“So I think we’ve reached a stage where we feel… if they don’t believe me now, will they ever believe me? You know, what more can a poor boy do?…I wanted [fame] for so long and now I’ve got it, isn’t that odd?” He added. “The strangest thing in the world is when you get what you really pray for.”
– Morrissey
What could be more Smithian than today’s featured song – The Boy With The Thorn In His Side? From Johnny Marr’s jangly and rustic guitar work to an infectious melody and as always Morrissey’s melancholic, but alluring vocal form. This indie-pop song – just sticks, like so much of their music. You might think by the song’s UK chart peak of No.23, that The Boy With The Thorn In His Side to be one of The Smiths’ lesser achievements, but upon reflection and considering the band’s enduring legacy, it’s clear the song has become quite the artistic realization. It was the first single by The Smiths to be accompanied by a promotional music video something the band had previously resisted. They also performed the song on an episode of Top of the Pops.
During The Smiths’ UK tour of spring 1985 they first performed it as an instrumental during soundchecks and then when Morrissey added lyrics it really started to take shape. And despite the brightness of the sound the message behind his lyrics was entirely personal. He was writing about the fame he’d so enthusiastically courted – and how it affected him now he’d attained it. “The thorn is the music industry and all the people who never believe me”.
The Smiths wanted to strip their sound back after their previous few singles, among them How Soon Is Now? was comparatively densely layered. Biographer Tony Fletcher felt they wanted to rediscover “the lightness of touch that had made previous singles such as William, It Was Really Nothing so instantly appealing”. Johnny Marr was especially pleased with the fluid guitar arrangement he devised for the song. In 2003, Morrissey named it his favourite Smiths song.
I couldn’t agree more with DJ Stuart Maconie reflections below in an interview he did for The Smiths’ official YouTube channel:
“The Boy With The Thorn In His Side … has economy, it has passion, glamour and an extraordinary guitar arrangement by Johnny Marr, particularly towards the end, where it builds and builds, with those layers of coruscating, shimmering guitars. You so want it to go on forever, but you know it has to end sometime.”
[Chorus]
The boy with the thorn in his side
Behind the hatred there lies
A murderous desire
For love
[Verse 1]
How can they look into my eyes
And still they don’t believe me?
How can they hear me say those words
Still they don’t believe me?
And if they don’t believe me now
Will they ever believe me?
And if they don’t believe me now
Will they ever, they ever believe me?
Oh, ohh
Ohhm ohh
[Chorus]
The boy with the thorn in his side
Behind the hatred there lies
A plundering desire
For l-l-love
[Verse 2]
How can they see the love in our eyes
And still they don’t believe us?
And after all this time
They don’t want to believe us
And if they don’t believe us now
Will they ever believe us?
And when you want to live, how do you start?
Where do you go? Who do you need to know?
References:
1. The Boy With The Thorn In His Side: Why This Pivotal Smiths Song Sticks – Dig
2. The Boy with the Thorn in His Side – Wikipedia
“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know.”- Michel Legrand
Observation Blogger 
I didn’t know “The Boy With the Thorn In His Side.” While Johnny Marr’s guitar is a bit less jangly than on other Smiths songs I’ve heard, Morrissey’s very distinct vocals undoubtedly make it sound like the group. I like it!
I thought Marr’s guitar was more jangly here than near about any other song by the Smiths (maybe the exception of ‘William’), then when you add Morrissey’s jangly singing towards the end. My gawd I love this song. It’s so f&king good.
Classic track from Moz and the boys.
This might be in my top 10 by them, but probably wouldn’t scrape into my top 5. But funnily enough, the more I hear it, the more I like it (especially Johnny’s jangly guitar work) so it seems to be moving up the pecking order.