The song was very likely written during 1996, or at the latest during the recording session for the "Maladjusted" album at Hook End Manor in January 1997, with producer Steve Lillywhite. Musicians on this recording were Martin aka Boz Boorer (guitars, clarinet), Alain Whyte (guitars, piano, backing vocals), Jonny Bridgwood (bass) and Spencer James Cobrin (drums).

Another version was recorded on 16 August 1997 for Morrissey's appearance on Y107's Modern Rock Live programme in Los Angeles, alongside 4 other numbers from the "Maladjusted" album. The personnel was the same as above.

album version {4:41}

• "Maladjusted" album, original edition

• "Maladjusted" album, redesigned edition [remastered 2009]

Modern Rock Live radio session 16 August 1997 {4:03}

Nothing from this 5-song radio session (also including "Roy's Keen", "Trouble Loves Me", "Satan Rejected My Soul" and "Alma Matters") has ever been given an official release, but average sounding recordings of the tracks can be found on various manufactured bootlegs as well as in digital format on the internet.

This song has been done in concert a total of 66 times by Morrissey. He sang it 20 times on the 1997 Maladjusted tour, as a regular for the first month, then only sporadically as the setlists featured less and less material from the album being promoted and more from the earlier "Vauxhall & I" and "Southpaw Grammar" albums. Against all expectations, the song was pulled out of the vaults and played every night on the second leg of the 2011 tour, for a total of 16 performances. It returned on and off the following year, played a total of 20 times out of 56 dates. It was last heard 10 times in 2013, out of 15 concerts given that year.

live Hollywood High School 2 March 2013 {:}

• "25Live", a live concert on video

No demos or studio outtakes of this song have leaked to the general public at this point in time.

Quotes

On the subject of this song in the 2009 expanded and redesigned edition of the "Maladjusted" album, Morrissey wrote: "Boz had written a risky tune with a dramatic outro. I ignore the risky tune and utilize only the outro, making it the entire recorded song. If Life is meaningless, then why did it ever begin? Michael Bracewell asks, 'are you mentioning Stevenage because you like Here we go round the mulberry bush so much?' and my answer is No. It is enough just to be."