'Lost'
Morrissey delves into the Metaphysical
Co-written with Spencer Cobrin1 in 1997, ‘Lost’ was released as the B-side to the ‘Roy's Keen’ single on October 6, 1997 on vinyl (7-inch), CD and Cassette formats. The 12-inch vinyl of the single followed on October 13th.
The song is credited on the single as having been "recorded in Oxfordshire 1997" (presumably at Hook End Recording Studios). Produced by Danton Supple2, the musicians on the recording are Boz Boorer (guitars), Alain Whyte (guitars, backing vocals), Jonny Bridgwood (bass) and the aforementioned Spencer Cobrin (drums).
‘Lost’ was featured on Morrissey – Rare Tracks, a Japan-only mini-album released in April 1998 on CD format. This Japan release compiled all six of the B-sides that had been previously released on the singles from the Maladjusted studio album: ‘Alma Matters’, ‘Roy's Keen’ and ‘Satan Rejected My Soul’.
‘Lost’ is the final track on Morrissey’s ¡The Best Of! compilation album, released November 2001 on CD and cassette, limited to the US and Canada (Europe being included only upon the album’s vinyl reissue in 2019).
The song was lastly released in April 2009 as a bonus track on the remastered reissue (the ‘expanded edition’) of Maladjusted.
Musically, ‘Lost’ is in equal parts mellow, gorgeous, and strangely uplifting, and can fairly be described as one of Spencer Cobrin’s best contributions amongst the handful of songs he co-wrote with Morrissey. Listen to ‘Lost’ here:
Lyrically, the song touches upon the passage of time (“Jet trails in the sky” being a metaphor for times past), remembrance (“A hand bangs into sand a name”), and the irrevocable ebb and flow of life with its flotsam-like swirl of people and events, in the midst of which each of us are effectively “lost”, though strictly in a metaphysical sense.
When Morrissey sings “Everybody's lost/But they're pretending they're not lost”, he is speaking of the illusion of control and stability, which are of course are of immense comfort to some degree or other (to feel that one is grounded and therefore largely immune to the vagaries of this mortal coil). In reality, we’ve very little control, if any, as the realities of existence painfully remind each of us from time to time.
Within this tumult of humanity, life must, and does, go on, as Morrissey (in his typical left-handed style) tacitly acknowledges:
If I see you and I tell you
How I've watched you
Don't make fun of me later
'Cause I'm just lost
Morrissey has performed ‘Lost’ live a total of 46 times, all on his Oye Esteban tour (October 1999 - April 2000).
English drummer from London who worked with Morrissey from 1991 to 1998. There was a falling out with Morrissey, the details of which are subject to unverified rumors, which caused Cobrin to end his relationship with the singer. After quitting Morrissey’s band, Cobrin moved to Brooklyn, New York and continues to work as a musician.
Danton Supple is an English record producer and mixer, best known for his work with Coldplay, among others.
I have the Roy's Keen Single. The Maladjusted re-issue is fantastic too - One of my favourite CDs. You write about the lyrical themes in a way that shows a clear understanding of the moods expressed.