Possible reference discovered in "Such a Little Thing..."

[Bookhouse88]

Hey gang, long time reader, first time poster... : )

I know this is a realllllly old subject, but I think I discovered another of Morrissey's references to a cherished old book/film/crime in "Such a Little Thing Makes a Big Difference", which I was surprised to discover, searching the web and looking at the "It May All End Tomorrow" collection of sources for lyrics (http://www.compsoc.man.ac.uk/~moz/nicked.htm), hasn't been commented on anyone (at least nothing that's ever been archived online enough to still be out there).

Anyway, I'm writing about the line "There you go, wielding a bicycle chain..."

I always thought it was peculiar that he chose a bicycle chain as the weapon for his thug in the song, and so maybe I'm reaching to find a source, but recently when I watched "In Cold Blood" (the movie based on Truman Capote's true crime book about the circumstances and trials of 1950s American killers Perry Smith and Richard Hickock), I sort of jumped when I heard a reference to a bicycle chain being used violently. In both the movie and the book, Perry Smith tells Hickock that he had once killed a man with a bicycle chain just to see what it felt like (whether this murder actually happened is apparently debated).

Normally, I wouldn't take a reference to a violent act involving a bicycle chain out of context and try to attach a Morrissey reference (really, I wouldn't! : ), but in this case, I couldn't help but see this as EXACTLY the sort of thing Morrissey would reference in a song. We all know how obsessed he is with mid-20th century criminals (the Krays, the Moors murders, etc), and since "In Cold Blood" was written by the famously gay Truman Capote (gay writers, another favorite subject), well... it just seems like something Morrissey would reference obliquely.

http://www.newyorker.com/archive/content/articles/051010fr_archive01 (very long article that references the story about the bicycle chain murder)

http://www.compsoc.man.ac.uk/~moz/lyrics/bonadrag/suchalit.htm (Such a Little Thing Makes a Big Difference lyrics from LASID archive)

Anyone else think I've hit upon a long buried secret reference ? : )

Bookhouse88 !

 

[Giant]

Hey gang, long time reader, first time poster... : )

I know this is a realllllly old subject, but I think I discovered another of Morrissey's references to a cherished old book/film/crime in "Such a Little Thing Makes a Big Difference", which I was surprised to discover, searching the web and looking at the "It May All End Tomorrow" collection of sources for lyrics (http://www.compsoc.man.ac.uk/~moz/nicked.htm), hasn't been commented on anyone (at least nothing that's ever been archived online enough to still be out there).

Anyway, I'm writing about the line "There you go, wielding a bicycle chain..."

I always thought it was peculiar that he chose a bicycle chain as the weapon for his thug in the song, and so maybe I'm reaching to find a source, but recently when I watched "In Cold Blood" (the movie based on Truman Capote's true crime book about the circumstances and trials of 1950s American killers Perry Smith and Richard Hickock), I sort of jumped when I heard a reference to a bicycle chain being used violently. In both the movie and the book, Perry Smith tells Hickock that he had once killed a man with a bicycle chain just to see what it felt like (whether this murder actually happened is apparently debated).

Normally, I wouldn't take a reference to a violent act involving a bicycle chain out of context and try to attach a Morrissey reference (really, I wouldn't! : ), but in this case, I couldn't help but see this as EXACTLY the sort of thing Morrissey would reference in a song. We all know how obsessed he is with mid-20th century criminals (the Krays, the Moors murders, etc), and since "In Cold Blood" was written by the famously gay Truman Capote (gay writers, another favorite subject), well... it just seems like something Morrissey would reference obliquely.

http://www.newyorker.com/archive/content/articles/051010fr_archive01 (very long article that references the story about the bicycle chain murder)

http://www.compsoc.man.ac.uk/~moz/lyrics/bonadrag/suchalit.htm (Such a Little Thing Makes a Big Difference lyrics from LASID archive)

Anyone else think I've hit upon a long buried secret reference ? : )

Bookhouse88 !

Its a seemingly nice connection you have made and it does have the Morrissey "ring" to it, but I do think you are wrong.

I dont have any evidence to the contrary mind you but I dont believe Morrissey was neck deep in the Capote/Kansas cold blood story, back in the early 90's when he wrote that song.

I think he says "bicycle chain" because of the blunt violence of the ordinary object, the absurd image it conjures up in the mind. He also just, well, likes bicycles... (remember the smiths video of Moz immitators riding around on bikes, or the lyric from Back To The Old House, when you cycled by....etc.) There is a youthful innocence to the bicycle which makes the brutality of wielding a bicycle chain that much more significant. That is why he choose the phrase, "wielding bicycle chain".

 

[unruly boy]

Its a seemingly nice connection you have made and it does have the Morrissey "ring" to it, but I do think you are wrong.

I dont have any evidence to the contrary mind you but I dont believe Morrissey was neck deep in the Capote/Kansas cold blood story, back in the early 90's when he wrote that song.

I think he says "bicycle chain" because of the blunt violence of the ordinary object, the absurd image it conjures up in the mind. He also just, well, likes bicycles... (remember the smiths video of Moz immitators riding around on bikes, or the lyric from Back To The Old House, when you cycled by....etc.) There is a youthful innocence to the bicycle which makes the brutality of wielding a bicycle chain that much more significant. That is why he choose the phrase, "wielding bicycle chain".

Perhaps it's a bit of both. We all know Morrissey has 'quoted' from other sources in the past so it's not entirely implausible.

 

[Danny]

Using a bicycle chain as a weapon is just so well known I don't think he got it from anywhere in particular.

 

[sonof77]

Morrissey does indeed enjoy the writing of Capote, so it's a good link in a rusty old chain

 

[Paulc]

I am sure i saw recently that Morrissey was influenced by the writing of Capote so this may well be the source of that "bicycle chain" idea. But i think in the UK a bicycle chain was quite a commonly used weapon in the 60s and 70s gangs - see Quadrophenia etc.

As has been said bicycles in general are a very common Morrissey theme.

 

[Chartres]

"Don't Make Fun Of Capote's Voice"

 

[Bookhouse88]

Thanks for the feedback, everyone !

I didn't know bicycle chains were that associated with violence in the UK; it's not something I'd really heard of being an American; I guess our being the big evil gas-guzzling auto giant means the influence of the bike isn't as strong.

I hadn't known that Morrissey has spoken recently about being a Capote fan, so that makes this more interesting too. The thing that I would just expand on slightly is that I think that when you continue the lyric,

"There you go, wielding a bicycle chain. Why won't you change?

I will not change and I will not be nice."

It just sounds like an exchange from the movie (didn't read the book); the movie is full of exchanges of characters trying to understand why people do violent things, and whether they can change.

Bookhouse88 !

 

[Pervomartovtsi]

I thought he wrote that song on me ,my bycicle chain and my behaviour

 

[Oh my god. it's Robby!]

I thought he wrote that song on me ,my bycicle chain and my behaviour

i prefer to use locks in socks