# Panic on the streets of London, Panic on the streets of Carlisle... (Smiths) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 23, 2005, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/panic-on-the-streets-of-london-panic-on-the-streets-of-carlisle-smiths/323092 "2005-09-23T18:07:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MysteryFellow63427](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e4f/32.png) [@MysteryFellow63427](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MysteryFellow63427)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2005, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/panic-on-the-streets-of-london-panic-on-the-streets-of-carlisle-smiths/323092/1 "2005-09-23T18:07:50Z")
Any **Smiths** fans out there? In their song _Panic_, which has been stuck in my head for the last week, one of the lyrics is “Hang the blessed DJ.” As I was walking down the street this morning, the idea occurred to me that maybe “blessed” was a substitute for “fucking.” Has anyone seen The Smiths in concert? How did they sing the lyric live? P.S. feel free to hijack this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2005, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/panic-on-the-streets-of-london-panic-on-the-streets-of-carlisle-smiths/323092/2 "2005-09-23T18:16:22Z")
I love the Smiths. I got to see Morrissey live in concert this past October, on his _You Are the Quarry_ tour. He is great live, very animated, and obviously loves playing to the crowd. Based on his lyrics and reputation, I expected him to be colder and more standoffish as a live performer, perhaps even a bit of an arrogant dick, but I was happily surprised this wasn’t the case. Still, I’ll always prefer him with the Smiths, as he and Johnny Marr had one of those rare collaborative partnerships where each made the other so much better. My favorite Smiths songs are “There Is a Light That Never Goes out” and the admittedly-overplayed “How Soon Is Now,” but I love all their material. ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2005, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/panic-on-the-streets-of-london-panic-on-the-streets-of-carlisle-smiths/323092/3 "2005-09-23T18:35:10Z")
The Smiths are my all-time favorite band and “There is a Light That Never Goes Out” is my favorite song of all time. Radiohead and a few of their songs come close. Anyway, I didn’t get into The Smiths until they were already disbanded, so I never saw them in concert. But I doubt that Morrissey would have a problem with using “blessed” in public. ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2005, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/panic-on-the-streets-of-london-panic-on-the-streets-of-carlisle-smiths/323092/4 "2005-09-23T18:39:26Z")
Also, “The Queen Is Dead” is my 2nd favorite album of all-time (after The Clash’s “London Calling”). ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2005, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/panic-on-the-streets-of-london-panic-on-the-streets-of-carlisle-smiths/323092/5 "2005-09-25T18:17:52Z")
I have a version of “Panic” from a bootleg as well as the version on “Rank” - Mozzer says “hang the blessed DJ” in both versions. As literate a bloke as he is, I don’t see him using the word “fuck” all that often. However, in “A Rush And A Push And The Land Is Ours,” the first track on Strangeways, Here We Come, he says, “phone me, phone me, phone me” but it sounds a lot like “fuck me, fuck me, fuck me.” ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2005, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/panic-on-the-streets-of-london-panic-on-the-streets-of-carlisle-smiths/323092/6 "2005-09-25T20:26:22Z")
Big Smiths fan, big Morrissey fan : my favorite songs are “London”, “Golden Lights” featuring the sadly-missed Kirsty McColl, “Half a Person”, “Girlfriend in a Coma”, "Last of the Famous International Playboys"and “Everyday is like Sunday” But yes, Morrissey/Marr is the best combo. To think Johnny learned to play guitar from the Cult’s lead guitarist!