Still Ill
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3:32 (Peel session)
| "Still Ill" | |
|---|---|
| Song by The Smiths | |
| from the album The Smiths | |
| Released | 20 February 1984 |
| Recorded | 1983 |
| Genre | |
| Length | 3:23 (album version) 3:32 (Peel session) |
| Label | Rough Trade |
| Songwriters | Morrissey, Johnny Marr |
| Producers | John Porter, The Smiths |
"Still Ill" is a song by the English rock band the Smiths. It was written by singer Morrissey and guitarist Johnny Marr. It was featured on their self-titled debut album in February 1984. Another version of the song was included on the compilation album Hatful of Hollow in November 1984.
"Still Ill" has been described both as Morrissey's "deeply personal realisation that his old dreams and freedoms were dead" and also as a reflection on his sexual orientation, in the Thatcher era.[1][2] In 2018 The Independent described it as "infused with a bitterness at the country’s political failings". It is a moody and poignant song which worries that life will never again be simple and carefree.[3][2] The lyrics of the song reference a nostalgia for the past ("We cannot cling to the old dreams anymore"),[4] Morrissey's dislike for working at regular jobs,[5][6] and his feelings about someone he had kissed "in the old days" but feels differently towards when kissing them in the present.[6] It also ponders whether the body rules the mind, or vice versa.[1] Writing in Paste, Tyler Kane notes that the song "can sound hopeful, morose and back again all within a few measures".[7]
Morrissey took the line "Under the iron bridge we kissed, and although I ended up with sore lips ..." from Viv Nicholson's autobiography.[8]
Johnny Marr's composition of the song, and his skilful playing of the difficult mood transitions in it, have been frequently praised.[9][7] The recordings are characterised by particularly intricate bass guitar playing by The Smiths’ bassist Andy Rourke, as Marr mentions in his autobiography.