Forgive Someone
Morrissey's olive branch to his former Smiths bandmembers
Released only on the deluxe edition of the World Peace Is None Of Your Business studio album in July 2014, ‘Forgive Someone’ is something of an odd track, possessing a sound that is reminiscent of an earlier time, and exuding a cheerful effervescence notwithstanding its lyrical content. Indeed, one can easily imagine it being a cover of a Sandie Shaw track circa 1966.
The sound of a synthesizer marks the first half of the song, which is then seamlessly subsumed in the second half by gentle, adroit guitar chord progressions, imparting a musical flavor of mid-60s pop.
The song was co-written with guitarist Jesse Tobias and recorded along with the other tracks found on the World Peace Is None Of Your Business studio album in February 2014 at La Fabrique in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence in France.
As implied by the title, Morrissey seemingly extolls forgiveness in an abstract manner in his familiar cryptic fashion. What is particularly revealing are the lines mentioning black peat, his recollection of the time he was “still ill”, as well as a seemingly unspecified “mess”:
The black peat of the hills
When I was still ill
See this mess and forgive someone
Collectively, these lines reveal a plea of sorts from Morrissey…it must be noted that Manchester is largely ringed by peat bogs, most especially to the east of the city, so this reference to “The black peat of the hills” is not random, and signifies an earlier time in Morrissey’s life.
Of even greater significance is the reference to “still ill” in the past tense; this speaks to his time with the Smiths (as exemplified by the 1984 song ‘Still Ill”, which was of course written with Johnny Marr and recorded when the Smiths were together) as he now (as of 2014) speaks of being formerly ill.
The black peat and still ill references set-up the next line, which concerns his former bandmates: “See this mess” alludes not only to the break up of the Smiths, but to the acrimony that soon emerged in its aftermath - litigation, bad blood and recriminations. This bad blood has largely grown more strident and (eventually) dashed any realistic expectation of the restoration of the fractured relationships (working or otherwise) with his former colleagues (most especially Johnny Marr).
Notwithstanding all of what has been done and said, Morrissey is telling Johnny, Andy and Mike (as well as himself) to seek forgiveness despite all that has happened. As though anticipating that his plea will fall upon deaf ears (which is undeniably the case), he adds that “Our truth will die with me”, which is both a sober and poignant statement on how rarely real forgiveness is extended while we live.
One can only imagine that having written these lines, Morrissey’s sorrow at Andy Rourke’s passing last year was (hopefully) mitigated by the knowledge that he had both extended and sought forgiveness from his former friend and colleague as evidenced by ‘Forgive Someone’. As the aphorism goes, to err is human, to forgive is divine.
Listen to ‘Forgive Someone’ here: