Steven Patrick Morrissey, known mononymously as Morrissey, is an English singer, songwriter, and author. He came to prominence as the frontman of rock band the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. Profoundly inspirational Morrissey quotes will challenge the way you think, and help guide you through any life experience.
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Famous Morrissey Quotes
I feel undefinable actually. — Morrissey
I always seem to be singing against the grain. — Morrissey
I swim when I can but I don’t work out. — Morrissey
The monarchy is foremost a business, and it’s important to them that the British public continue to finance the excessive luxurious lifestyles of the now quite enormous, wasteful and useless ‘royal’ family. I find it very sad. — Morrissey
I don’t iron anything. Never have and never will. — Morrissey
It’s so tedious that everyone must be defined. — Morrissey
I’ve been pilloried so many times that I begin to expect it now. — Morrissey
Let lying dogs sleep is something I always say in reference to the Smiths. — Morrissey
The Smiths was an incredibly personal thing to me. It was like launching your own diary to music. — Morrissey
As London is suddenly promoted as a super-wealth brand, the England outside London shivers beneath cutbacks, tight circumstances and economic disasters. — Morrissey
I think the pop chart today is entirely market-driven. And it has nothing to do with public taste. And it has nothing to do with moving music forward. It’s simply a market chart. — Morrissey
I don’t know what I am. — Morrissey
Artists aren’t really people. And I’m actually 40 per cent papier mache. — Morrissey
What’s the first thing I do when I wake up in the morning? Wish I hadn’t. — Morrissey
That’s why I do this music business thing, it’s communication with people without having the extreme inconvenience of actually phoning anybody up. — Morrissey
I know L.A. well, but it’s a police state. — Morrissey
Killing a stag is like killing a child. What’s the difference? — Morrissey
If anyone has seen the horrific and unwatchable footage of the Chinese cat and dog trade – animals skinned alive – then they could not possibly argue in favour of China as a caring nation. There are no animal protection laws in China and this results in the worst animal abuse and cruelty on the planet. It is indefensible. — Morrissey
Any criticism of Thatcher throws a dangerously absurd light on the entire machinery of British politics. Thatcher’s name must be protected, not because of all the wrong that she had done, but because the people around her allowed her to do it. — Morrissey
I am slightly shocked to have gone as far as I have. — Morrissey
Even though I’ve been reasonably well known for quite a long time, I still can’t get a record on daytime radio or on MTV. — Morrissey
I’m capable of looking on the bright side. I just don’t do it very often. — Morrissey
It could be construed that the reason I wouldn’t wish to live in England is the immigration explosion. And that’s not true at all. — Morrissey
My talents do not lie in DIY. — Morrissey
I’m cursed with the gift of foresight. — Morrissey
I’m fascinated by people in their eighties and nineties. Especially those who are still creating and living in an interesting way. I am fascinated by them because they have so much to say now that they’ve lived for so long. — Morrissey
We’re all lonely, but I’d rather be lonely by myself than with a long list of duties and obligations. I think that’s why people kill themselves, really. — Morrissey
I do think it’s possible to go through life and never fall in love, or find someone who loves you. — Morrissey
The Royal family to me are not England, and they are not the flag. — Morrissey
I am unable to watch the Olympics due to the blustering jingoism that drenches the event. Has England ever been quite so foul with patriotism? The ‘dazzling royals’ have, quite naturally, hi-jacked the Olympics for their own empirical needs, and no oppositional voice is allowed in the free press. — Morrissey
I didn’t really see the British punk movement, if that’s what it was, as wildly original, because I had been listening so intently to all the New York music since 1973, really. — Morrissey
With the issue of immigration, it’s very difficult because, although I don’t have anything against people from other countries, the higher the influx into England, the more the British identity disappears. — Morrissey
Each year of life brings us nearer to our decline, but I will continue to seek a listener until I’m dead in a ditch. — Morrissey
If you love animals, obviously it doesn’t make sense to hurt them. — Morrissey
I have found the best way to avoid ending your life as a bitter wreck is to start out as one. — Morrissey
I think there are unseen powers who don’t want pop music to be anything other than glorified Madonnas. — Morrissey
There’s no such thing as good news in America. — Morrissey
You can’t help but feel that the Chinese are a subspecies. — Morrissey
The body changes shape and there’s nothing you can do about it. — Morrissey
I earn more than I thought I would when I became a poet. — Morrissey
I still prefer horses to human beings. — Morrissey
When I’m lying in my bed I think about life and I think about death and neither one particularly appeals to me. — Morrissey
I don’t even know if I exist offstage. — Morrissey
Not everybody is absolutely stupid. Why on earth would I be racist, what would I be trying to achieve? — Morrissey
I have no love for myself as a human being, but I have immense pride in the music I make. — Morrissey
People don’t like me. — Morrissey
The Smiths are never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever going to reunite – ever. — Morrissey
I never imagined I’d be a solo artist. And now I couldn’t imagine being part of a group. — Morrissey
Well, I’m a Catholic by birth and you can never shed it. — Morrissey
I first bought a Buffy Sainte-Marie record when I was 12, and her music has always remained with me. In the 1960s, as a political activist, Buffy’s lyrics were fearless, and I’m very grateful for all the risks that she took. — Morrissey
