Shelby Moreland

Christine Olding
Lyrical Analysis
April 7, 2015

The Smiths Asleep Song Analysis

The Smiths were a very popular rock band that formed in Manchester, England
in 1982. The band had no real meaning behind their name. They settled for the name The
Smiths to go against the typical complicated band names that emphasize their music. The band
was composed of four men: Steven Morrissey (vocals), Johnny Marr (guitarist), Andy Rourke
(bassist), and Mike Joyce (drummer) (Reynolds).
The band signed with Rough Trade Records and four of their studio albums appeared on
the Rolling Stones list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. The Smiths were voted the
most influential band ever in a 2002 NME poll (The Smiths: Most Influential Artist Ever).
Simon Goddard, a British music journalist even disputed that The Smiths were "the one truly
vital voice of the '80s". The four studio albums they released while they were still together
ended up on the UK top 5 as well (Goddard).
The band became very popular in the United States. Before they went on tour Morrissey
actually fired Rourke by leaving a postcard on his car. Rourke believes he was fired because of
his arrest and charges of possession of heroin. Morrissey thought that he wouldnt be able to
get a visa, which he needed to go on tour. Andy actually did end up getting his visa and was
asked to join them again (Moynihan). In 1987 Johnny Marr ended up taking a break from the
band, and he felt a negative vibe from the rest of the guys. Eventually, there was a NME article
entitled Smiths to Split and Marr assumed that Morrissey was responsible for the article.
Morrissey was not the culprit; however, the band did end up splitting up that year. There were
many people who were heartbroken over this and others who asked them to reunite, but they

2
turned down every single offer. In fact, most of the band members are not in contact with each
other anymore, and are not friends. In an interview, Andy Rourke stated There have been a
couple of suicides that I know of because of The Smiths. And we used to get letters because of
that. A couple of people committed suicide because of the Smiths when we split up,
(Moynihan).
One of their songs is actually interpreted to be about suicide. The song Asleep from
the album titled The World Wont Listen by The Smiths depicts the narrator's desire to
commit suicide and find a better life. The song also explains his desire to let people know that
he wants this for himself and that everything will be OK. This is shown through the lyrics,
instrumentation, and vocals.
The Smiths use of instrumentation shows that the narrators feelings and emotions are
true. The pensive tone lets the listener know and interpret that the narrator is actually sad and
does have true feelings to commit suicide. The slow melody (a musically satisfying sequences
of notes collectively) agrees with and complements the vocals. The piano is very soft and
causes you to focus more on the raw, accurate feeling that the narrator is showing through his
vocals and lyrics. The instrumentation makes one feel calm, and sad for the narrator. The
fading music box at the end of the song helps to confirm that the narrator had true feelings by
fading out at the end. In my mind when the music box faded out it demonstrated that his
feelings were so strong about this that he actually did commit suicide, and faded away just as
the music box did.
The lyrics show how the narrator wants to die peacefully in his sleep. The lyrics express
to the listener that death is what he wants and he does not want anyone to feel sad for him, for
there is a better life on the other side. The song states Sing me to sleep/And then leave me

3
alone/Don't try to wake me in the morning explaining that he wishes to be left alone and does
not want to wake up from his slumber. Although he does not directly say it, I believe that he
wants to die peacefully when he does say sing me to sleep. For when you are sung to sleep
you are usually calm and peaceful. Through the lyrics Dont feel bad for me/I want you to
know/Deep in the cell of my heart/I will feel so glad to go the narrator shows that he does not
want his friends, family, possibly anyone to feel bad for him. There is a better world/Well,
there must be shows that the narrator wants this for himself, to commit suicide, so that he can
be at peace with himself and find a better life in the afterlife. The repetition of the line sing me
to sleep shows that the narrator is desperate and determined to commit suicide.
Throughout the song you can tell that the character progressively loses hope. At the
beginning of the song the narrator is somber, saying that he is tired and he wants to go to bed.
In the middle of the song the character actually states that he wants to fall asleep and does not
want to be awoken. He also states that he will be so glad to go and that he does not wish for
people to feel bad for him. At the end of the song the narrator talks about the how there will be
a better afterlife, and the outcome is clearly death as he says bye bye.
The vocals make you actually think about how the character is exhausted and wants to
die peacefully. The narrators drawn out words demonstrates that he is tired, and possibly worn
out from the life that he has lived, or the despair that causes him to wish that he would not
wake up. The repetition of the characters voice demonstrates that he is reinstating the theme of
the song: death. The softness in the narrators voice assures you that he is comfortable with the
idea of death and the afterlife, and that he has gone peacefully in his sleep. The fading, drawn
out bye at the end makes you believe that the character finally committed suicide and is
going towards the afterlife where he wanted to be and is at ease. The vocals and the

