There Is a Light That Never Goes Out
| "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out" | ||||
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| Single by The Smiths | ||||
| from the album The Queen Is Dead | ||||
| Released | 12 October 1992 | |||
| Format | CD | |||
| Recorded | September–November 1985 | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock | |||
| Length | 4:02 | |||
| Label | WEA | |||
| Writer(s) | Johnny Marr, Morrissey | |||
| Producer(s) | Johnny Marr, Morrissey | |||
| The Smiths singles chronology | ||||
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
"There Is a Light That Never Goes Out" is a song by the British alternative rock group The Smiths, written by singer Morrissey and guitarist Johnny Marr. It was originally featured on their third album The Queen Is Dead (1986). The song was released as a single in France in 1987, but in other territories - including the United Kingdom - was not released as a single until 1992, five years after The Smiths split up. It reached number 25 on the UK Singles Chart. Morrissey released a live version of the song as a double A-side with his cover of Patti Smith's "Redondo Beach" in 2005 - this version reached number 11 in the UK charts. The song has received considerable critical acclaim, and is viewed by some as one of the greatest songs of all time.
The Smiths began working on "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out" during its late 1985 recording sessions at London's RAK Studios. In early September, the band recorded a rehearsal tape of the song performed in the key of F# minor. Four days later, the group made a monitor mix in the key of C# minor, this time accompanied by a synthesised string arrangement Marr created on an Emulator (credited to the "Hated Salford Ensemble" on the album release). While Morrissey was cynical about using synthesised strings, the lack of a budget to hire a real string ensemble as well as a reluctance on the band's part to allow outsiders into the recording process changed the singer's mind. The recording was completed in November at Jacobs Studios in Farnham, where Morrissey redid his vocal part twice and Marr added a flute melody.
Written in tandem with "Bigmouth Strikes Again", the two songs share the same key as well as similar chords. Simon Goddard noted that both the guitar break in "Bigmouth Strikes Again" and the flute section in "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out" (originally written as a guitar part) are based on C# minor arpeggio figure. The song features an ascending F#m–A–B chord sequence that guitarist Johnny Marr took from The Rolling Stones cover of Marvin Gaye's "Hitch Hike". Marr said in 1993 that he included the figure as an "in-joke" to determine if the music press would attribute the inspiration for the part to "There She Goes Again" by The Velvet Underground, who he contended "stole" the figure from "Hitch Hike". Marr commented, "I knew I was smarter than that. I was listening to what The Velvet Underground were listening to".
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