"Stop Me If You Thing You've Heard This One Before"
(Morrissey/Marr)

 

These words are transcribed without permission the way they appear in the "Strangeways Here We Come" album. Additions to the printed lyrics are in darker text while omissions are striken out.

Stop me, stop me
stop me if you think that you've
heard this one before
stop me, stop me
stop me if you think that you've
heard this one before
nothing's changed
I still love you, oh I still love you
...only slightly, only slightly less than I used to 1
my love
I was delayed, I was way-laid
an emergency stop
I smelt the last ten seconds of life
I crashed down on the crossbar
and the pain was enough to make
a shy, bald buddhist reflect
and plan a mass-murder
who said I'd lied to her?
who said I'd lied because I never, I never
who said I'd lied because I never
I was detained, I was restrained
he broke my spleen
he broke my knees 2
(and then he really laid lays into me) 3
Friday night in Out-patients
who said I'd lied to her?
who said I'd lied - because I never, I never
who said I'd lied - because I never
Oh And, so I drank one 4
or was it It became four
and when I fell on the floor...
...I drank more
stop me, stop me
stop me if you think that you've
heard this one before
stop me, stop me
stop me if you think that you've
heard this one before
nothing's changed
I still love you
I still love you
but only slightly, only slightly
less than I used to 1
my love

 

1 On early dates of the Tour Of The Tormentors MMVI Morrissey changed this line to "only slightly, only slightly more than I used to, my love". He then reverted to the original lyrics throughout the summer, and returned to the live change on and off afterwards. On the American segment of the Greatest Hits tour he would only change the final occurrence of the line at the very end of the song. By the time that tour arrived in Europe Morrissey dropped this change altogether.

2 The "...spleen" and "...knees" lines were reversed on the song's first live performance at Wolverhampton in 1988. On the Tour Of The Tormentors MMVI and in 2008 Morrissey sang "he broke my knee*s*" as it had originally been written instead of the way it was recorded and released on "Strangeways Here We Come".

3 On the Tour Of The Tormentors MMVI and on the Greatest Hits tour Morrissey sang "and then he really laid into me" as it had originally been written instead of the way it was recorded and released on "Strangeways Here We Come".

4 In the song's debut solo performance at Wolverhampton in 1988 as well as in 2006-2008, Morrissey changed this line to "And so I drank one, or was it four?", as it had originally been written instead of the way it was recorded and released on "Strangeways Here We Come". On the UK/France leg of the Greatest Hits tour in early 2008 he actually followed the line with "anyway..."

Note: On the third American leg of the Greatest Hits tour in 2007 Morrissey shouted "Some! Of us! Is turning! Nasty!" over the song's final bars. Those words were found printed on the bass drum's skin at the time.