Pigsty / Happy Birthday

[j funk]

What was the meaning of this?

 

[Kewpie]

IMHO Pigsty is a torch song of life in general.

When Mikey was in the band he added Auld Lang Syne at the end.
For some reason Kristopher decided(?) to change it to Happy Birthday which adds meaning of rebirth or resurrection?

 

[mspendl828]

Plus Wireless being the 4th of July I would presume comes into it.

 

[Jealous Of Youth]

IMHO Pigsty is a torch song of life in general.

When Mikey was in the band he added Auld Lang Syne at the end.
For some reason Kristopher decided(?) to change it to Happy Birthday which adds meaning of rebirth or resurrection?

Or maybe it's just a jolly little tune that he likes.

I think it sounds well at the end of Pigsty. It takes the morose sadness out of the audience after such an intense song. Before being plunged back in to How Soon Is Now...

I think it's played as a little sign that, "yes, we all know it's just a bit of theatre, don't take it too seriously."

There's a bit of pscho-analysis you won't get anywhere else on a Thursday night.

 

[Jamie]

This might be a large stretch, but perhaps Alain was in attendance and it was a "belated birthday" acknowledgment since he co-wrote the song? (His birthday was 3 July.) He did dedicate "No One Can Hold a Candle to You" to him at one of the festival dates in 2004, although I think that was on the actual date.

That failing, it might have just been a dark joke - juxtaposing the bleak theme of the song with perhaps the most familiar and innocuous melodies/sentiments in the English language.

Cheers,
Jamie

 

[Kewpie]

Plus Wireless being the 4th of July I would presume comes into it.

Actually since Cork gig it was changed to Happy Birthday.

This might be a large stretch, but perhaps Alain was in attendance and it was a "belated birthday" acknowledgment since he co-wrote the song? (His birthday was 3 July.) He did dedicate "No One Can Hold a Candle to You" to him at one of the festival dates in 2004, although I think that was on the actual date.

That failing, it might have just been a dark joke - juxtaposing the bleak theme of the song with perhaps the most familiar and innocuous melodies/sentiments in the English language.

Cheers,
Jamie

Yeah, I thought about Alain's birthday, but your other thoughts is fitting in the context.

 

[Jealous Of Youth]

That failing, it might have just been a dark joke - juxtaposing the bleak theme of the song with perhaps the most familiar and innocuous melodies/sentiments in the English language.

Which is basically what I was trying to say.

 

[j funk]

BTW is this not a tour related question, seeing as he's only done it on this tour?

 

[Kewpie]

BTW is this not a tour related question, seeing as he's only done it on this tour?

Yes, I saw 7 gigs in 2006 UK/European tour and 4 gigs in 2008.

Since Cork gig just two weeks ago tune of Happy Birthday was added at the end of the song.

 

[Mr Smith]

I liked the Auld Lang Syne at the end of Pigsty. I thought it had a lovely chilling element to it, and such a poetic way to finish a beautiful song. You could imagine dying to it, the end of the year, the end of time, as others ring in the new year, the start of new life whilst yours is about to end, reflecting back with melachonic sadness. I'm rambling and not articulating it very well. Anyway ..

Life is a pigsty but happy birthday my luv.

 

[PregnantForTheLastTime]

I thought it was an interesting change. Happy Birthday is so innocent, juxtaposed with Pigsty it's very compelling. He's always so good at presenting contrasting messages, contrasting concepts.

I did notice that the O2 Pigsty sounded really hopeful compared with other times I've heard it live. I'll have to listen to the bootlegs of shows I've been to to compare.

Then again, maybe it was just someone's birthday.

 

[PregnantForTheLastTime]

I liked the Auld Lang Syne at the end of Pigsty. I thought it had a lovely chilling element to it, and such a poetic way to finish a beautiful song. You could imagine dying to it, the end of the year, the end of time, as others ring in the new year, the start of new life whilst yours is about to end, reflecting back with melachonic sadness. I'm rambling and not articulating it very well. Anyway ..

Life is a pigsty but happy birthday my luv.

And I just remembered this story of someone nearly dying to the tune of Life is a Pigsty.

I was at the bookstore one day last June, and I noticed a man walking around wearing a Ringleaders tour shirt- the Piazza Cavour one. I couldn't bring myself to say anything to him. The next week I was there again, and saw the same man. He had on a plain dark green t-shirt. Feeling brave, I approached him and said, "You're not wearing your Morrissey shirt today?" He turned to me and his face lit up, and I saw that his shirt actually had The Queen is Dead sleeve image on it. We went on to compare notes on our careers as Morrissey enthusiasts (there is no good way to put that.)

He was from Ireland, but grew up mostly in Birmingham, and moved to Chicago in his early twenties. He could have seen the Smiths when they were playing tiny halls and colleges, but he was into metal and never did.

He told me that he'd had a stroke the previous year. He fell down in his living room, and he lay there, unable to breathe or move. He said he could actually feel his body shutting down. Then he heard a voice- it was the radio- singing, "Won't you stop this pain... would you please stop time... I feel so cold, and I feel too hot again..." He focused on the voice, and he didn't die.

However, he mentioned that he was going in for surgery in a couple of days, and I never saw him again.

And lest anyone be skeptical and doubt the fact that Pigsty was ever played on the radio, I have to say that WXRT in Chicago does play whatever it wants to, and I remember it gave Ringleader plenty of airtime when it was released. It would most likely have been a Thursday.

So that's the story. I think of him (among others) now, every time I hear Life is a Pigsty.

 

[King Leer]

That's quite a story.

I was thinking it was the birthday of Morrissey's cousin who was killed (he had dedicated it to him in the past). Still cannot for the life of me find out which homicide in Manchester was in fact his cousin.

And I just remembered this story of someone nearly dying to the tune of Life is a Pigsty.

I was at the bookstore one day last June, and I noticed a man walking around wearing a Ringleaders tour shirt- the Piazza Cavour one. I couldn't bring myself to say anything to him. The next week I was there again, and saw the same man. He had on a plain dark green t-shirt. Feeling brave, I approached him and said, "You're not wearing your Morrissey shirt today?" He turned to me and his face lit up, and I saw that his shirt actually had The Queen is Dead sleeve image on it. We went on to compare notes on our careers as Morrissey enthusiasts (there is no good way to put that.)

He was from Ireland, but grew up mostly in Birmingham, and moved to Chicago in his early twenties. He could have seen the Smiths when they were playing tiny halls and colleges, but he was into metal and never did.

He told me that he'd had a stroke the previous year. He fell down in his living room, and he lay there, unable to breathe or move. He said he could actually feel his body shutting down. Then he heard a voice- it was the radio- singing, "Won't you stop this pain... would you please stop time... I feel so cold, and I feel too hot again..." He focused on the voice, and he didn't die.

However, he mentioned that he was going in for surgery in a couple of days, and I never saw him again.

And lest anyone be skeptical and doubt the fact that Pigsty was ever played on the radio, I have to say that WXRT in Chicago does play whatever it wants to, and I remember it gave Ringleader plenty of airtime when it was released. It would most likely have been a Thursday.

So that's the story. I think of him (among others) now, every time I hear Life is a Pigsty.