Death At One's Elbow

Album: Strangeways, Here We Come (1987)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Morrissey warns his ex-lover to stay away throughout this gruesome breakup rockabilly.

    Oh Glenn
    Don't come to the house tonight
    Because there's somebody here
    Who'll take a hatchet to your ear
    The frustration it renders me
    Hateful, oh...


    Morrissey has seen the breakup coming, and dishes out bitter indictments at his ex.
  • The song's title is taken from the published diaries of playwright Joe Orton, which Morrissey had just finished reading. The quote is from December 28, 1966, when Orton returned home on the eve of his mother's funeral.

    "As the corpse is downstairs in the main living-room," Orton wrote. "It means going out or watching television with death at one's elbow."

    Morrissey's scenario mirrored Orton's own death half a year later, when on August 9, 1967, he was bludgeoned by his lover Kenneth Halliwell with nine hammer blows to the head.
  • This was criticized for a perceived lack of musical substance. Guitarist Johnny Marr defended the song:

    "It was good sometimes to have a track that wasn't trying to win the war like There Is A Light That Never Goes Out," he said. "It was almost like, 'We have the right to be slightly less intense.' I liked Morrissey's singing and I liked my own backing vocals."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Carl Sturken

Carl SturkenSongwriter Interviews

Hitmaker Carl Sturken on writing and producing for Rihanna, 'N Sync, Christina Aguilera, Kelly Clarkson, Donny Osmond, Shakira and Karyn White.

Director Mark Pellington ("Jeremy," "Best Of You")

Director Mark Pellington ("Jeremy," "Best Of You")Song Writing

Director Mark Pellington on Pearl Jam's "Jeremy," and music videos he made for U2, Jon Bon Jovi and Imagine Dragons.

Band Names

Band NamesFact or Fiction

Was "Pearl" Eddie Vedder's grandmother, and did she really make a hallucinogenic jam? Did Journey have a contest to name the group? And what does KISS stand for anyway?

Gilby Clarke

Gilby ClarkeSongwriter Interviews

The Guns N' Roses rhythm guitarist in the early '90s, Gilby talks about the band's implosion and the side projects it spawned.

Amy Lee of Evanescence

Amy Lee of EvanescenceSongwriter Interviews

The Evanescence frontwoman on the songs that have shifted meaning and her foray into kids' music.

Kim Thayil of Soundgarden

Kim Thayil of SoundgardenSongwriter Interviews

Their frontman (Chris Cornell) started out as their drummer, so Soundgarden takes a linear approach when it comes to songwriting. Kim explains how they do it.