Our Frank (single)

Cover art

US cover art

MORRISSEY Single
Name	Our Frank
Release	4 February 1991
Total Length	3:25
Recorded	Autumn-Winter 1990
Writer/composer	Morrissey / Mark E. Nevin
Producer	Clive Langer Alan Winstanley
Art work	Photo: Pennie Smith Art work: Jo Slee Sleeve: Terrace Stomp
Vinyl Etching	FREE RON, FREE REG (7" A-side) DRUNKER QUICKER (7" B-side) FREE REG, FREE RON (12" A-side) DRUNKER QUICKER (12" B-side)
Publisher	HMV Records (UK) Sire Records (US)
Format(s)	7" Vinyl, 12" Vinyl, CD
Chart position	UK #26
Single chronology
Piccadilly Palare ← Our Frank → Sing Your Life

Information

Features Seamus Beaghen on piano.

Track list

7" Vinyl

[HMV POP1625]

1. Our Frank – 3:25 (Morrissey/Nevin)
2. Journalists Who Lie – 4:10 (Morrissey/Nevin)

12" Vinyl

UK - [HMV 12POP1625]
US - [Sire/Reprise 9 40043-0]

1. Our Frank – 3:25
2. Journalists Who Lie – 4:10
3. Tony The Pony – 4:11 (Morrissey/Nevin)

CD

UK - [HMV CDPOP1625]
US - [Sire/Reprise 9 40043-2]

1. Our Frank – 3:25
2. Journalists Who Lie – 4:10
3. Tony The Pony – 4:11

Lyrics

Our frank and open
Deep conversations
They get me nowhere
They bring me down, so
Give it a rest, won't you?
Give me a cigarette
God give me patience
Just no more conversation

Give us a drink
And make it quick
Or else I'm gonna be sick
Sick all over
Your frankly vulgar
Red pullover
Now see how the colours blend

Our frank and open
Deep conversations
They get me nowhere
They just bring me down, so
Give it a rest, won't you?
Now will you just give over
The world may be ending
But look, I'm only human

So Give us a drink
And make it quick
Or else I'm gonna be sick
All over
Your frankly vulgar
Red pullover
Now see how the two colours blend
My friend
Won't somebody...

...Won't somebody stop me
From thinking, from thinking all the time
About everything
Oh, somebody
From thinking all the time
So deeply
So bleakly
So bleakly all the time
About everything?
(Who I am)
(How I end up here)
(Somebody, somebody, somebody...)
Somebody stop me
From thinking
From thinking all the time
So bleakly, so bleakly
From thinking all the time

Sleeve Artwork

• 

  Original cover art (1991)

• 

  US CD cover art (1991)

Music Video

Credits

• Directed by James Maybury

Live History

Play count (Morrissey concert): 112

Morrissey live history:

• Dublin, Ireland 1991-04-27 (Morrissey concert)
• Paris, France 1991-04-29 (Morrissey concert)
• Deinze, Belgium 1991-04-30 (Morrissey concert)
• Utrecht, Holland 1991-05-01 (Morrissey concert)
• Cologne, Germany 1991-05-04 (Morrissey concert)
• Berlin, Germany 1991-05-05 (Morrissey concert)
• Hamburg, Germany 1991-05-06 (Morrissey concert)
• Copenhagen, Denmark 1991-05-07 (Morrissey concert)
• Aberdeen, Scotland 1991-05-14 (Morrissey concert)
• San Diego, California 1991-05-30 (Morrissey concert)

... further results

Appears On

• Our Frank (single)
• Kill Uncle
• Live In Dallas
• Your Arsenal
• Suedehead: The Best Of Morrissey
• The CD Singles '88–91'
• The HMV/Parlophone Singles '88–'95

Discogs Information

Credits

• Bass [Basses] - Mark Bedford
• Coordinator [Art Co-ordination], Artwork [Art Co-ordination] - Jo Slee
• Design [Sleeve Design], Sleeve [Sleeve Design] - Terrace Stomp
• Drums - Andrew Paresi
• Engineer [Assistant Engineers] - Paul Mortimer
• Engineer [Assistant Engineers] - Simon Metcalf
• Guitar [Guitars] - Mark E Nevin
• Harmonium - Steve Heart
• Layout - Designland
• Photography By [Photograph] - Pennie Smith
• Piano - Seamus Beaghen
• Producer [Produced By] - Clive Langer & Alan Winstanley
• Violin - Nawazish Ali Khan
• Written-By - Mark E Nevin
• Written-By - Morrissey
• Written-By - Stephen Street

Notes

Presented in a side opening gloss sleeve, spine with text. Side A lyrics printed on reverse. Came with a black poly-lined inner sleeve. Durations not printed on labels or cover.

Sleeve printed in England. Manufactured in England [printed on cover back] Made in Gt. Britain [printed on labels]

Publishers: A, B2: Warner Chappell Music Ltd/Copyright Control B1: Warner Chappell Music Ltd/Virgin Music (Publishers) Ltd

Runouts are stamped except for “free Reg, free Ron” and “DRUNKER QUICKER”, which are etched.

Images

• Our Frank - Discogs master release: https://www.discogs.com/master/5179
• Our Frank (12" 45 RPM Single) - Discogs release: https://www.discogs.com/release/492792-Morrissey-Our-Frank

Wikipedia Information

"Our Frank" is a song by Morrissey, released as a single in February 1991. It was the first single taken from the Kill Uncle album. It was also the first of his collaborations with Mark Nevin to be released. The single reached number 26 in the UK Singles Chart. This was the lowest any Morrissey single had charted since his first release "Suedehead" in 1988. The accompanying video shows Morrissey surrounded by skinheads in a park: the video was not included on the 1992 The Malady Lingers On video compilation. Despite its title, the song lyrics are not about a person named Frank, but rather they describe "frank and open, deep conversations" that get Morrissey nowhere and leave him disheartened. Throughout the song he complains about his frustration, asking his conversation partner to stop and uncharacteristically demanding cigarettes and alcohol to get through the dross. The final verse, however, sees Morrissey singing "Won't somebody stop me from thinking? From thinking all the time, about everything. So deeply, so bleakly..." indicating that the conversations he so dreads are in fact with himself. This introspective twist gives the song a hit of Morrissey's wry wit, but at the same time it displays the dark uniqueness that pervades the album. The lyrics of "Our Frank", along with the brooding music and strange production (Morrissey's voice is overdubbed and echoed) offer some insight into why the album was poorly received and also why some of the songs have become particularly popular with fans.

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Frank

Related Forum Threads

• Morrissey A-Z: "Our Frank" - Morrissey-solo (Jul 13, 2021)