Driving Your Girlfriend Home

My favourite song from Kill Uncle, this tender little gem is a great example of Morrisseys command of nuance. A song which gives you only the merest hint of the story, a woman tied to a person who doesn't make her happy, sharing this confession with a third party who can offer no advice to the questions asked, the feelings raised.

The exact relationships here are very vaguely defined. Based on the title alone one could surmise that the singer is friends with this girls lover so it seems odd that she's being so confessional and cutting towards her boyfriend. There's a feeling she's confiding all this in him so that he will sweep in and rescue her from "the very existence she planned on avoiding" but this doesn't happen. It reads like a perfectly crafted scene in a play or kitchen sink drama and we as the audience are left none the wiser. Does the singer want to be with this woman? Or is his hesitation the act of a man who doesn't want to betray a friend by agreeing with what he's being told?

It really is a wonderful snapshot of a very ordinary situation. We all have friends who get embroiled in what we would consider destructive relationships and it's very hard to know how to deal with the pitfalls that presents. This is a gentle ode to different types of yearning. A longing for escape, or a romance worthy of your most personal dreams, it makes it all the sadder as the song ends with the moment slipping by, the status quo untouched, the would be lovers or even potential friends part as if they have shared nothing.

Musically it's a lovely soft performance, an airy confection which allows the emotions to float through, it seems to conjure up a crisp night, where the hue of the sky is changing as morning light creeps across it. I believe this drive and the moment almost shared, will resonate long with these characters as their individual roads further diverge.