There Is A Light That Never Goes Out

One of my all-time favorite songs ever. The Smiths served this up during my teenage years. Unabashedly romantic, like I wished I was confident enough to be, this song left skid marks on my Walkman and burned into my brain with all the over-ripe drama that only a teenager can appreciate. Morrissey didn’t just sing the truth, he sang my truth. Go ahead and laugh. You probably liked Starship.

I’ve heard two interpretations of the song. One is that of a young person always spending the night in the same bedroom with the light on late at night (that was indeed often me but not always– I’m an introvert and we value our cave time). The other is finding joy in the bleakest of circumstances.

I’m sometimes a little surprised how much the song still affects me. Most of the songs I liked as a teenager I only like now out of nostalgia, a vague echo of what once felt raw and powerful. This one, however, takes me back to that kid with the headphones whose hair was still dark and who spent many a night in his room with the light on, sketching out his frustrations in a nine-by-twelve book and imagining loving someone so much that dying with her would be heaven.

Kids, I swear.

Well, I’m now old enough for two teenage lifetimes and I’m not done yet. I’m stepping out of that room right now onto the big, beautiful, twisted, and strange place called the Internet.

Hello everybody.