That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore

"That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore"
Single by The Smiths
from the album Meat Is Murder
Released	1 July 1985
Format	7" single, 12" single
Recorded	Autumn 1984
Genre	Alternative rock
Length	3:49 4:57 (12" single) 4:59 (album version)
Label	Rough Trade
Writer(s)	Johnny Marr Morrissey
Producer	The Smiths
The Smiths singles chronology
"Shakespeare's Sister" (1985) "That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore" (1985) "The Boy with the Thorn in His Side" (1985)

"That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore" is a song by British alternative rock band The Smiths. It appears on the album Meat Is Murder, the sole track from the album to be released as a UK promotional single. The song was composed by guitarist Johnny Marr and singer Morrissey.

The track has been cited by Marr as one of his favourites of The Smiths.

Lyrics and music

The song's narrative alludes to mockery of the lonely or suicidal, whom the narrator identifies with and champions in an exchange in a parked car. Disparity between literal and figurative meanings in some of the lyrics discourage a precise reading of the song. A sexual liaison "on cold leather seats" has been said to be sketchily implied. (Morrissey has been quoted as finding leather car seats "highly erotic".)

The song's waltz-time related signature and Marr's rhythm guitar, with strident chord changes (as exemplified by the song's opening figure), lend the music a sweeping emotive feel. The song's structure is notable for its uncommon ABCBC form. (Musically, the first verse is never repeated.)

Reception

For many critics the song is the focal point of Meat Is Murder. The music has been described as "a monolithic ballad of tender yet imposing grace; a score of unreserved, raw beauty that Morrissey dutifully complemented" and the song’s coda as containing "one of the most heart-rending vocal passages Morrissey has ever recorded."

The single was one of the lowest charting of The Smiths’, entering and peaking in the UK singles chart at no. 49. Its limited success has been said to be due to a lack of original studio material, the 7-inch version missing an instrumental coda and inadequate promotion, including a last-minute refusal by the band to perform on television show Wogan.

Conception

Morrissey disclosed to Melody Maker in 1985 that the song was a response to journalistic mockery of songwriting that dwelt "on the unhappy side of life" and to persistent attempts to expose him as a "fake." In 1998 Uncut reported rumours that the song's inspiration was an "'intimate friendship' with a journalist around 1984-5". According to Marr, the song's musical composition "just fell through the roof. It was one of those times when the feeling just falls down on you from the ceiling somewhere and it almost plays itself."

Track listing

7" RT186
No.	Title	Length
1.	"That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore" (edit)	3:49
2.	"Meat is Murder" (live)	5:34

12" RTT186
No.	Title	Length
1.	"That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore"	4:57
2.	"Nowhere Fast" (live)	2:31
3.	"Stretch Out and Wait" (live)	2:49
4.	"Shakespeare's Sister" (live)	2:12
5.	"Meat is Murder" (live)	5:34

Artwork and matrix message

The artwork for the single is taken from a still of a 1964 Russian film. It features a child actor, the uncropped original having also featured the child's mother. According to Morrissey, "The eyes are encrusted with hurt and premature wisdom". The image was sourced from a 1965 issue of a specialist film magazine.

The seven and 12-inch vinyl releases feature the matrix message "OUR SOULS OUR SOULS OUR SOULS" (7-inch A-side and B-side and 12-inch A-side). The Canadian 12-inch A-side features the message "HELEN WHEELS".

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