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The Boy with the Thorn in His Side

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Not to be confused with the film The Boy with a Thorn in His Side.

"The Boy with the Thorn in His Side"
Single by The Smiths
from the album The Queen Is Dead
B-side"Rubber Ring"
"Asleep"
Released16 September 1985
RecordedAugust 1985
StudioDrone Studios, Manchester
Genre
Length3:17 (single version)
3:15 (album version)
3:18 (alternate mix)
LabelRough Trade
Songwriter(s)Johnny Marr, Morrissey
Producer(s)The Smiths (single); Morrissey and Johnny Marr (album version)
The Smiths singles chronology
"That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore"
(1985) 		"The Boy with the Thorn in His Side"
(1985) 		"Bigmouth Strikes Again"
(1986)

"The Boy with the Thorn in His Side" is a song by the English rock band the Smiths. It was released as a single in September 1985, reaching No. 23 in the UK Singles Chart. A remixed version appeared on their third album The Queen Is Dead in June 1986.

This was the first single by The Smiths to be accompanied by a promotional music video, something the band had previously resisted. They also performed the song on an episode of Top of the Pops. The main difference between the single version and the album version is in the use of synthesised strings, which are absent from the single version. In 2003, Morrissey named it his favourite Smiths song.[2]

Background

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Margi Clarke asked Morrissey if this song was inspired by Oscar Wilde, and Morrissey replied: "No, that's not true. The thorn is the music industry and all those people who never believed anything I said, tried to get rid of me and wouldn't play the records. So I think we've reached a stage where we feel: if they don't believe me now, will they ever believe me? What more can a poor boy do?"[3]

Track listing

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7" RT191
No.TitleLength
1."The Boy with the Thorn in His Side"3:17
2."Asleep"4:09
12" RTT191
No.TitleLength
1."The Boy with the Thorn in His Side"3:17
2."Rubber Ring/Asleep"7:56
CD Single RTT191
No.TitleLength
1."The Boy with the Thorn in His Side"3:17
2."Rubber Ring"3:48
3."Asleep"4:10

The original 12" and CD singles have "Rubber Ring" and "Asleep" segued into a continuous piece with the voice sample at the end of the former looped and faded into the wind noise preceding the latter. Described by Simon Goddard (in Songs That Saved Your Life, 2nd edition, p. 154) as a "spectacular combination" — a suggestion with which Johnny Marr concurs — this carefully executed sequence could only be found on the original 12" single, before the 2017 release of the remaster/re-issue of The Queen Is Dead, which includes the same songs with the same segue as tracks 10 and 11 (respectively) of its "Additional Recordings" bonus disc. The two tracks are separated on all other compilations.

Artwork and matrix message

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The jumping man on the sleeve cover of the single release is a young Truman Capote.

The British 7" and 12" versions contain the etchings: ARTY BLOODY FARTY/IS THAT CLEVER...JM. "Is that clever" is an allusion to a piece of sampled dialogue in "Rubber Ring" taken from The Importance of Being Earnest, a play that was referenced in the etchings of "William, It Was Really Nothing" and Hatful of Hollow. "JM" is a reference to Johnny Marr, and was also an etching on the Sandie Shaw version of "Hand in Glove".

Charts

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Chart (1985) Peak
position
Ireland (IRMA) 15
UK Singles (The Official Charts Company) 23

Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[4] Silver 200,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[5]

Jack Rabid of Allmusic called this single "great ... just another feather in a jeweled cap".[5]

Cover versions

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The song was covered by Scottish band Bis on the tribute album The Smiths Is Dead. Reviewer Stephen Thomas Erlewine harshly criticised the cover, writing: "Bis utterly disembowel 'The Boy with the Thorn in His Side' with a single-minded stupidity that is just bewildering."[6]

A cover version recorded by Jeff Buckley in 1993 was distributed by Columbia Records as a 7" in 2016.[7]

American indie rock bands Jejune and Lazycain released a split EP together in 1999 where they each covered Smiths songs; Jejune covered "The Boy with the Thorn in His Side", Lazycain covered "Handsome Devil".[8]

The song was additionally covered by Belle & Sebastian, Scott Matthews, Emilie Autumn, Xiu Xiu, Dinosaur Jr's J Mascis and The Cat Empire[9] in live performances.[citation needed]

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References

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  1. ^ Molanphy, Chris (31 October 2019). "The Lost and Lonely Edition". Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia (Podcast). Slate. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  2. ^ Reardon, Ben (July 2003). "Morrissey i-Q". i-D Magazine. London.
  3. ^ The Tube (UK, Channel 4), Season 4, Episode 3: 25 October 1985
  4. ^ "British single certifications – Smiths – The Boy With The Thorn In His Side". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
  5. ^ a b Rabid, Jack. "The Boy with the Thorn in His Side Review". Allmusic. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
  6. ^ The Smiths Is Dead album review, allmusic, The Boy with the Thorn in His Side at AllMusic
  7. ^ Jeff Buckley - The Boy With The Thorn In His Side b/w If You Knew (Live At Café Sin-é), 2016, retrieved 28 November 2023
  8. ^ Jejune / Lazycain - The Boy With The Thorn In His Side / Handsome Devil, 1999, retrieved 28 November 2023
  9. ^ "Konzert im Kölner Palladium - Musik für die gute Laune". General-Anzeiger Bonn (in German). 12 November 2018. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  10. ^ "Blackpool – an original six-part drama serial for BBC ONE". BBC Press Office. 21 October 2004.
  11. ^ "The Perks of Being a Wallflower: A look at which of the book's cultural references show up in the movie". The Washington Post. 28 September 2012.
  12. ^ "Production notes" (PDF). suckerpunchmovie.warnerbros.com. p. 15.
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