Morrissey's live cover of 'I Didn't Know What To Do' is the B-side of his 54th single (if one were to include reissues of previously released singles),'Back On The Chain Gang', which of course is itself a cover song. The single was released on November 18, 2018.
'I Didn't Know What To Do' is also the 20th track on the deluxe edition of Morrissey's Low In High School studio album, which was released in early December 2018.
This song was written by Irish singer-songwriter, Raymond Edward 'Gilbert' O'Sullivan1.
O'Sullivan initially released the song as a B-side to his 'Susan van Heusen' single in May 1971.
O'Sullivan then released the song a second time in as many months as the B-side to his 'We Will' single in July 1971.
Despite (or, perhaps, because of) the release of 'I Didn't Know What To Do' as the B-side to two singles in the course of only a couple of months time, the song was not included on O'Sullivan's debut studio album, Himself2, which was released in August 1971 (though the song does appear on the reissue of the remastered edition of Himself in 2011).
Listen to Gilbert O'Sullivan's 1971 release of 'I Didn't Know What To Do' (in mono) from his 1971 'We Will' single:
The 2011 remastered reissue of the song can be heard here:
Morrissey has performed 'I Didn't Know What To Do' in concert only two times, each in late 2014: initially at Antwerp, Belgium on November 27, 2014 and again at Dublin, Ireland on December 1, 2014. On each of these two occasions, the song was performed during a "break" in the middle of his performance of his solo song 'Speedway'. The author has not been able to ascertain which of these two performances of the song made its way onto the single and studio album. While not exactly a fan-favorite, the song is a rollicking frolic with its droll lyrics about not pretending to be a bee, coming "frozen" from Antarctica, and being advised that the growth of facial hair can be "fun". Breaking away from the poignant pathos of 'Speedway' to perform Gilbert O'Sullivan's light-hearted romp - and then switching back to 'Speedway' - was both daring and oddly impactful.
Listen to Morrissey's cover (recorded live) of 'I Didn't Know What To Do' can be heard here:
Listen to Morrissey's December 2014 performance of 'Speedway' in Dublin with the mid-song break here:
I didn't know what to do
And I didn't know where to go
'Cause when I looked at you
I saw that it was snow on the ground
And not me pretending that I was a bee
Fresh from Antarctica frozen to ice
Mother dear I want some sound advice
'Cause I didn't know what to do
And I didn't know where to go
But someone looked at me
And said politely growing a beard
Can be fun, let me show you how it is done
I said don't bother I'd rather go see
Uncle George and Auntie Marge help me
'Cause I didn't know what to do
When you said, you were ready to go away
And they'll stay
Until such a time permit me to say
Oh I love you
People are staring, they don't understand
Cousin Mary please give me your hand
'Cause I didn't know what to do
And I didn't know where to go
Gilbert O'Sullivan was born on December 1, 1946 in Waterford, Ireland. He was one of six children. His mother May ran a sweet shop and his father was a butcher with Clover Meats. The O'Sullivans emigrated due to a job offer in England. The family first moved to Battersea, London when O'Sullivan was seven, before settling in Swindon, Wiltshire a year later. O'Sullivan began playing piano here, later explaining: "I come from a working-class background, but we always had a piano, the thinking of my parents was that if one of your kids could play it, you could make some money at it. A period of going to piano lessons was short-lived, as O'Sullivan was not enamored of music theory and played the pieces by ear instead. His father died two years after the move to Swindon. O'Sullivan didn't mourn his passing, later stating, "the fact of the matter is, I didn't know my father very well, and he wasn't a good father anyway."
O'Sullivan began pursuing a career in music in 1967. Worldwide, he has charted 16 top 40 records including six No. 1 songs, the first of which was 1970's "Nothing Rhymed". Across his career, he has recorded 19 studio albums. The music magazine Record Mirror voted O'Sullivan the top UK male singer of 1972. He has received three Ivor Novello Awards, including "Songwriter of the Year" in 1973. He achieved his most significant success during the early 1970s. His songs are often marked by his distinctive, percussive piano playing style and observational lyrics using word play.
Upon release, Himself was a commercial success in the UK, reaching No. 5 on the UK Albums Chart. It received a warm reception from critics, and O'Sullivan became noted for his satirical lyrics and eye-catching, atypical dress style, which included a cloth cap and short trousers. The album was released with a revised track list in the United States in 1972, this time boasting the hit single 'Alone Again (Naturally)'. It reached No. 9 on the US Billboard 200.
I think this song is very cute although a very peculiar choice out of all the millions of songs out there he chooses this oddity!