Sister I'm A Poet

A subtly epochal song in the Morrissey canon Sister I'm a Poet remains a curious cornerstone of his solo work. The song retains the old character of Morrissey as he emerged from the Smiths but with slight lashings of the crime obsessed and altogether tougher persona he would hone as his name alone would dominate the marquee.

The B-side of the monumental "Everyday is Like Sunday", "Sister..." rings with sublime confidence as Morrissey declares his intellectualism on a grand scale. When in earlier songs it was the province of the shut-away this seems to revel in the idea of the poet as social observer rather than bedroom diarist. The song doesn't take the usual stance of inward analysis but instead discusses class, and looks at the idea of nature versus nurture, all to a near rockabilly stomp.

His love of different forms of illegality had already crept in before but this was the beginning of his more thorough look at "the romance of crime" a theme he very quickly exhausted on subsequent outings with varying degrees of success. There's a verve to the song that carries it through and it does have his trademark wit, even if its a bit more subdued.

A great B-side and a very good early Morrissey song (let not its ubiquity on so many Morrissey compilations dull its many charms) but one that is for me between two stools. While it continues to plough the style of past treasures it does point to some of the thematic dead ends which would blight some of his later work.


Video Note: The live version from the first Morrissey solo gig is essential viewing for any fan. Filmed on 22 December 1988, at Wolverhampton Civic Hall, it features Andy Rourke, Mike Joyce and Craig Gannon in tow as Morrissey is continuously accosted by fans eager to embrace their idol. The singers nonchalant reaction and dedication to keeping the performance going is a master class in stage behaviour and is a testament to the command he has over his craft. The spectre of his former band still loomed large and the blanket show of love from the crowd came not just from the mourning of the Smiths but out of embracing the future, the potential of what their icon would become next. He was still a poet and seemingly had any number of like minded siblings to impart such wisdom to, even if it was clear that after this, nothing would ever be the same again.