Why pamper lifes complexities when the leather runs

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You should upgrade or use an alternative browser. Thread starter jennyy7 Start date Jul 2, Hi everybody! I am Italian and I would like to know what does this sentence mean. In addition to that, I would like to know if the word "pamper" belongs to the slang terminology or if it is an English one. Thank you in advance.

Last edited by a moderator: Nov 2, To be frank this really doesn't make any sense at all - which is often the case with song lyrics. Pamper means to spoil or indulge something Pamper means to look after with great care, as with a baby or an old person. It can be used to describe beauty treatments etc. The Pampers nappy brand is fairly well known. Click to expand I got what you mean. There should be a mistake from the part of the person who post the lyric of the song.

By the way I think that generally lyrics make sense, which in some cases is not immediate, but more metaphoric. Franzi said:. Some lyrics make sense. Smiths lyrics are often not among those. I went and listened to the song and it is definitely 'pamper'. And it still doesn't make any sense! I'm a literature teacher, so I understand about poetry and metaphor. I'm prepared to try and follow poets down twists and turns of linguistic by-ways to see what they might be trying to suggest.

Seems I'm not the only one who can't help you make any sense of these lyrics, though! I understand that you like Morrisey, but I promise you that many of his lyrics strike many native speakers as rather nonsensical. Some of them may be very deep and profound; others are mainly weird. This use of 'pamper' does not suggest a sensible meaning that anyone other than Morrisey would easily figure out. Perhaps he chose the word for the sound rather than the meaning.

IMO it's like an advisory thing that he gave to the protagonist as a question. I would clarify them to "Why are you pampering following, caring of the complexity of your life makes life harder when you can go on easily with your charm?

Last edited: Apr 17, As a fan of Morrissey, The Smiths and as a vegetarian, I believe I know the correct meaning for this line. If you're not a vegetarian as Morrissey is and was when he wrote it, you will probably not understand it completely.

I always understood it as.. I know what leather is made of, but it feels and smells so great. Why should I care about anything else at this time, when I feel so good when experiencing it? Well you might believe that The guy strings words together cos it suits him, some people think that's deep and clever.

I think it's phoney Well, suzi br, I agree that Morrissey does string words together because it suits him, but I'm sure you already know that this is how language works. We can put words together which can be constructed into sentences and poems and even Morrissey's lyrics. All I'm saying is, that I think I know what he means when he sings about pampering life's complexities, because like-minded people think alike.

I like to pamper life's complexities. I enjoy not being shallow or superficial. I prefer a complex life that allows me to know and empathise about forced abortion in China, extremist class-based segregation in India and 80 million animals killed every day. I don't enjoy these things but I want to know about them because with a little luck, with my help in any which way I can help during my remaining years, the world can be improved slightly, and I just cannot imagine being the "charming guy" whose only worry in life is that the leather on the seats of his newly bought car doesn't run smoothly enough.

Wackojacko New Member English. It's very simple to understand morrissey, if you're a mozz fan! If you listen to all his quite fantastic lyrical songs you'll find out too what he means! Basically the lyrics mean Why take care of life's many complications, when you can have a fabulous car with leather seats! It's basic morrissey sarcasm! Classic mozz, too powerful for some, I presume. Wackojacko said:. Guys, guys. First, "when the leather runs smooth on the passenger seat" is not a simple observation that "I have a nice car.

That's why it's "the passenger seat" - the narrator, whose bike has broken down, is being asked to get into the "charming man's" car and his bed as well, into his life in fact.

Second, "pamper" doesn't make any sense here. And the "charming man" misspeaks: he means to say "Why ponder life's complexities when we could have pleasure in the here and now?

The charming man says "Don't worry about labels, baby, let's just make love. But the "charming man" uses the word "pamper" instead of "ponder. His version of male homosexuality is disgusting to the narrator, even though the narrator clearly is looking to experiment with another man or is at least feeling the limits of his failure to be straight "will Nature make a man of me yet?

Neither one of the characters escapes a pretty brutal critique - the "charming man" seems materialistic and vapid, and the young narrator is passive, self-hating, and even self-deluding. Maybe, maybe not. But even it it wasn't intended doesn't mean that it isn't there to be read into. Shampoo on March 19, General Comment Handsome and sexually confused young cyclist crashes and punctures one of the wheels, leaving him stranded, until he's picked up by a strangely obliging gent who convinces him that getting married would be a mistake and a fiasco, and presumably seduces him on the smooth leather of the passenger seat.

Gotta love it. Chloe le Fay on July 11, Link. Chloe le Fay. Wrong Chloe. He's not confused, he's trapped in a car with a creepy gay man who is dispensing creepy pearls of wisdom based on his sexual preferences, and the song is actually about him wishing he'd stayed on his bike.. You must live in a scary world. Still the best song meaning interpretation ever. Love it. Still make me smile a little knowing smile. Sophocles65 on August 31, General Comment Been a Smiths fan for years.

The line "will Nature make a man of me yet? The juxtaposition of him using his own legs to get through life versus riding shotgun on someone else's ticket is great. And his own method symbolized by the bike is useless, since his bicycle is broken he has no career skills, etc However, this lifestyle has a price and here's the twist that I offer - "Return the ring" means that he is calling the man, but the man is not taking or answering his calls.

