The Ordinary Boys
| MORRISSEY song | |
|---|---|
| Name | The Ordinary Boys |
| Album/single | Viva Hate |
| Length | 3:10 |
| Writer/composer | Morrissey/Street |
| Producer | Stephen Street |
| Release | March 1988 |
| Recorded | Autumn-Winter 1987 |
Information
The Ordinary Boys is a song that appears on Morrissey's debut album, Viva Hate. It was co-written and produced by Stephen Street.
Recording
Recording for Viva Hate commenced at The Wool Hall studios in Bath, England in early October and would last until late December. Street recruited Durutti Column guitarist Vini Reilly and session drummer Andrew Paresi to back Morrissey, with Street himself taking over bass duties.
Release
Viva Hate was was released on 14 March 1988 by HMV Records and debuted at #1 on the UK charts.
Re-releases
EMI, in celebration of their 100th anniversary, released a special edition of Viva Hate in the UK in 1997. In addition to featuring brand new artwork, including a new cover shot by Eamonn McCabe, the Centenary Edition features 8 bonus tracks — only one of which was contemporaneous with the album. Surprisingly, "Hairdresser On Fire" does not appear on this version despite originally appearing on the North American version of the album as a bonus track.
On 02 April 2012, a newly remastered special edition of Viva Hate, supervised by Stephen Street, was released. Controversially, Morrissey chose to omit one of the album's original tracks, "The Ordinary Boys," and include the session demo "Treat Me Like A Human Being." In addition to the track list changes, the intro and extended fadeout of "Late Night, Maudlin Street" has been edited. The original album artwork was restored for this release, however, the typeface font on the front cover has been changed, as was the case with the 2011 Bona Drag remaster.
Lyrics
Ordinary boys Happy knowing nothing Happy being no one but themselves
Ordinary girls Supermarket clothes Who think it's very clever to be cruel to you
For you were so different You stood all alone And you knew that it had to be so Avoiding...
Ordinary boys Happy going nowhere Just around here in their rattling cars
Ordinary girls Never seeing further than the cold, small streets that trap them
But you were so different You had to say no When those empty fools Tried to change you and claim you For the lair of their ordinary world
Where they feel so lucky So lucky, so lucky With their lives laid out before them They're lucky, so lucky So lucky, so lucky So...
Live History
Play count (Morrissey concert): 0
Appears On
Mentioned In
Related Forum Threads
- Morrissey A-Z: "(The) Ordinary Boys" - Morrissey-solo (Jul 11, 2021)