Those Catholics, they really nab you when you’re young. — Morrissey
I don’t necessarily think that the world should know everything, and even if you consider yourself to be extremely honest, that doesn’t mean you have to blurt everything out all the time. — Morrissey
Reggae is vile. — Morrissey
That was the problem with the ‘celibate’ word because they don’t consider for a moment that you’d rather not be, but you just are. I was never a sexual person. — Morrissey
Racism is beyond common sense and has no place in our society. — Morrissey
The word ‘indie’ is meaningless now. It’s so over-used that people think it simply means green hair. — Morrissey
I’ve only been to Ireland once, and I felt I would wake up with voices in my head, almost like music, and that if I were a songwriter, I would be very inspired. — Morrissey
Lady Gaga said to me, ‘You showed me how it’s done.’ I have no idea what she meant by ‘it.’ — Morrissey
I began to go to concerts when I was 12 years old. — Morrissey
If you walk through Knightsbridge on any bland day of the week you won’t hear an English accent. You’ll hear every accent under the sun apart from the British accent. — Morrissey
I mean, death is a serious thing, certainly not to be sneezed at. — Morrissey
I don’t think I’m ever forgiven for anything, which is baffling because I’m not on TV that much. — Morrissey
Often I feel I say too much. — Morrissey
I would find the idea of compiling a setlist that doesn’t wildly excite me to be too restricting. — Morrissey
You have to, at least from a distance, look as if you know what you’re doing, and I can manage that. — Morrissey
For me to think in terms of employing security seems ostentatious. — Morrissey
When you’re younger, you see the people who are in power and think they must have that position because of some degree of skill. And as you get older, you realize it’s not true, that most people in those positions are absolutely inept. And this naturally makes you feel better about yourself. — Morrissey
It’s always nice to receive a compliment. — Morrissey
There has to reach a point where you’ve said enough. — Morrissey
I normally live in Los Angeles, if you can call it normally living. — Morrissey
If you travel to Germany, it’s still absolutely Germany. If you travel to Sweden, it still has a Swedish identity. — Morrissey
I’m a traditionalist. — Morrissey
I’ve never intended to be controversial, but it’s very easy to be controversial in pop music because nobody ever is. — Morrissey
Life’s full of tricky snakes and ladders. — Morrissey
I don’t want to go on much longer, really. I think that would suggest a lack of imagination. A certain lack of dignity also. — Morrissey
I think I’d be a prime candidate for canonisation. — Morrissey
My parents were worried about me, certainly when I became so deeply interested in music and people like the New York Dolls who, at the time, were very peculiar indeed. — Morrissey
The solo years have been more meaningful to the audiences than the Smiths years, but the press in England only write about me in relation to the Smiths era. — Morrissey
The fire in the belly is essential, otherwise you become Michael Buble – famous and meaningless. — Morrissey
Although I don’t have anything against people from other countries, the higher the influx into England the more the British identity disappears. — Morrissey
I know I will never have a hit single in America. — Morrissey
The most common phrase bandied about these days is ‘Oh my God’. People say it automatically all the time – not realising that that’s a form of prayer. — Morrissey
Everything about my life is private, really. I’m not so sure that any of it has ever been public. — Morrissey
I hated the royal wedding. — Morrissey
Age shouldn’t affect you. It’s just like the size of your shoes – they don’t determine how you live your life! You’re either marvellous or you’re boring, regardless of your age. — Morrissey
As a very small child I found recorded noise and the solitary singer beneath the spotlight so dramatic and so brave… walking the plank… willingly… It was sink or swim. The very notion of standing there, alone, I found beautiful. — Morrissey
My family, although they’re very large on both my parents’ sides, they don’t know much about their family tree. Occasionally, they try to dig, but they can’t get very far, and it’s baffling. In Dublin, it seems that so many public records were wiped out; it’s proven to be very difficult, so I know very little. — Morrissey
Age gives you a great sense of proportion. You can be very hard on yourself when you’re younger but now I just think ‘well everybody’s absolutely mad and I’m doing quite well’. — Morrissey
The Queen is the ultimate dictator. — Morrissey
I do maintain that if your hair is wrong, your entire life is wrong. — Morrissey
You may not realize this, but people have the power to change the world. — Morrissey
Once somebody is known, it seems as though anybody anywhere can say anything about them. Whereas if I simply stopped someone in the street and criticised their clothes, their work, their parents, their inner being, I’d be sued and I’d be thrown in prison. — Morrissey
England is a memory now. The gates are flooded and anybody can have access to England and join in. — Morrissey
Congratulations to Prince Charles for banning foie gras from all his functions. — Morrissey
I’m not an anarchist, but I believe that people don’t want the royal family – the so-called royal family. — Morrissey
All of us, ultimately, we’re not that interesting, when it comes down to it. — Morrissey
Peru, Peru. My heart’s lighthouse. — Morrissey
Long hair is an unpardonable offence which should be punishable by death. — Morrissey
I find that it isn’t wise to attempt to judge people on their public persona, and even on the music they make. Because I’ve met so many people whose music I cannot stand, and they’re very nice. At the same time, I’ve met people whose music I’ve loved, and they’re not the person you’ve invested all this emotion in. — Morrissey
Pop music has progressed. — Morrissey
No British politician has ever been more despised by the British people than Margaret Thatcher. — Morrissey
You are bound to pick up influences. — Morrissey