In other words, the man possibly used him for sex, but while the "charming man" can offer the young man things like an nice car seat, or other material amenities, it is only temporary, and he will discard the young man and his "services" when he tires of him.

But the young man needs the sugar daddy figure to maintain his lifestyle. The other possibility is that the man picked him up in the car, asked him to go out, and told him that he was handsome, etc. But the boy is struggling with his place in life, sexuality, etc.. The "jumped-up pantry boy" could be one of his friends, or a flatmate, telling him to take the man's calls the man who picked him up and asked him out , "he knows so much about these things" means that the friend is a hustler, and knows a good "mark" when he sees one.

It's also interesting to think that the young man was staging the whole thing from the beginning, working his first "John. But I think that's the beauty of any great piece of art, there can be several valid interpretations of the same thing, and I think this song reflects that. There is an interpretation that identifies with everyone, and that is the gift that Morrissey possesses in spades, theft or no theft, haha. Just a few thoughts, hope it triggers more.

OneTwo on March 17, Link. OneTwo My favorite interpretation. Spot on. RogueNeuron on June 03, General Comment "Punctured bicycle on a hillside desolate" -I'm a failure and my future prospects are grim.

I'm broken and no one cares in this 'desolate' landscape. So I think this line is referring to the fact that he's a virgin. I interpret 'this charming man' as being an adviser to the protagonist. He sees that the protagonist is broken and hopeless and so offers his wisdom and generosity. I think the song is mainly one of gratitude, Morrissey or the protagonist thanking the man for being there for him at that point in his life. Introverts have a tendency to be 'absent' from the present moment and lost in their minds.

I think Morrissey is expressing here how, even though it sucks that his 'bicycle is punctured' he has thus far been a failure , there is hope and pleasure in the present moment, and worrying about what happened to him and what will become of him in the future is rather pointless. Why not just enjoy the moment? The man, this muse, perhaps not even a real man as the 'man' is metaphoric gives a boost to the protagonist's self esteem.

He wants the protagonist to believe in himself, and he sees the charisma and the potential that the protagonist cannot see in himself. The 'charming man' has been divorced and advises the protagonist to not get married. I could be wrong, of course, but that's the most likely meaning I can come up with. When you consider who Morrissey is and his depth, you'll have a hard time reconciling that this song is simply about a homosexual romp.

HatedEnemy on July 18, Link. No Replies Log in to reply. General Comment Nobody seems to be noticing that the line "a jumped-up pantry boy who never knew his place" could be referring to a young boy "in the closet," not quite knowing how to live the way he's expected to live. Good point! It refers to a servant Pantry boy. All you closet queens need to make everything about being gay. General Comment a jumped up pantry boy I always thought referred to the charming man, that as the boy sits in the car he is caught between evaluating this mans position and the validity of his experience to give him advice and being so caught up in the magic of the situation that he accepts the charming man does indeed know so much about these things General Comment I like what people have thought about it, so now I'll give my input on it as well.

It reminds me a heck of a lot about The Picture of Dorian Gray. I don't know if anyone has mentioned it, I assume someone has. Because there's this one part where Dorian is invited to something by Lord Henry, and he says he doesn't have anything to wear. Henry then says that it shouldn't matter, because of his good looks. And Wilde was homosexual and the book carried on a tinge of homosexuality. And with the rings, Dorian wore a couple of rings, and it's clearly mentioned in book that they are of some significance.

I'm guessing it's kind of fuse between this situation that Morrissey has created and adding Dorian. General Comment Lots have people seem to have misinterpreted this song, and there is in fact a clear misprint in the lyrics that have been put up on this site but I will get to that in a minute. This song is actually about a charming naturalist, the signs are everywhere.

The "protagonist" travels on a bike, the perfect vehicle for riding around in the countryside. The bike is punctured, that could only be from the thawns and such debris one would find in nature. The scene occurs on 'a hillside desolate' MyChemicalPoledance on April 02, Link.

Having misheard 2 crucial lines for more years than I care to admit to, I totally cracked up over your misinterpretation "he knows so much about bee stings". An alternate reading could also be that Morrissey was here coyly referencing 'The Wicker Man', with it's pagan nature worship, although I'm pretty sure Edward Woodward was never assaulted with an Orwellian 'bee-helmet' in the original filmed version, causing him to overact like Nicholas Cage did in the unintentionally hilarious remake.

Food for thought, n'est-ce pas? My Interpretation I mean "this charming man" is reference to Morrissey himself. You know, he's so charming, but he's got such pointless problems like he "haven't got a stitch to wear", or "punctured bicycle". And "this man said it's gruesome that someone so handsome should care" about these little things. And yeah, it's actually all his life about: He is charming, but he's got such a issues with his shyness, self-confidence and stuff.

And imagine that That stairway nervous laugh I first heard him utter years ago is who I always knew he was If only he could see what I saw and still continue to see. Hey, but he has fame and money Jeffreystump on December 13, General Comment I agree with a lot of things said here. But no one talked about the homossexualism.