"I Want The One I Can't Have"
(Morrissey/Marr)
These words are transcribed without permission the way they appear in the "Meat Is Murder" album. Additions to the printed lyrics are in darker text while omissions are striken out.
On the day that your mentality
decides to try to
catches up with your biology
come 'round 1
Cause I want the one I can't have
and it's driving me mad 2
it's written all over, all over, all over my face
(repeat)
On the day that your mentality
catches up with your biology
I want the one I can't have
and it's driving me mad
it's all over all over all over my face
A double-bed
and a stalwart lover, for sure
these are the riches of the poor
A double-bed
and a stalwart lover, for sure
these are the riches of the poor
(refrain)
And I want the one I can't have
and it's driving me mad 2
it's all over all over my face
a tough kid who sometimes swallows nails
raised on Prisoner's Aid
he killed a policeman when he was thirteen
and somehow that really impressed me
it's written all over my face 3
these are the riches of the poor
these are the riches of the poor
I want the one I can't have
and it's driving me mad 2
it's written all over my face
On the day that your mentality
catches up with your biology
And if you ever need self-validation
just meet me in the alley by the railway-station
it's written all over my face
Note: In early demos of this song, the 'tough kid' "killed his mother when he was thirteen" instead of killing a policeman.
1 On the 2002 tour Morrissey often sang "please, come 'round".
2 On the 2002 tour Morrissey sometimes added emphasis by singing "Jesus! it's driving me mad look! it's (written) all over my face"
3 On the 2002 tour Morrissey sometimes sang "look! it's all over my face"
Quotes
One memorable couplet from your new record: "A double bed, a stalwart lover for sure/These are the riches of the poor."
"That came from a sense I had that, trite as it may sound, when people get married and are getting their flat - not even their house, note - the most important thing was getting the double bed. It was like the prized exhibit; the cooker, the fire, everything else came later. In the lives of many working class people the only time they feel they're the centre of attention is on their wedding day. Getting married, regrettably is still the one big event in their lives. It's the one day when they're quite special..."
- Morrissey on "I Want The One I Can't Have", NME, 22/29 December 1984