These words are transcribed without permission the way they appear in Morrissey's "Viva Hate" album. Additions to the printed lyrics are in darker text while omissions are striken out.

An afternoon nostalgia
television show
you spoke in silhouette
(but they couldn't name you)
although the panel were
very polite to you
but I remembered you
from Friday nights 1969 ^{1, 2}
ATV - you murdered every line ³
too old to be a child star
too young to take leads
four seasons passed
and they AXED you ⁴
nervous juvenile
(WON'T SMILE!)
What became of you?
did that swift eclipse ⁵
torture you?
a star at eighteen
and then-suddenly gone
down to a few lines ⁶
in on the back page
of a teenage faded annual
oh but I remembered you
I looked up to remembered you

 

² The dropped 'from' can be heard in early unreleased versions of this song.

³ On American dates of the 2002 tour Morrissey sometimes changed 'ATV' to 'NBC' or 'ABC'.

⁴ In live performances from 2002 Morrissey sometimes skipped the line "and they axed you" and instead illustrated it with a throat-cutting motion and accompanying sharp sound.

⁵ In early unreleased outtakes of this song Morrissey sang "did that quick eclipse really torture you".

⁶ On the 2002 and 2004 tours Morrissey changed this line and the following ones to the completely different "back to the mean melancholy streets that you came from".