See Morrissey’s Spoken-Word Reading of New Track ‘Istanbul’ – Premiere
Morrissey may not be on Twitter, but he is continuing to talk about his July 15th album World Peace Is None of Your Business on his own terms. Today, Rolling Stone is debuting the English legend’s spoken-word performance of the new record’s “Istanbul,” which was filmed at Capitol Studios in Hollywood by director Natalie Johns.
15 Revealing Quotes from Morrissey’s ‘Autobiography’
As scratchy sounds make their way out of a gramophone (with a bouquet in it, naturally), Morrissey pours himself a drink as his voiceover narrates the track’s lyrics, which trace a father’s search for his “brown-eyed son” on streets filled with prostitutes and shadows. He soberly concludes: “Rolling breathless off the tongue/the vicious street gang slang/I lean into a box of pine/identify the kid as mine.”
Morrissey previously released the spoken-word video for World Peace Is None of Your Business‘ title track, which featured a cameo by Nancy Sinatra. Fans have also located a version of “The Bullfighter Dies,” an animal-rights screed in which a crowd cheers the death of a bullfighter — because then the bull survives.
Moz launched his North American tour at the San Jose City National Civic in early May with a career-spanning set that included a handful of Smiths songs and three new cuts from World Peace: the title track, “The Bullfighter Dies,” and “Earth Is the Loneliest Planet.” But as Rolling Stone reported, when he began his 22nd song of the evening – the Years of Refusal cut “One Day Goodbye Will Be Farewell” – fans piled on the stage that prompted his band to halt playing so they could get the concertgoers offstage. The song ended mid-sentence and the lights went up.
World Peace is available for iTunes preorder and a deluxe bundle is available via mail order.