"I Know It's Over" is a song by the English rock band the Smiths. Recorded in 1985, it is the third track on their third studio album The Queen Is Dead.
The instrumentation was written by Johnny Marr in summer 1985. Morrissey's vocal performance on this track is considered by many to be one of the finest of his career. The song was originally meant to have trumpet on it during the refrain at the end, but it was scrapped.[2] In the book Songs That Saved Your Life, Simon Goddard explains that Morrissey did not show his bandmates the lyric until the instrumental track was entirely finished.[1] Marr once described witnessing Morrissey's vocal performance as "one of the highlights of my life".[2]
Receptionedit
Simon Reynolds of Pitchfork wrote "The writing in 'I Know It’s Over' is a tour de force, from the opening image of the empty—sexless, loveless—bed as a grave, through the suicidal inversions of 'The sea wants to take me/The knife wants to slit me,' onto the self-lacerations of 'If you’re so funny, then why are you on your own tonight?' and finally the unexpected and amazing grace of 'It’s so easy to hate/It takes strength to be gentle and kind.'"[3] In 2017, Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone placed the song number three in his ranking of 73 songs by the Smiths.[4]
More negatively, Mark Coleman of Rolling Stone wrote that "As expected, Morrissey dons his misery-goat costume for "I Know It’s Over" and "Never Had No One Ever" (except for Mom, natch)."[5]
Live performancesedit
The song was performed 29 times by the Smiths, being played on every show on the UK leg of the Queen Is Dead tour besides the final one-off show.[6] The song is featured on the 1988 live album Rank.
In popular cultureedit
The song is used as a plot point in the film 500 Days of Summer, in which the protagonist (as a child) misinterprets the tongue-in-cheek lyrics of the song as genuine.
^ abGoddard, Simon (2013). Songs That Saved Your Life (Revised Edition): The Art of The Smiths 1982-87 (second ed.). Titan Books. ISBN9781781162590.
^ abNME Blog (16 June 2016). . NME. Archived from the original on 9 December 2020.
^Reynolds, Simon. . Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 17 February 2021.
^Sheffield, Rob (1 August 2017). "The Smiths: All 73 Songs, Ranked". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
^Coleman, Mark (11 September 1986). . Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 17 February 2021.
^Passions Just Like Mine. . Archived from the original on 23 February 2020.
November 23, 2023
know, over, song, english, rock, band, smiths, recorded, 1985, third, track, their, third, studio, album, queen, dead, song, smithsfrom, album, queen, deadreleasedjune, 1986recorded1985studiojacobs, studios, farnham, length5, 48labelrough, tradesongwriter, mor. I Know It s Over is a song by the English rock band the Smiths Recorded in 1985 it is the third track on their third studio album The Queen Is Dead I Know It s Over Song by the Smithsfrom the album The Queen Is DeadReleasedJune 1986Recorded1985StudioJacobs Studios Farnham 1 Length5 48LabelRough TradeSongwriter s Morrissey Johnny MarrProducer s Morrissey amp Marr Contents 1 Background 2 Reception 3 Live performances 4 In popular culture 5 Personnel 6 ReferencesBackground editThe instrumentation was written by Johnny Marr in summer 1985 Morrissey s vocal performance on this track is considered by many to be one of the finest of his career The song was originally meant to have trumpet on it during the refrain at the end but it was scrapped 2 In the book Songs That Saved Your Life Simon Goddard explains that Morrissey did not show his bandmates the lyric until the instrumental track was entirely finished 1 Marr once described witnessing Morrissey s vocal performance as one of the highlights of my life 2 Reception editSimon Reynolds of Pitchfork wrote The writing in I Know It s Over is a tour de force from the opening image of the empty sexless loveless bed as a grave through the suicidal inversions of The sea wants to take me The knife wants to slit me onto the self lacerations of If you re so funny then why are you on your own tonight and finally the unexpected and amazing grace of It s so easy to hate It takes strength to be gentle and kind 3 In 2017 Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone placed the song number three in his ranking of 73 songs by the Smiths 4 More negatively Mark Coleman of Rolling Stone wrote that As expected Morrissey dons his misery goat costume for I Know It s Over and Never Had No One Ever except for Mom natch 5 Live performances editThe song was performed 29 times by the Smiths being played on every show on the UK leg of the Queen Is Dead tour besides the final one off show 6 The song is featured on the 1988 live album Rank In popular culture editThe song is used as a plot point in the film 500 Days of Summer in which the protagonist as a child misinterprets the tongue in cheek lyrics of the song as genuine Personnel editMorrissey vocals Johnny Marr guitars Andy Rourke bass guitar Mike Joyce drumsReferences edit a b Goddard Simon 2013 Songs That Saved Your Life Revised Edition The Art of The Smiths 1982 87 second ed Titan Books ISBN 9781781162590 a b NME Blog 16 June 2016 The Incredible Full Story Behind The Smiths The Queen Is Dead As Told By The Band NME Archived from the original on 9 December 2020 Reynolds Simon The Smiths The Queen Is Dead Pitchfork Archived from the original on 17 February 2021 Sheffield Rob 1 August 2017 The Smiths All 73 Songs Ranked Rolling Stone Retrieved 24 February 2022 Coleman Mark 11 September 1986 The Queen is Dead Rolling Stone Archived from the original on 17 February 2021 Passions Just Like Mine I Know It s Over Archived from the original on 23 February 2020 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title I Know It 27s Over amp oldid 1183948643, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
