Sophia is really going for the jugular with her second Smiths selection, a track from the band’s 1985 sophomore album Meat is Murder. ‘Well I Wonder’ is a tear-soaked lament about unrequited love sung by a narrator who is “gasping, dying, but somehow still alive.”
This is the sort of song — and The Smiths have many — that makes longing and despair achingly beautiful. It turns sadness into something sacred.
The Smiths do a lot of things very well, but this is what they do best.
Well, I wonder
“Do you hear me when you sleep?”
I hoarsely cry (Why?)
Well, I wonder
Do you see me when we pass?
I half-die (Why?)
[Chorus]
Please, keep me in mind
Please, keep me in mind
[Verse 2]
Gasping, but somehow still alive
This is the fierce last stand of all I am
Gasping, dying, but somehow still alive
This is the final stand of all I am
[Chorus]
Please, keep me in mind
[Outro]
Well, I wonder
Well, I wonder
Please, keep me in mind
Oh, keep me in mind
Keep me in mind
This is my current favorite Smith’s song and I was very happy to hear it in The Killer, which I also loved.
The best part of this song is the outro, especially the part with the sound of falling rain. Amazing.
The one thing the Smiths don’t do well is vary Morrissey’s vocal range beyond the 1 and minor 3 of a chord (though at least at the end of this song he jumps to his false to sing those same notes). It is this monotonous redundancy, coupled with a vocal tone I just find grating and annoying, that leaves me cold and unimpressed, no matter how passionate and poetic the lyrics may be.
false = falsetto. I wasn’t trying to use musician speak, just didn’t catch the auto-correction before hitting send.
I don’t think they have one bad song.
I really like this song. I didn’t realize that the soundtrack to Killer was the Smiths because I am not familiar with their music. But it worked nicely with the film.
I’ve been hearing this one a lot from Sophie but I’m happy I have. This album kinda flies under my radar but it has some real gems, most notably, “Well I Wonder.” I love when Morrissey lingers on notes and lets his voice kinda take the lead. Yet another great song from one of the greatest bands on Earth!