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We're Not Who You Think We Are

Certain Songs #2293: The Smiths – “That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore”

February 12, 2022 by Jim Connelly

Album: Meat is Murder
Year: 1984

. . .

“Now it’s happening in mine”

After four straight rockers, side one of Meat is Murder closes out with one of Morrissey and Marr’s most affecting ballads, the majestic waltz-time “That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore,” in which Morrissey decides once again to address people who love other people’s misery.

Park the car at the side of the road
You should know time’s tide will smother you
And I will too
When you laugh about people who feel so very lonely
Their only desire is to die
Well, I’m afraid it doesn’t make me smile
I wish I could laugh

At this time, “That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore” is sparse and skeletal, and except for a big drum roll from Mike Joyce after the first line, incredibly restrained, slowly unfolding 1,2,3,1,2,3,1,2,3 into the chorus.

But that joke isn’t funny anymore
It’s too close to home
And it’s too near the bone
It’s too close to home
And it’s too near the bone
More than you’ll ever know

Near the end of the chorus, Johnny Marr starts with the overdubs, his guitar echoing like a harp in a massive lobby as Morrissey mutters “kick them when they fall down” over and over and over and disappearing as Morrissey sings the second (and final verse).

It was dark as I drove the point home
And on cold leather seats
Well, it suddenly struck me
I just might die with a smile on my face after all

At this point, Marr’s guitar comes arcing in from the heavens, backwards and forwards at the same time, screeching and crying, as Morrissey sings the outro, even though we’re only two minutes into the song.

I’ve seen this happen in other people’s lives
And now it’s happening in mine
I’ve seen this happen in other people’s lives
And now it’s happening in mine
I’ve seen this happen in other people’s lives
And now it’s happening in mine
I’ve seen this happen in other people’s lives
And now it’s happening in mine
I’ve seen this happen in other people’s lives
And now it’s happening in mine
Happening in mine, happening in mine
Happening in mine, happening in mine

As he continues this, they start overdubbing wordless moans as Marr keeps the guitar noise going and going while Mike Joyce crashes thunderous rolls in the background and the whole thing is like watching high tide breakers smash onto rocks over and over, never quite getting over the top, but you know that if you get any closer, they’d knock you right over.

This happens until the fade, but it’s a trick!! “That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore” fades out, but then it fades back in, just the music now, now somehow calmer, and yet still majestic and gorgeous, and sticks around for a while longer until the final, real fade.

Everybody loved this song so much, they put it out as a single, though apparently it was a last-second decision: originally they were gonna put out a live EP from a show in Oxford — already broadcast live on the BBC — with “Meat is Murder” as the lead track. Instead, they substituted “That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore,” but it turned out to be their worst-charting single since “Hand in Glove,” stalling out at #49 on the U.K. pop charts. Though, of course, like all of their singles in that period, it did top the U.K. indie charts, so that’s something.

“That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore”

“That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore” Live in Madrid, 1985

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Filed Under: Certain Songs Tagged With: Meat is Murder, That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore, The Smiths

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Previously on Medialoper

  • Certain Songs #2625: Talking Heads – “Crosseyed and Painless (Cherry Hill 11-08-1980)”
  • Certain Songs #2624: Talking Heads – “Houses in Motion (Cherry Hill 11-08-1980)”
  • Certain Songs #2623: Talking Heads – “The Great Curve (Central Park 08-27-1980)”
  • Certain Songs #2622: Talking Heads – “Once in a Lifetime”
  • Certain Songs #2621: Talking Heads – “Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On)”

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