Meaning of “Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now” by The Smiths

Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now is a song by the legendary English indie rock band The Smiths. The song, which is known for being one of The Smiths’ most unambiguous, as the name implies, is rife with miserable lyrics that see the protagonist Morrissey basically telling the world of how miserable his life is. The line in which Morrissey sings about looking for a job and then finding a job and still being miserable even after getting the job is autobiographical. In addition to the heavy theme of misery, the song briefly talks about an instance in the life of the narrator (Morrissey) in which he was forced to “flee” from a woman because she asked him something that would have even made the famous Roman Emperor Caligula blush. Now, anyone who knows the Emperor Caligula knows he was very notorious for his shocking amorous activities. This therefore gives us the indication that whatever the woman in question asked from Morrissey was something shockingly amorous in nature.

Facts about “Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now”

• Just like the majority of The Smiths’ songs, this one was also written by guitarist Johnny Marr and singer Morrissey.
• The song was produced by a British record producer John Porter and released on 21st May, 1984.
• Having made its way to the 10th position on the UK Singles Chart, the song is one of The Smith’s most successful songs. Furthermore, the song made it into the list of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s list of the 500 songs responsible for shaping rock and roll music.
• Johnny Marr wrote the music for Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now in just an hour. According to him, on the same day he wrote the music for this song, he also wrote the music for Girl Afraid, which is another popular Smiths’ song.
• The song’s title was inspired by the song Heaven Knows I’m Missing Him Now by English singer Sandie Shaw – an idol of The Smiths, especially Morrissey.
• The song’s artwork has the image of Viv Nicholson who gained popularity in the United Kingdom in the early 1960s for winning a huge fortune on the football pools and blowing all the money within a very short period of time. .
• The song never appeared on any of The Smiths’ four studio albums simply because it was a single-only release.