This Charming Man By The Smiths - What Does This Song Mean?

From the charming opening guitar played by Johnny Marr, to the charming and bouncy rhythm section of Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce, to the charming lyrics as sung by vocalist Morrissey, “This Charming Man” was, for many of us, an introduction to the popular 1980’s alternative rock band, The Smiths, from Manchester, England.

Weighing in at a total playing time of 2:43 minutes, the short song serves its purpose - opening strong, remaining catchy and upbeat, telling its story, and then ending before it becomes old.

The lyrics from “This Charming Man” have been analyzed by many a fan, and although the context may seem obvious at first glance, the lyrics were written by a man (Morrissey) who himself is still part enigma to many. Therefore, the lyrics to “This Charming Man”, as straightforward as they may seem, may not be as obvious as we might initially think.

The song opens with the lines,

“Punctured bicycle on a hillside desolate…”

Our leading character appears to be in “distress” with his damaged ride. But then appears…

“…in this charming car, this charming man.”

Many have assumed that the song, “This Charming Man” has a homosexual tone to it, and The Smith’s lead singer Morrissey and his ever-elusive attitude towards publicly stating his orientation one way or the other, adds fuel to this assumption.

The “Charming Man” seems to have come to our leading character’s rescue for a number of reasons, and is perhaps being flirtatious with him. Leading man laments,

“I would go out tonight, but I haven’t got a stitch to wear.”

Later, our leading man, apparently in conversation with his rescuer (while in his charming car), sings, “He said, Return the ring”. Was our leading man betrothed to another and now the Charming Man is trying to talk him out of making a mistake perhaps? “Why pamper life’s complexities when the leather runs smooth on the passenger seat?” Why indeed! “Charming Man” seems very ready to take our desolate character away from his miseries. At 2:43 minutes, this little ditty is but a blip in time in what appears to be a day in a confused man’s life. A man (our leading man) is apparently overwhelmed by something (The punctured bicycle? The ring? Not having a stitch to wear? Sexual confusion?). Regardless, along comes a “knight” in shiny metal with leather seats to distract our leading man, and for a moment in time, make his life tolerable. Once again, I stumbled upon some potential interpretations for the lyrics of “This Charming Man” by fans at the songmeanings website. http://www.songmeanings.net/songs/view/13089/ Perhaps to over analyze Morrissey’s lyrics is a mistake, but I often think that people like to try and get into the minds of the composer, especially in the case of such a great song like, “This Charming Man”.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IN4r6wfddeQ

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