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That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore

"That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore"
Thatjokeisnt.gif
Single by The Smiths
from the album Meat Is Murder
Released 1 July 1985
Format 7" single, 12" single
Recorded Autumn 1984
Genre Alternative rock
Length 3:49
4:57 (12" single)
4:59 (album version)
Label Rough Trade
Writer(s) Johnny Marr, Morrissey
Producer(s) The Smiths
The Smiths singles chronology
"Barbarism Begins at Home"
(1985)
"That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore"
(1985)
"The Boy with the Thorn in His Side"
(1985)

"That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore" is a song by British alternative rock band The Smiths. It appears on the album Meat Is Murder, the sole track from the album to be released as a UK promotional single. The song was composed by guitarist Johnny Marr and singer Morrissey.

The track has been cited by Marr as one of his favourites of The Smiths'.

The song's narrative alludes to mockery of the lonely or suicidal, whom the narrator identifies with and champions in an exchange in a parked car. Disparity between literal and figurative meanings in some of the lyrics discourage a precise reading of the song. A sexual liaison "on cold leather seats" has been said to be sketchily implied. (Morrissey has been quoted as finding leather car seats "highly erotic".)

The song's waltz-time related signature and Marr's rhythm guitar, with strident chord changes (as exemplified by the song's opening figure), lend the music a sweeping emotive feel. The song's structure is notable for its uncommon ABCBC form. (Musically, the first verse is never repeated.)

For many critics the song is the focal point of Meat Is Murder. The music has been described as "a monolithic ballad of tender yet imposing grace; a score of unreserved, raw beauty that Morrissey dutifully complemented" and the song's coda as containing "one of the most heart-rending vocal passages Morrissey has ever recorded."

The single was one of the lowest charting of The Smiths', entering and peaking in the UK singles chart at no. 49. (Excluding their debut single, which did not chart, every other Smiths single released in the UK during the band's lifetime made the UK top 30.) Its limited success as a commercial single has been said to be due to a lack of new, original studio material on the B-side, as all the other tracks on both the 7" and 12" releases are live versions of previously released songs. Other theories include perceived fan displeasure at the 7-inch version missing an instrumental coda, as well overall inadequate promotion, including a last-minute refusal by the band to perform on television show Wogan. (It was described by one reviewer as the first of the band's singles that "wasn't a complete thrill to buy".)


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