Reel Around the Fountain (1984) – The Smiths

The Smiths‘ music features here regularly. They are a punk-pop English group regarded as one of the most important acts to emerge from the British independent music scene of the 1980s. They are one of my favourite bands outright. I came to their music late in my musical journey. I’m relieved I did, but it’s unfortunate I didn’t learn to appreciate them in my adolescence when they came onto the scene. Reel Around the Fountain is the first track off their 1984 record The Smiths. The track was penned by Morrissey and composed by Johnny Marr. The Smiths was a commercial success, peaking at number 2 on the Official Albums Chart and staying on the chart for 33 weeks.

Today’s track Reel Around the Fountain caused a lot of controversy over the song lyrics. Some claimed it glorified paedophilia and was basically a song about an adult grooming a child to have sex with. I highly doubt it’s endorsing child abuse. “People see no worth in you…“…. that seems like it’s sympathetic to the victim, possibly now a socially dysfunctional older person.

Some of the lyrics are indeed confusing and vague, lines like: “It’s time the tale were told, Of how you took a child And you made him old” and “Oh, people said that you were easily led And they were half-right Oh, they, oh, they were half-right, oh”. Morrissey has denied the accusations many times. He was quoted in an interview with Rolling Stone saying the song was about “loss of innocence, that until one has a physical commitment with another person, there’s something childlike about the soul.” Either way its a beautiful melody with head scratching lyrics for sure.

[Verse 1]
It’s time the tale were told
Of how you took a child
And you made him old
It’s time the tale were told
Of how you took a child
And you made him old
You made him old

[Pre-Chorus]
Reel around the fountain
Slap me on the patio
I’ll take it now
Oh, woah-woah-woah-woah-woah-woah

[Chorus]
Fifteen minutes with you
Well, I wouldn’t say no
Oh, people said that you were virtually dead
And they were so wrong
Fifteen minutes with you
Oh, well, I wouldn’t say no
Oh, people said that you were easily led
And they were half-right
Oh, they
Oh, they were half-right, oh

[Verse 2]
I dreamt about you last night
And I fell out of bed twice
You can pin and mount me like a butterfly
But, “Take me to the haven of your bed”
Was something that you never said
Two lumps, please, you’re the bee’s knees
But so am I

Marr told Mojo in October of 2012 about writing the melody of the song:

“The melody came from me trying to play the Jimmy Jones R&B song Handy Man. I heard it as a kid on a jukebox when I went on holiday aged 12 or 13. It stuck in my mind. I liked the chord change and because I was on holiday I had to remember it, as I didn’t have a guitar with me. Then around the time the band formed someone put it on a compilation tape, then Joe Moss and I were in Crazy Face one morning and he played it, so it was in the air and when I tried to play it this string of strange chord changes fell from my fingers.”

References:
1. Reel Around the Fountain – The Smiths wiki

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“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know.”- Michel Legrand