4
instrumentation match very well; however, I dont believe that the lyrics match the vocals and
instrumentation. When you imagine a song about committing suicide it usually doesnt sound
so calm and peaceful.

I first thought that the song could possibly be about the lead singer Ian Curtis from the
band Joy Division because they were a very popular band and Ian committed suicide and left
a lot of people torn and heartbroken. After doing some research, reading many articles and
comments, I have found that to be untrue. The Smiths purposely did not sign with a contractor
in Manhattan because they didnt want to be associated with the Joy Division scene. In an
interview with Morrissey, he stated that he saw Joy Division just before Ian Curtis hung
himself and he was unmoved by the situation and saw his death as a cautionary tale
(Gancarski).
The song Asleep was only performed one time. There is no justified reasoning to why
it was only performed live one time but could possibly be due to the fact that the band broke up
shortly after it was performed. It was an unplanned performance and the band only played the
song because there was a piano near the stage. The piano was played by Johnny Marr who, as
stated before, was the bands guitarist.
The song Asleep is a perfect depiction of desperation and depression. Many people
can find comfort in listening to this song. Through the instrumentation, lyrics, and vocals, the
band absolutely shows how gentle, peaceful, and comfortable death and suicide can be.
Asleep is very unique; you cannot find many songs or even thoughts like that today. Many
people assume that suicide and depression are selfish and do not care to look into it any further

5
than that. I think if you take the time to analyze, or even just listen to the song, that your
thoughts about suicide could be changed.

References
Gancarski, A.G. "Manchester Heroes." The American Conservative. N.p., 26 July 2013. Web.
07
Apr. 2015.
Goddard, Simon. "The Last Rites. Web. Q. No. 250. May. 2007.
Moynihan, Michael. "Bigmouth Strikes Again: Smiths Bassist Andy Rourke Tells All." The
Daily
Beast. Newsweek/Daily Beast, 13 Oct. 2013. Web. 07 Apr. 2015.
Reynolds, Simon C.W. "The Smiths | British Rock Group." Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
Encyclopedia Britannica, 4 Dec. 2013. Web. 07 Apr. 2015.
"The Smiths: Most Influential Artist Ever." NME. N.p., 15 Apr. 2002. Web. 08 Apr. 2015.

Shelby,
First off, I want to say you should be extremely proud of your work within this paper. You do
an excellent job of providing solid foundational background information for the reader to
provide context and understanding of the band and the song itself. Your lyrical analysis was
done extremely well with your use of clear claims, evidence and explanation to connect
everything together. You also did a nice job of incorporating outside information to help further
prove the validity of your interpretation of the song. Remember, writing is a process!
-CO

7
Clear understanding of songs:______20____/ 20
In-depth analysis of songs concerning the importance of the artist on the hippy, punk or goth
movement: _____24____/25
In-depth analysis of the idea of revolt within the song(s):__19___/20
Accurate biographical information with proper citations: ______20___/20
MUGS:____14__/ 15 Total: 97% A :)

Ranking

Clear
understanding
of songs

In-depth
analysis of
songs
concerning
the hippy,
punk or
goth
movement

In-depth
analysis
of the
idea of
revolt
within
the
song(s)

Accurate
biographical
information
with proper
citations

MUGS

Excellent

Good
Okay
Poor