'Half A Person'
The B-side to the Smiths' 16th single, 'Shoplifters Of The World Unite', 'Half A Person' was released January 26, 1987. The song is also the B-side to the France only release of the 'There Is A Light That Never Goes Out' single (also released January 1987), famously featuring the 'Ice Lolly' cover art. The 'Shoplifters Of The World Unite' single was successful, reaching number twelve in the UK Singles Chart.
'Half A Person' was written at Mayfair Studios in London in October 1986 when the Smiths were there recording the intended single 'You Just Haven't Earned It Yet Baby' (which did not come to pass). 'Half A Person' was produced by Morrissey and Marr with the assistance of Stephen Street as engineer. With the sole exclusion of the aforementioned French single, the cover art of the single released in all other regions consisted of a promotional photo of a young Elvis Presley.
Morrissey dedicated the single to music promoter Ruth Polsky1
Another version of the song was recorded with producer John Porter on December 2, 1986 for the band's final appearance on John Peel's BBC program (which was broadcast on December 17, 1986). Listen to the Peel session version here:
Remarkably understated in form and style, 'Half A Person' is a powerful testament to the formidable talents of Morrissey and Marr. Morrissey's decidedly straightforward lyrics convey a vivid picture of an awkward sixteen year old boy - one who has lived a rather sheltered life to date - a good portion of which spent longing for the object of his desire. The subject describes himself as being "morbid" and "pale" - adjectives that can readily describe Morrissey himself. The subject leaves his domicile and goes to London, where he purports to acquire lodgings at the Y.W.C.A. (the Young Women's Christian Association).
This, along with his offer to be a "back-scrubber" (obviously for other lodgers - females - bathing at the Y.W.C.A) suggests some manner of gender fluidity that is never fully explained. The "sour", "dour" girl he leaves behind (presumably the very one he has longed for/chased for "six long years") writes to him, expressing her disappointment with the subject now that he has moved on to the proverbial (and literal) "big city" in an effort to better his circumstances. But the subject's situation (being a clumsy and shy youth of 16) has not changed despite his move to London; rather, he sullenly sings that his awkwardness is "[...]the story of my life" Simply stated, the lyrics speak of an angst and resignation that is instantly relatable, which likely explains the song's broad, enduring appeal.
Listen to 'Half A Person' here:
"Me and Morrissey would just disappear. Some of my favourite songs came about that way, like 'Half A Person'. We just locked ourselves away and did it. In the time it takes to play it, I wrote it. Morrissey was great in that respect. He knew when I was going to play something good."
- Johnny Marr, Record Collector, 1992
Did you ever write together? [with Morrissey]
"Once, which was 'Half a Person': that was incredibly uncanny. The morning we were supposed to do the B-side he said, 'What are we going to do?' I picked up the guitar and said, 'Maybe it should go like this?' and he hummed the melody whilst I found some chords. It was done in like four minutes. We did it that one time because the tape was rolling in the next room and we hadn't come up with something. It was just a necessity. We'd decided, very unexpectedly for us, impulsively, to do an A-side which was going to be 'You Just Haven't Earned It Yet, Baby'. We wrote and recorded that in 24 hours. That tied us up. I put it down and the band learned it, he took the cassette away and the next morning all the words were written. We were pretty prolific."
- Johnny Marr, The Guardian, 2013
Lyrics
Call me morbid, call me pale
I've spent six years on your trail
Six long years on your trail
Call me morbid, call me pale
I've spent six years on your trail
Six full years of my life on your trail
And if you have five seconds to spare
Then I'll tell you the story of my life:
Sixteen, clumsy and shy
I went to London and I
I booked myself in at the Y.W.C.A
I said:
"I like it here - can I stay?
I like it here - can I stay?
Do you have a vacancy for a back-scrubber?"
She was left behind and sour
And she wrote to me equally dour
She said:
"In the days when you were hopelessly poor
I just liked you more..."
And if you have five seconds to spare
Then I'll tell you the story of my life:
Sixteen, clumsy and shy
I went to London and I
I booked myself in at the Y.W.C.A
I said:
"I like it here - can I stay?
I like it here - can I stay?
And do you have a vacancy for a back-scrubber?"
Call me morbid call me pale
I've spent too long on your trail
Far too long chasing your tail
And if you have five seconds to spare
Then I'll tell you the story of my life:
- Sixteen, clumsy and shy -
That's the story of my life
- Sixteen, clumsy and shy -
The story of my life
That's the story of my life
That's the story of my life
That's the story of my life
The story of my life
That's the story of my life
That's the story of my life
That's the story of my life
Ruth Polsky (December 5, 1954 - September 7th 1986) was a pioneering booker and music promoter in New York City. Polsky got the Smiths their first North American gig at Danceteria in New York City (December 31, 1983). She died after being crushed by a runaway taxi cab on the steps of the Limelight club in New York City.
“I remember being at a party at her [Ruth's] place in 1983 when the Smiths were in town. Morrissey was in Ruth’s bedroom the whole time. Every so often, a hand would come out of the door, it would wiggle, someone would bring him a drink, and he’d go back inside the bedroom. He wouldn’t come out — like Marie Antoinette! He was such a prima donna!”
-Parker Dulany of Certain General / New York Post, February 7, 2017
“Ruth was a tough girl, [...] After our gig at the Danceteria in 1983, me and Mike [Joyce] were walking back to her place. We heard gunshots and ambulances — we were s–tting ourselves. But Ruth said, ‘No, don’t worry, that’s nothing!’ ”
-Andy Rourke / / New York Post, February 7, 2017