The boy with the thorn in his side
Behind the hatred there lies
A plundering desire for love
How can they see the Love in our eyes
And still they don't believe us ?
And after all this time
They don't want to believe us
And if they don't believe us now
Will they ever believe us ?
And when you want to Live
How do you start ?
Where do you go ?
Who do you need to know ?
Oh ...
Oh no ...
Oh ...
La ...
Paul Schuegraf has this to say :
"I always thought that it was a comment on his status as an artist - the boy with the thorn is Morrissey, the thorn is related to problems with his parents or relationships (people who have these problems often have "thorns in their side"). But beneath this there is this love which I think many artists of Morrissey's calibre carry for humanity in general. Thus the 'how can they see the love' refers to this - how can the media see the passion which he poured into his songs and his live performances but question his sincerity (among other things). 'If they don't believe me now...' reminds me of Don McLean's Vincent - 'they weren't listening then, they're not listening still, perhaps they never will' - also an 'artist' song.
The second verse where it changes from singular to plural - 'how can they', is simply an expansion to the position of artists in general, perhaps commenting that all artists have thorns in their side? The final four lines, 'If you want to Live', could refer to the artists desire to lose the thorn and begin a simpler life while showing that he knows nothing about it - this is the way he is - by his utter confusion 'Who do you need to know?'. Or it could refer to the response by people who are touched by the artists message who desire to 'Live'."
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