Monday, October 22, 2012

Morrissey: It's 'greased tea,' dear sir

Just a few weeks ago, I posted a Tuesday Tea Tune about Morrissey's "Everyday Is Like Sunday," and my lifelong puzzlement about the line, "Share some grease tea with me." (I'm not the only one wondering, for example.)

I stand corrected — and by the master himself ...

Morrissey was due to perform here in Chicago this weekend, but he's postponed that and a few other concerts this week so he can fly back to England to be with his ailing mother. Heaven knows I'm miserable about that, because he actually answered some interview questions of mine via email (the only medium through which he'll conduct an interview, as he claims to have been misquoted so often). So you'll have to wait for the rescheduled dates to read the Q&A over at my day job.

But I'll go ahead and share this with you now, because I asked him a bonus question — I thought I'd find out for myself — about that lyric.

His brief answer: "'Greased-tea,' actually. Tea in a cup that hasn't quite been washed so therefore has a slight film across the top. Nasty."

What a difference a 'd' makes. Now my cup is full.

22 comments:

  1. thank you and no you are not the only one who has wondered about this line since first hearing the song.

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    1. That is awesome that you got it right from the horse's mouth.

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  2. Wondered about this too, thanks.

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  3. thank you! good trivia to know

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  4. I had always thought it was greased tea, but did not know what he meant by it.

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  5. Greased tea" = fish and chips/ battered savaloy(sausage) and chips etc - greasy 'dinner'. Northerners eat 'tea' not 'dinner' when they get home from work.

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    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    2. Yes, you clearly know more about what the lyrics mean than the artist who wrote the song.

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    3. Not according to the man himself

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  7. Noo that's not what it means. Tea companies will slightly pan fry the tea leaves that they bag, which will make the tea look oily at the top lol. That's probably what he literally means.

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  8. For God's sake the man got an answer from Morrissey - don't tell him it's wrong!

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  9. Bec the video was so anti-meat--I thought he meant to denigrate the milk used in English style tea as grease so if it is actual grease used it would be bad for you

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  10. funny when the man who actually sings the song tells you what it means and disagree with him. I guess thats what makes music great. Being able to interpret to fit your own feelings.

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  11. Thanks for your explanation. Glad each of us had that in mind and searched for it.

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  12. Thank you! I've been wondering about that ever since the song was first released. So glad to have meaning cleared up by Moz.

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  13. Sempre tive dúvida sobre o significado desta parte da letra. Muito bom.

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  14. I always knew it was greased tea because I had the original lyrics at one time. However, I never knew what he meant by it, so I'm glad to finally know. One of the great mysteries of my teendom has been resolved.

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  15. He could have been taking the piss when he replied that its tea in a greasy cup. Would be like him to see how far that answer got on.

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