Bigmouth Strikes Again

"Bigmouth Strikes Again" is a song by the English rock band the Smiths. It appears on their third album The Queen Is Dead and was the lead single from the album, reaching No. 26 in the UK Singles Chart. It is also the closing song on the band's only live album, Rank.

"Bigmouth Strikes Again"
Single by The Smiths
from the album The Queen Is Dead
B-side"Money Changes Everything"
Released22 May 1986 (1986-05-22)
Format
RecordedAugust-September 1985
StudioRAK Studios, London
GenrePost-punk
Length3:12
LabelRough Trade
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Morrissey
  • Johnny Marr
The Smiths singles chronology
"The Boy with the Thorn in His Side"
(1985)		 "Bigmouth Strikes Again"
(1986)		 "Panic"
(1986)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]

Music and lyrics

The lyrics describe the protagonist's response to others taking issue with his comments, to which he replies "I was only joking".

During the song, the protagonist compares himself to Joan of Arc as "the flames rose to her Roman nose" and also says "now I know how Joan of Arc felt".[2] The line, "and her Walkman started to melt'", is often changed by Morrissey in live performances, to the more technologically current "and her iPod started to melt".[3]

The backing vocal is credited to "Ann Coates", a reference to the Manchester district of Ancoats; the backing vocal is Morrissey's own voice altered to a higher pitch.[4]

Track listing
7" RT192
No.TitleLength
1."Bigmouth Strikes Again"3:12
2."Money Changes Everything"4:40
12" RTT192
No.TitleLength
1."Bigmouth Strikes Again"3:12
2."Money Changes Everything"4:40
3."Unloveable"3:54

Artwork

The single version's sleeve cover contains a photograph of James Dean by Nelva Jean Thomas.

Charts
Chart Peak
position
UK Singles (The Official Charts Company) 26

Covers

The song is covered by Placebo as a B-side to "Nancy Boy", as well as on Disc 2 of the Sleeping with Ghosts special edition and on the various artists compilation The Smiths Is Dead.

References
  1. "Bigmouth Strikes Again rating". Allmusic. Retrieved on 29 October 2012.
  2. "Bigmouth Strikes Again" Lyrics from Sing365.com
  3. "Moz: Bigmouth Strikes Again strikes again with the iPod"
  4. AllMusic song review
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