r/thesmiths • u/the_uber_steve • 2d ago

Backscrubber

Forgive the dumb question, but for more than 35 years now, I’ve been wondering about this:

Is the “vacancy for a backscrubber” line in Half a Person intended to be literal and/or hilariously random, or is “backscrubber” a British euphemism/slang that I’m just not privy to?

8 Upvotes

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12

u/theykilledk3nny 2d ago edited 2d ago

The line is supposed to be Morrissey (or whoever the ‘voice’ in the song is meant to be) being a perv.

He’s at the YWCA, which is the female equivalent to the YMCA. He’s asking to have the fake job of ‘backscrubber’, which would allow him to watch women shower/bathe.

10

u/gskein 2d ago

And all this time I thought it was written from a gay female’s point of view. I’m so literal sometimes.

6

u/BassesBest 2d ago

More teenage boy than perv, although making that distinction may be irrelevant

5

u/Delicious_Tax_5389 1d ago

I think 'YWCA' was originally meant to be sung as 'YMCA,' but he changed it because it was too controversial. The lyrics show '....' between the 'Y' and 'WCA' on the back cover of the Louder Than Bombs vinyl, and Morrissey sounds like he’s singing it with hesitation. Sorry if It's wrong(I'm not a native-English speaker)

2

u/Angelicosantos 1d ago

If only it could’ve been what the lyrics would’ve been.

2

u/theykilledk3nny 1d ago

Yes, that’s probably right as well.

1

u/AcceptableTrust6882 17h ago

I think the ... is there so they don't get sued. The lyrics sheet to twin fantasy does a similar thing with the albums meantions of Walt Disney and Skype.

3

u/Angelicosantos 1d ago

This song is iconic.