The B-side to 'Everyday Is Like Sunday' (Morrissey’s second single), 'Disappointed' was released on May 30, 1988. The single reached an impressive number nine on the UK Singles Chart.
While strictly the author’s thoroughly subjective opinion, the song contains some of the most memorable lyrics Morrissey has ever written. Lines such as “Don't talk to me, no/About people who are nice/'Cause I have spent my whole life in ruins/Because of people who are nice” and “this world may lack style, I know/Each bud must blossom and grow, oh” are not only acutely insightful, but they linger in one’s mind long after the music has faded away. The lyrics reveal the formidableness of Morrissey’s grasp of the human condition. Such acuity - not to mention the courage voice it - is rarely (if ever) seen in the world of popular music.
Former Smiths' producer Stephen Street initially wrote the music for the song, which he presented to Morrissey in early 1988. According to producer Street, he had assumed that the Smiths would reform and anticipated that his instrumental would eventually see the light of day as a Smiths song:
"Well initially, when the Smiths broke up I sent Morrissey a cassette of demos that I had, thinking that they could possibly be b-sides. I always thought that the band [the Smiths] would get back together in a few months. I got married that year and when I got back from my honeymoon there was a postcard waiting for me from Morrissey saying that he loved the ideas that I sent him and he wanted to do a solo record. So that’s how it started, and once I knew that he wanted a record I basically dropped everything else that was on at the time and put all my time into making lots and lots of home demo’s so I could provide him with a lot of material to be working at. At the time I felt we were honing it quite well, I mean if you consider that we didn’t really start our sessions for Viva Hate until October (1987) and that by Christmas it was all done and dusted. It was quite uncanny really how well it all worked out. It was hard work though."1
Morrissey recorded the song in March of 1988 during the session for the 'Everyday Is Like Sunday' single B-sides at Wool Hall Studios in Bath, England. The musicians on 'Disappointed' were Vini Reilly (guitar), producer Stephen Street (bass) and Andrew Paresi (drums).
A live recording of 'Disappointed' was released in 1991 as a B-side to Morrissey's tenth single, 'Pregnant For The Last Time' (12-inch vinyl and CD formats). This live recording of the song is from Morrissey's May 1991 concert in Utrecht, Holland.
The live version of 'Disappointed' from the aforementioned 1991 Utrecht concert was also released in 1997 on a special edition reissue (the so-called ‘Centenary edition’) of Viva Hate (released by EMI in celebration of their 100th anniversary).
'Disappointed' did not appear on the 2010 reissue of Morrissey's 'Everyday Is Like Sunday' single.
Another live version of 'Disappointed' was included in the 2014 CD format of the Your Arsenal album reissue in the form of a bonus DVD. The bonus DVD contains a total of 18 songs recorded at the Shoreline Amphitheater concert in California in October 1991.
Morrissey has performed ‘Disappointed’ a total 140 times in concert to date, beginning with his live debut at Wolverhampton in December 1988 (backed by Andy Rourke, Mike Joyce and Craig Gannon).
Watch the DVD track of 'Disappointed' from the 2014 Your Arsenal album reissue here:
Watch Morrissey bust a move while performing ‘Disappointed’ at Utrecht, Holland in May, 1991:
Our unsleepable friend
Gets the message on an ill wind
All your friends and your foes
Would rather die than have to touch you
To say the least, I'm truly disappointed
Truly, truly, truly, oh
Drank too much
And I said too much
And there's nowhere to go but down
Young boy, I wanna help you
See these lines, truly disappointed
Truly, truly, truly, oh
Don't talk to me, no
About people who are nice
'Cause I have spent my whole life in ruins
Because of people who are nice
Oh, this world may lack style, I know
Each bud must blossom and grow, oh
Young girl, one day you will be old
But the thing is I love you now
This is the last song I will ever sing
Yeah
No, I've changed my mind again
Goodnight and thank you
great!