Cemetry Gates

"Cemetry Gates" is a 1986 song by English alternative rock band the Smiths, for their third album, The Queen Is Dead. Written by Morrissey and Johnny Marr, the song centres around a guitar riff that Marr had initially thought was too uninteresting to base a song around. However, Morrissey liked it and convinced Marr that they could complete the song.

"Cemetry Gates"
Song by The Smiths
from the album The Queen Is Dead
ReleasedJune 1986
RecordedOctober–November 1985 at Jacobs Studios, Farnham
GenreAlternative rock
LabelRough Trade
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Morrissey
  • Johnny Marr

Morrissey's lyrics on the song reflect his memories of walking in graveyards in Manchester and jokingly comment on plagiarism in his song lyrics. "Cemetry Gates" was released as a B-side to the band's 1986 single "Ask". It has since seen critical acclaim for Morrissey's humorous lyrics and Marr's gentle guitar line.

Background

"Cemetry Gates" originated when Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr was on a train; he recalled, "I was ... thinking, 'If you're so great, first thing in the morning sit down and write a great song.' I started with 'Cemetry Gates'; B minor to G change in open G."[1][2]

Marr was initially skeptical of using the song, arguing that the guitar part was not interesting enough to be developed into a song. However, Smiths singer Morrissey liked Marr's performance of the song's music and convinced him it was worthy of release.[3]:70 Marr recalled, "I did this in my kitchen with Morrissey. When I played it I wasn't sure about it – but that’s one example of how a partnership works. Because Morrissey loved it, and it came so effortlessly and easy. I was just about to bin it."[4]

Producer Stephen Street stated that "the vibe was just wonderful" while recording the song.[2] Street later said of the song, "It's all the best elements of The Smiths. And what a wonderful vocal and lyric. It's a nice bit of blessed relief. It's delicate, but it's still got power."[4]

Lyrics

Morrissey's lyrics were inspired by his walks with his friend, Linder Sterling, to the Southern Cemetery in Chorlton.[2] The song's lyrics describe two friends spending a day at the graveyard, where one friend lectures the other on plagiarism while ironically taking lines from Richard III and The Man Who Came to Dinner.[5] The song features Morrissey commenting on critics who demeaned his quotation of other writers, notably Oscar Wilde.[2] Author Simon Goddard stated of this:

It was extremely ironic, if not deliberately self-parodic, of Morrissey to address the issue of plagiarism in a song which itself brazenly incorporated words which weren't his own.[6]

The song's title was infamously misspelt, though it is unclear whether this was intentional or not.[2][4][7] In reference to the song's central lyric "Keats and Yeats are on your side/While Wilde is on mine", Morrissey later did a photo shoot at Keats' gravestone.[8]

Release

"Cemetry Gates" was first released on the band's 1986 third album The Queen Is Dead. It had been a last-minute addition to the album.[7] The song was included on the B-side to the band's "Ask" single in October 1986.[1] A live version of the song also appeared on the band's 1988 live album, Rank.

Johnny Marr performed the guitar line of the song on an Instagram "Ask Me Anything" session in April 2020.[9]

Reception

"Cemetry Gates" has seen critical acclaim since its release. Mark Coleman of Rolling Stone spoke glowingly of Morrissey's vocal performance on "Cemetry Gates", concluding "When he's at his most pretentious, pitting Wilde against Keats and Yeats in a battle of the bards on 'Cemetry Gates,' Morrissey sounds clearer and more melodic than ever before, wafting unlikely lines to high heaven. Like it or not, this guy's going to be around for a while."[10] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic praised the song's "bouncy acoustic pop,"[11] while the same site's Stewart Mason noted the song's lyrical matter as "a particularly interesting topic, and one obviously close to the singer's heart."[12]

Blender noted the song as a key track off of the album to download.[13] Billboard named the song as the seventh best Smiths song, praising Marr's "uplifting" guitar line,[14] while Louder included the song in their unranked top ten Smiths songs, calling the track "beautifully written."[15] Rolling Stone ranked the song as the 11th best Smiths song,[5] while NME named it the band's 15th best.[16] Consequence of Sound ranked the song as the band's 29th best, calling it "a rare chance to see Moz comfortable in his own skin."[17]

References
  1. Carman, Richard (5 November 2015). Johnny Marr - The Smiths & the Art of Gunslinging. Bonnier Zaffre. ISBN 978-1-78418-930-3.
  2. Fletcher, Tony (4 December 2012). A Light That Never Goes Out: The Enduring Saga of the Smiths. Crown. ISBN 978-0-307-71597-5.
  3. Goddard, Simon (2009). Mozipedia: The Encyclopedia of Morrissey and The Smiths. London: Ebury Press.
  4. Taysom, Joe (16 June 2020). "Johnny Marr and Morrissey's track-by-track guide to 'The Queen Is Dead' by The Smiths". Far Out Magazine. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  5. Sheffield, Rob (1 August 2017). "Rob Sheffield Ranks All 73 Smiths Songs". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  6. Hidalgo, Melissa Mora (22 September 2016). Mozlandia: Morrissey Fans in the Borderlands. SCB Distributors. ISBN 978-1-909394-43-8.
  7. Luerssen, John D. (August 2015). The Smiths FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Most Important British Band of the 1980s. Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 978-1-4950-4596-7.
  8. Keats-Shelley House. "Morrissey at Keats' grave in the Protestant Cemetery, Rome". Twitter. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  9. "WATCH: Johnny Marr plays Cemetery Gates on Instagram". Radio X. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  10. Coleman, Mark (11 September 1986). "The Queen Is Dead". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 10 April 2008.
  11. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "The Queen Is Dead - The Smiths". AllMusic. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  12. Mason, Stewart. "Cemetry Gates - The Smiths | Song Info". AllMusic. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  13. Power, Tony (15 September 2004). "The Smiths: The Queen Is Dead". Blender. Archived from the original on 30 June 2006. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  14. Lynch, Joe. "The Smiths' 20 Best Songs: Critic's Picks". Billboard. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  15. McNerney, Mat (12 January 2016). "The 10 best songs by The Smiths". loudersound. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  16. "The 20 best Smiths tracks, as voted by NME.COM users". NME. 25 November 2011. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  17. "Ranking: Every Song by The Smiths from Worst to Best". Consequence of Sound. 21 February 2019. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
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