Alsatian Cousin
| MORRISSEY song | |
|---|---|
| Name | Alsatian Cousin |
| Album/single | Viva Hate |
| Length | 3:13 |
| Writer/composer | Morrissey / Stephen Street |
| Producer | Stephen Street |
| Release | March 1988 |
| Recorded | Autumn-Winter 1987 |
Information
Alsatian Cousin 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
Were you and he lovers?
And would you say so if you were?
On a forecourt
On a Friday
Passing my way
Were you and he lovers?
And if you were, then say that you were!
On a groundsheet
Under canvas
With your tent-flap
Open wide
A note upon his desk:
"P.S. Bring Me Home And Have Me!"
Leather elbows on a tweed coat
- Oh! -
Is THAT the best you can do?
So came his reply:
"...but on the desk is where I want you!"
So I ask (even though I know):
Were you and he lovers?
Live History
Play count (Morrissey concert): 127
Morrissey live history:
- New York, New York 1991-07-13 (Morrissey concert)
- Doncaster, England 1991-07-25 (Morrissey concert)
- Blackburn, England 1991-07-26 (Morrissey concert)
- Glasgow, Scotland 1991-07-28 (Morrissey concert)
- Fukuoka, Japan 1991-08-27 (Morrissey concert)
- Osaka, Japan 1991-08-28 (Morrissey concert)
- Nagoya, Japan 1991-09-01 (Morrissey concert)
- Tokyo, Japan 1991-09-02 (Morrissey concert)
- Yokohama, Japan 1991-09-03 (Morrissey concert)
- Wellington, New Zealand 1991-09-07 (Morrissey concert)
Appears On
- Viva Hate
- We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful (single)
- Your Arsenal
- The CD Singles '91–95'
- The HMV/Parlophone Singles '88–'95
Related Forum Threads
- Morrissey A-Z: "Alsatian Cousin" - Morrissey-solo (Jan 15, 2021)