Panic!: Jimmy Savile, The Smiths & Synchronicity

enno99

Any smiths fans or others want to give their view



Panic on the streets of London
Panic on the streets of Birmingham
I wonder to myself
Could life ever be sane again ?
The Leeds side-streets that you slip down
I wonder to myself
Hopes may rise on the Grasmere
But Honey Pie, you’re not safe here
So you run down
To the safety of the town
But there’s Panic on the streets of Carlisle
Dublin, Dundee, Humberside
I wonder to myself

Burn down the disco
Hang the blessed DJ
Because the music that they constantly play
It says nothing to me about my life
Hang the blessed DJ
Because the music they constantly play

On the Leeds side-streets that you slip down
Provincial towns you jog ’round
Hang the DJ, Hang the DJ, Hang the DJ
Hang the DJ, Hang the DJ, Hang the DJ
Hang the DJ, Hang the DJ, Hang the DJ

Hang the DJ, Hang the DJ
Hang the DJ, Hang the DJ, Hang the DJ
Hang the DJ

t’s possible Morrissey – a child of the 60s – was party to rumours going around Northern England regarding the Leeds-based but always travelling Savile. In fact, it wouldn’t be surprising at all if the witty and deep-thinking frontman of the band had cryptically alluded to the radio one DJ’s alleged depravity having picked up a little hearsay on the road. It seems like just the sort of cheeky penmanship he’s famed for.

It’s also possible that the references are all purely coincidence, though the specific references to ‘jogging’ – a pastime Savile made his own – and an unnamed character shadily slipping down ‘side-streets’ in Leeds, of all places, alongside that overriding sensation of panic make it feel so current that it’s bewildering. Even if the details are based on vague knowledge, the current perceived hysteria (most of it coming from the establishment itself) is nailed by the poetry.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AlH2oYedfk

I think its possible as a lot of song writers say that they write about what they see every day and whats going on in their life

any way if nothing else its a good tune

http://cowanandthestupiddream.wordpress.com/2012/11/10/panic-jimmy-savile-the-smiths-synchronicity/

Jonny7

It's about a certain reaction to Chernobyl (not a Smith's fan though)

Emme

It's easy to see a link in hindsight but this is like something Morrissey would do. He could be referring to both Savile and Chernobyl in the song. If anyone had made an unproven connection with Savile because of the song Morrissey could have made reference to the Chernobyl links and got off the hook with that. I'm sure Morrissey would have heard rumors from Top of the Pops.

Regardless of the song's message Morrissey is an excellent songwriter.