2010 3:35pm
This song is about the late Ian Curtis of Joy Division. 25 years later and The Smith sound just as good, if not better.

by SamanthaNoel on 4/22/2011 3:15am
Hey Boris, not sure where you got that info from there, buddy- but this song is NOT about Ian Curtis. It is purportedly about Billy Fury (who is on that album's cover). In fact, in Moz's own words, speaking about seeing Joy Division right before Curtis died: "I saw them just before 'the death', and I was astonishingly unmoved, as was the audience." So he wasn't overly fond of Curtis, actually.

by steven o'brum on 3/27/2013 7:14am
Yes Billy Fury but could easily be bout Curtis or Amy Winehouse or any of a dozen others. Point is that nothing escapes the grasging cynicism of the 'free marketeer'. More relevant today than ever.