So the choice I have made
May seem strange to you
But who asked you, anyway?
It's my life to wreck
My own way
You see to someone, somewhere, oh yeah
Alma matters
In mind, body and soul
In part, and in whole
Because to someone, somewhere, oh yeah
Alma matters
In mind, body and soul
In part, and in whole
So the life I have made
May seem wrong to you
But, I've never been surer
It's my life to ruin
My own way
You see to someone, somewhere, oh yeah
Alma matters
In mind, body and soul
In part, and in whole
Because to someone, somewhere, oh yeah
Alma matters
In mind, body and soul
In part, and in whole
To someone, somewhere, oh yeah
Alma matters
In mind, body and soul
Part, and in whole
So to someone, somewhere, oh yeah
Alma matters
In mind, body and soul
Part, and in whole
To someone, somewhere, oh yeah
Oh yeah
Oh yeah, oh yeah
Oh yeah
May seem strange to you
But who asked you, anyway?
It's my life to wreck
My own way
You see to someone, somewhere, oh yeah
Alma matters
In mind, body and soul
In part, and in whole
Because to someone, somewhere, oh yeah
Alma matters
In mind, body and soul
In part, and in whole
So the life I have made
May seem wrong to you
But, I've never been surer
It's my life to ruin
My own way
You see to someone, somewhere, oh yeah
Alma matters
In mind, body and soul
In part, and in whole
Because to someone, somewhere, oh yeah
Alma matters
In mind, body and soul
In part, and in whole
To someone, somewhere, oh yeah
Alma matters
In mind, body and soul
Part, and in whole
So to someone, somewhere, oh yeah
Alma matters
In mind, body and soul
Part, and in whole
To someone, somewhere, oh yeah
Oh yeah
Oh yeah, oh yeah
Oh yeah
Lyrics submitted by weezerific:cutlery
Alma Matters Lyrics as written by Steven Morrissey Alain Whyte
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Love in a Vacuum
'Til Tuesday
'Til Tuesday
Well, in my opinion this song is about being a young & maybe a little naive &/or introverted girl and finding yourself loving a man who is at first very charming, carefree & outgoing, and seems at first to be without limits, as in
"There was a time
you opened up every doorway
you didn't mind if everything
wasn't your way"
then that man starts to gradually become more introverted & shows their more possessive/obsessive side to you as the relationship progresses, even while they keep up the appearance of being carefree & outgoing to everyone else,
"Don't pull away
that goes against what you told me
I look in your eyes
I realize what you've sold me
is love in a vacuum"
so you confront them about the way they're acting and of course they deny it,
"I think you've changed
but you insist that
that's not true"
quite possibly they are an addict of some sort, my guess would be cocaine, &/or showing very obsessive behavior towards you (early on in the video for this song we see the man hanging a picture up, it is a very large portrait of Aimee & it is prominently displayed in his/their apartment for the duration of the song), thus their "love in a vacuum",
"You look so strange, so distant
that you're hardly you
Now I can see
how you have been acting different
You say it's me
but I know
that it isn't
it's love in a vacuum"
but still you are in love with them and don't want to leave them and you know that they are truly in love with you and they don't want you to leave them either, maybe they are convinced you can save them from themself, maybe they are so broken that the possibility of an overdose &/or suicide attempt is very real and you want to get through to them that their behavior not only dangerous but it is also just pissing you off and if they don't wise up they run the risk of loosing you, as in the lines
"You will be lonely
if you leave me alone", so you want to save them but can't get through to them due to the addiction &/or emotional problems they have,
"Love in a vacuum
and that's not enough
love in a vacuum
You will be lonely
you'll be the only one who feels this way
You will be lonely
if you leave me alone
You will be lonely
you'll be the only one who feels this way
it's just not enough"
you want them to understand that the love they are giving you is not enough when it is filtered through the vacuum of their drug addiction &/or emotional impairment,
"You will be lonely
you'll be the only one who feels this way
it's just not enough
and just wait
you will be lonely
Love in a vacuum
Love in a vacuum
and that's not enough
Love in a vacuum".
'Love In A Vacuum' for me is a hauntingly truthful acute argument on the loneliness of obsession and almost inevitable loss of love that follows people who are broken in some way or another; the obsessives, the coke heads, the drunks, addicts or the just-plain-old emotionally broken; a razor sharp, lyrically driven, deceptively poppy, yet ultimately-depressing-in-the-best-way song.
Quintessential Aimee Mann.
Grand Theft Auto
Insane Ian
Insane Ian
The way this song speaks to me🥺🥺when I sing it I feel like I relate
Battle Royale
Word Alive, The
Word Alive, The
This song is def a twin to "Unfair" (a song she has been quoted as saying is about falling in love with someone who is already in a relationship) so it is presumably about the same person. Given the references to buying an apartment and not being able to see her love interest "after tonight," it's most likely that she's moving away and she'll "wait a day to break the bad news" (i.e. notifying him that she's leaving once she's already gone).
And, of course, the fact that she sees in him a fellow "idealist" and "dreamer" (terms commonly given to people with the INFP personality on the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)) portends that she'll always be left wondering if they would've been perfect together.
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him.
