Wednesday, March 31, 2010

It Could All Be So Simple

The Last Of The Famous International Playboys

This song has been in my head for days. So much so that I was beginning to think it was some kind of sign.
I've since come to realise: this song always gets in my head when I go overseas. Regardless, it got me really thinking about the verse lyrics. I've always sung along to them and not really paid much attention:
[note: the amazing Eastenders tshirt in the video...]


Dear hero imprisoned,
With all the new crimes that you are perfecting
Oh, I can't help quoting you
Because everything that you said rings true
And now in my cell
(Well, I followed you)
And here's a list of who I slew
Reggie Kray - do you know my name ?
Oh, don't say you don't
Please say you do, (oh) I am :
The last of the famous
International playboys..
And in my cell
(Well, I loved you)
And every man with a job to do
Ronnie Kray - do you know my face ?
Oh, don't say you don't
Please say you do, (oh) I am :
The last of the famous
International playboys..
In our lifetime those who kill
The newsworld hands them stardom
And these are the ways
On which I was raised
These are the ways
On which I was raised

I never wanted to kill
I AM NOT NATURALLY EVIL
Such things I do
Just to make myself
More attractive to you
HAVE I FAILED ?
Oh... 
Oh, the last of the famous
International playboys

The song is supposedly written to Reggie and Ronnie Kray [above], twin brothers/ nightclub owners/ gangsters who ended up serving life sentences for various murders but not before they wined and dined with the celebs of the time including Judy Garland and Frank Sinatra AND being photographed by David Bailey.
At first glance, the song is written from the point of view of a fanatical, copycat killer, trying to impress the brothers, and indeed, the general public. And how could they help it?
" In our lifetime those who kill
The newsworld hands them stardom
And these are the ways
On which I was raised"
The whole song could simply be a comment on this: the media turning killers into stars.
The funny thing is, though, this song was released in 1989, 6 years before Ronnie's funeral which saw hundreds of people lining the streets as though a pop-star had died. 
But the more I look at it, the more I'm beginning to think Morrissey wrote this from the point of view of the brothers themselves, as a dedication to each other. A love song, if you will.
Who knows?
All I know is: it won't get outta my head!

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Fruits Of My Labor


Picked these babies up in Copenhagen. We're going steady now, it's getting pretty serious. Gonna change my FB relationship status. ;)