The Smiths A-Z: "Accept Yourself"

[Gregor Samsa]

Ah, finally! The Smiths A-Z! This forum’s been barren since the Moz A-Z ended.

As for Accept Yourself, it’s great. Of course it’s great. Not in my Smiths top 10, but still great. The music and the tune does the job perfectly, but it’s the words that take home the cake. Like someone said, young people will be returning to these lyrics for decades after Moz and most of us are gone. They speak of the timeless, endless plight of the sensitive youth.

 

[Mayfly]

Welcome back A to Z.
I hope young people will continue to discover these songs and find strengt and support in these words, like we did. I was 14 when this one came out. I liked (and still like) a lot of the music made in the 80s in Britain, this one being no exceptionn to that rul. But it are the personal and reflective words that set them apart from most of their peer.
A good appetizer for what was to follow.

 

[Vegan Cro Spirit .777]

lyrical and melody masterpiece by Moz

 

[The Wild Turkey]

Know just what Moz was gettin' at when he said Accept Yourself.
Still remember standin' yonder over Boon Holler and bein'
mesmerized by the natural beauty and energized by the sweet
sounds and knowin' right then and there that I was the tender
bird of wonder Wild T!

 

[morrisseys_gardner]

forever classic. essential.

 

[Amy]

My least favourite Smiths song and one I never listen to these days. "Least favourite" as is far as I can go though, because I love them all to some extent or other.

others conquered love, but I ran...
I sat in my room and I drew up a plan
oh but plans can fall through and so often they do
and time is against me now

 

[Mike Rourke]

This is going to be a lot easier than the solo A-Z.

Accept Yourself = Heart rendering excellence.

..and EVERYthing she wants costs money.

Everything she wants may indeed cost money, but not too sure of the relevance to this song!
I agree, though, that Accept Yourself is indeed excellent along with 13 of the other 15 songs on Hatful...

 

[Mike Rourke]

My least favourite Smiths song and one I never listen to these days. "Least favourite" as is far as I can go though, because I love them all to some extent or other.

others conquered love, but I ran...
I sat in my room and I drew up a plan
oh but plans can fall through and so often they do
and time is against me now

Blimey! Worse than Miserable Lie?
Those are indeed great lines although seems odd now that a 24 year old would sing that time was against him.

 

[Amy]

Blimey! Worse than Miserable Lie?
Those are indeed great lines although seems odd now that a 24 year old would sing that time was against him.

Miserable Lie is brilliant!

 

[That's Enough For Me]

Everything she wants may indeed cost money, but not too sure of the relevance to this song!
I agree, though, that Accept Yourself is indeed excellent along with 13 of the other 15 songs on Hatful...

That's because I had Girl Afraid in my head when posting.

When we get to Girl Afraid, I'll write a review of Accept Yourself

 

[Deleted member 30524]

When leaving school May 84 I heard the First album By the Smiths And was well into HOH at my place of work.
Accept yourself was the stand out for me, with so many lyrics that seemed to be about just ME.

One of the greatest songs
By the Smiths.

I will never tire of this song

10/10

 

[Who Rattled Your Cage]

With the passing of time, if you look at these lyrics now, they almost feel like juvenilia - like a young writer trying to figure out how best to use his talents. They're not terribly sophisticated. BUT: when you marry a simple lyric like:

Others conquered love - but I ran
I sat in my room and I drew up a plan
Oh, but plans can fall through (as so often they do)
And time is against me now...

with Morrissey's 1983 singing style, it still pierces my heart, almost 40 years later. Lonely teenagers will stumble across this song, decades from now when Morrissey's long gone, and will marvel at its desperate sense of yearning.

Must admit, I think that those are amongst Moz's best lyrics right there. The sadness, wistfulness, ruefulness, the recognition of the oncoming fullness of time ruining potential future sexual and/or relationship choices...really says a lot in just thirty-four words. Oceans of heartache and (lack of) life experience behind them. Flawless and faultless.

 

[Irvine Waters]

With the passing of time, if you look at these lyrics now, they almost feel like juvenilia - like a young writer trying to figure out how best to use his talents. They're not terribly sophisticated. BUT: when you marry a simple lyric like:

Others conquered love - but I ran
I sat in my room and I drew up a plan
Oh, but plans can fall through (as so often they do)
And time is against me now...

with Morrissey's 1983 singing style, it still pierces my heart, almost 40 years later. Lonely teenagers will stumble across this song, decades from now when Morrissey's long gone, and will marvel at its desperate sense of yearning.

The guitar during that particular passage is simply exquisite.

 

[bhops]

The first album I ever bought on the recommendation of an older friend who I thought was a pretty cool dude was Hatful of Hollow. Listening to it, everything about it was so different to all the other stuff I was listening to in 1986. The first song that really 'broke through' for me was this one, the lyrics spoke directly to how I was feeling about my life at the time, right down to not wearing the right shoes. The melancholic beauty of these lyrics still leave me with a lump in my throat.

 

[Dirk Blaggard]

a friend calls this era the "magical era" I thought he was being dumb. The more I think about it the more I know he is right.
M was pure magic around this time. He tapped into something so powerful.
This is a slight song but it doesn't matter, its still spell binding. Most people would have no career acting like M has for years. he still has one, because of the lives he changed with these spells