There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
The man has pseudo-friends who constantly criticize his actions. They moralize him, "teach" him and advise him to make a significant change in his life, because the way he is and what he does is not what they say it should be. They may find his life lame or immoral. They hold themselves up as role models. The man replies that he will make his own choices and decisions and he does not agree to unconditionally make himself under the influence of questionable quality advice. He justifies this by saying that there is always someone for whom he will be important, no matter what he does and no matter what he is. Although it is not said directly, I read it as meaning that he will always be important to himself in every way and he will always have his own support.
"Everyone is different and maybe that's a good thing, but you exceeded that mark 1000 times" - I remember very well how sad the words I once heard (from my peers and it was in negative context) at school made me feel.
You've ALL missed the point on this one.
Moz, is a big fan of Coronation Street, and at the time of penning the lyrics to this song, Alma (Mike Baldwin's wife in Corrie) was dying of cancer, after having a rough time with her hubbie for a few years previous).
The choice Moz had made, was to become a Coronation Street addict. It's his life to ruin, his own way!!
Usual Moz tongue in cheekness.
So, you see, Alma matters to someone, somewhere.........oh yeah!!
@Mickthe Manc Bloody great answer.
Very good try. <br /> <br /> But "alma" is spanish for soul, so he is singing that to someone, somewhere soul matters.
@Mickthe Manc Sorry mate, that's funny but not true!
'Alma Mater' is latin for 'nurturing mother', the pun here i think is that, in this case, the mother is overly nuturing and he wants freedom. he sings "To someone, somewhere, oh yeah... Alma matters" - to someone an overly nurturing mother is something they have never had and perhaps need or want, but morrissey just wants to be left to ruuin his life his own way.
this is my interpretation, any disputes?
@Banksk Alma is spanish for soul. So he's meaning "soul matters".
A measly 8 comments under this song!? Musically this is one of Morrissey's finest songs and definitely one of my favourites but I guess there is not much lyrics to work with.
The title is obviously a play on the term Alma Mater which means "Nourishing Mother". The term is also used in connection with the Virgin Mary, as well as a term used in ancient rome for the mother goddess and more commonly in the modern era as the anthem for a University or educational establishment.
Morrissey is also quoting A Taste of Honey - a "kitchen sink drama" written by Shelagh Delaney in the late 1950s as marquecerice correctly pointed out in his/her post. Morrissey was obviously a big fan and used Delaney's photo on the album cover artwork for Louder Than Bombs and also for the single Girlfriend in a Coma while he was in The Smiths.
The play itself was hard hitting drama with a frank social commentary on single parenthood, poverty, class, race, gender and sexual orientation.
I got this off wikipedia: "A Taste of Honey is set in Salford in northwestern England in the 1950s. It tells the story of Jo, a seventeen-year-old working class girl, and her mother, Helen, who is presented as crude and sexually indiscriminate. Helen leaves Jo alone in their new flat after she begins a relationship with Peter, a rich lover who is younger than her. At the same time Jo begins a romantic relationship with Jimmy, a black sailor. He proposes marriage but then goes to sea, leaving Jo pregnant and alone. She finds lodgings with a homosexual acquaintance, Geoffrey, who assumes the role of surrogate father. Helen returns after leaving her lover and the future of Jo's new home is put into question".
In my opinion then Morrissey's title and play on the term "Alma Mater" (or Nourishing Mother) is an ironic one. The mother in this play was a working class alcoholic who pursued frivilous love affairs with little regard for her teenage daughter Jo who she abandons for a young rich lover. Therefore this song is a simple one written from the viewpoint of Jo's character claiming that "to someone somewhere" a caring and nurturing mother may be something or someone they need but not her!
Thanks, PrettyPettyThief, for sharing your opinion, and I agree this is a fabulous tune musically.<br /> <br /> I'm still getting my arms around the lyrics, and your post is aged, as am I~!<br /> <br /> Nonetheless Alma Maters sits up at the top of my play list, for its musical freedom, so far. Your interpretation helped quite a bit.<br /> <br /> Wayne
well, "alma" means "soul" I think, this is just Morrissey stating self-acceptance, he doesn't care what people think and he may as well be himself, because the right one will love him for exactly who he is. Basically, my SOUL matters to somebody out there....I think it's rather magical.
Alma is spanish for soul.
So to someone, somewhere soul matters.
I wouldn't say it's his weakest, probably his second weakest album. I think the weakest is generally considered to be "Kill Uncle" which really didn't have any good songs except "Last Of The Family Line". Maladjusted starts with it's brilliant title track, then onto this and then onto my favourite "Trouble Loves Me" and finally finishes with the rather splendidly bombastic "Satan Rejected My Soul".
I'm not quite sure what this song is about, but the verses do seem quite open in making it clear that he will not be told how to lead his life. It's all quite negatively phrased.
"Anyway, it's your life, ruin it your own way." -A Taste Of Honey, by Shelagh Delaney.
I really love this song...I like the uptempo-ness to it and especially the lines "It's my life to ruin my way". What is talking about re: alma matters? Not really getting it...doesn't alma mean soul? So how can it matter mind body AND soul....
Alma is a female for gods sakes. Everybody loves somebody. Even the unlikely.