Morrissey: New song, Bonfire of the Teenagers, about the Manchester Arena jihad bombing.

Hat tip: Mr P.
Most of our British ‘entertainers’ either support the ‘peace and love ~ we celebrate diversity’ schtick or they keep quite about their views, lest they be cancelled and can no longer make a living. There are exceptions; Laurence Fox is one, Morrissey, once singer with The Smiths is another.  Morrissey is from Manchester, so the Arena murders would have hit him hard. It hit me hard, harder even than the London transport bombs of July 2007. That was a danger I could have been caught in, but I could have been caught in any and every IRA attack for the previous 40 years. Manchester arena threatened our children, my child.

Anyway, Morrissey has not been quiet and now he is singing about it. This is a new song which he brought to his set at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas on Friday.

Bonfire of teenagers
Which is so high it made North West sky
Oh you shoulda seen her leave for the arena
And the way she turned and waved and smiled
Goodbye goodbye

And the silly people sing don’t look back in anger
And the morons sing and sway Don’t look back in anger
I can assure you I will look back in anger ’till the day I die.

Bonfire of teenagers
Which is so high it made North West sky
And oh you shoulda seen her leave for the arena
only to be
Vaporised
Vaporised

And all the silly people say Don’t look back in anger
All the morons sing and sway
Don’t look back in anger
I can assure you I will look back in anger ’till the day I die

Go easy on the killer
Go easy on the killer
Go easy on the killer
Go easy on the killer
Easy on, go easy on the killer
Go easy on, go easy on the killer

The contempt in his voice as he sings the line ‘Don’t look back in anger’, a play from the 1950s by John Osborne, which gave the title of a song from 1996 by Oasis, also a Manchester band. They played (or one of the Gallagher brothers did, the other caused a row) a benefit concert for the victims.

Young people of Manchester gathered in the town centre after the murders to light candles, lay flowers and sing, peace and love, diversity is strength, stronger together…

Comment
This song is incredible. I’m from Manchester and worked a few streets away from St Anne’s Square – the place where they held a vigil a couple of days after the bombing. I went with everyone from work, and stood there, absolutely furious, as everyone sang that bloody song, along with chants of Stronger Together – whatever that means. On the night of the bombing, Manchester was failed by so many people who should have been there to protect us from a dangerous ideology and violent individuals. Don’t Look Back In Anger? I can assure you, I will, and I do.

I don’t expect to hear this on the radio.  Certainly not any British station. But well done that man.