“Stop Me If You Think You’ve Heard This One Before” by The Smiths
The phrase which makes up the title of this song (“Stop Me If You Think You’ve Heard This One Before”) is another way of letting someone know that you’re about to tell a story, and if it’s one that you told them before, then they should stop from doing so beforehand.
Usually such a sentiment can be taken as a preventive measure against telling someone the same tale twice, i.e. being too loquacious. But in this case, the said someone would be the vocalist’s significant other, and the stories he’s telling are those of the false variety.
In other words, as the situation reads the narrator has a drinking problem and is perhaps also being romantically unfaithful, given the extent by which Morrissey goes to verbally cover his tracks.
So when confronted by wifey about his whereabouts, which appears to be a regular thing, his response is to make up fake excuses which, as can be gleaned by the lyrics, usually revolve around him having had some type of extreme emergency.
And based on the title, the vocalist is compelled to do this so often that sometimes he may even end up relaying the same tall tale twice, i.e. not remember that he has used the same lie before.
“Stop me, oh-oho, stop me
Stop me if you think that you’ve heard this one before
Nothing’s changed
I still love you, oh, I still love you
Only slightly, only slightly less
Than I used to, my love”
When was “Stop Me If You Think You’ve Heard This One Before” released?
“Stop Me If You Think You’ve Heard This One Before” was officially made public, on September 22 of 1987, through Sire Records. This track was issued as the final single from the band’s fourth studio album titled “Strangeways, Here We Come”.
Credits
It is credited as written and produced by Johnny Marr and Morrissey. They received production assistance from English record producer Stephen Street, who is noted for his work on several of the group’s earlier projects, including their sophomore studio album “Meat Is Murder”.
Highlights
This is one of the highest-charting songs from The Smiths. It peaked on the UK singles chart at number 2.
Album
The “Strangeways, Here We Come” album dropped on September 28 of 1987. It is a product of Rough Trade Records, and was accompanied by four singles.
“Girlfriend in a Coma” is the lead single of this project, and it was issued on August 10 of 1987. It was followed by “I Started Something I Couldn’t Finish”, which dropped on November 2.
“Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me”, the album’s third single, was released on December 7.
“Strangeways, Here We Come” achieved huge commercial success in the UK. It reached number 2 on the main albums’ chart there. In the US, it was unable to achieve a similar chart success, managing a peak position of number 55 on the Billboard 200.
