Although The Smiths were not around for very long, they didn’t waste a second. Throughout their time, they released four albums, and enough non-album singles to warrant releasing three compilations. One of the best of these seven releases is “Hatful of Hollow,” a compilation that contains many of their best songs, such as “This Night Has Opened My Eyes,”and most popular songs, such as “How Soon Is Now?”
It opens with their previously released single, “William, It Was Really Nothing.” “William” is a complicated song, with two main reads that also work quite well. This ability to weave themes that at times may seem conflicting is something that frontman and lyricist Morrissey does quite well. Many of the songs that could feature multiple readings feature a queer reading.
For example, “Still Ill” could be about mental illness or about internalized homophobia. “You’ve Got Everything Now” could, or perhaps should, be read as a song about a distaste for normality. However, in the end, Morrissey reveals a sexual desire for the person to whom he is making a downward comparison. The queer reading of “You’ve Got Everything Now” compliments the anti-assimilationist reading, as being queer is certainly non-normative, especially in the '80s when the song was written.
While Morrissey feels disdain for the person the song is about, something about them compels him toward them. Whether by jealousy, envy or curiosity, Morrissey is captivated time and time again by males who have social standing that is above him, such as in “This Charming Man,” when the narrator of said song finds themselves allured by a richer and more attractive gentleman. “This Charming Man” shares another theme with “William,” a mantra against marriage, which also reflects the theme of not wanting a “normal life” present in “You’ve Got Everything Now."
Just like “This Charming Man,” “William” takes a love story between two men and complicates it. The first simple reading of the songs is that Morrissey sees his friend William about to get married and warns him it will ruin his life and potential. The second is that William is engaged in a love triangle between Morrissey and some girl, and Morrissey chooses to walk away from the situation, criticizing William in the process.
The better reading of the song combines them. Morrissey, hurt by William’s choosing to conform to heteronormativity rather than fight for a perhaps more rewarding same-sex love, deflects his pain by criticizing William. These criticisms are genuine, Morrissey sees the normative life as ghastly, and there are countless songs by him to support this theory. However, one cannot ignore the context of this song and must acknowledge its romantic qualities as well. The song is allegedly about Billy Mackenzie, lead singer of The Associates.
The two had an intense friendship that ended abruptly, and although that could be the entire story, given this song it is possible to wonder if more took place. Furthermore, The Associates released a song in 1993 titled “Stephen, You’re Really Something” (Stephen is Morrissey’s first name) as a response to this song. The song definitely has a lyrical style that would imply its dedication to an old lover, further complicating the story of “William, It Was Really Nothing.”
The actual lyrical content of “William” is subtle yet heartbreaking. Every line is cluttered with the determination to move on and the acknowledgment of the monumental difficulty of this task. Take the couplet in the first verse, for example, that goes “And everybody's got to live their life / And god knows I've got to live mine.” Morrissey must walk away from this situation, it has become too taxing and he has become too enmeshed in these people and it is no longer benefiting him. The end of the chorus continues this sentiment of living life, “William, it was really nothing / It was your life.” As we see in the following verse, William is walking away from Morrissey’s love for the love of a woman. Morrissey puts on a face and says it wasn’t anything, but in his privacy, he claims this person just walked away from a love that would have made their life.
Verse two is the iconic moment of the song, erupting into poppy glory, “How can you stay with a fat girl who'll say / "Would you like to marry me? / And if you like you can buy the ring?” However, the devastating part is again, the very end, when Morrissey quietly croons “I don’t dream about anyone / Except myself.” Morrissey is fed up. He is washing his hands of these people. If they don’t want him, he doesn’t want them either. This is an attitude healthier than what is usually demonstrated by The Smiths, but just as heartbreaking. Feeling unwanted is one of the most upsetting emotions, and it can be incredibly difficult to walk away from situations that you are so heavily invested in.
Although Morrissey appears to do this in the song, the quietness and implicit uncertainty that many of the lines are sung with imply that there is a certain facade to this bravery. It is a very human song, a song about not only losing the battle, but also losing the war, and then acting like you never cared to begin with.
