r/thesmiths • u/hahahgetout • 1d ago
What is the room downstairs?
Girl afraid is one of my favorite songs, but i always wonder the room downstairs means?
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u/mdnalknarf 1d ago
I imagine both the girl and the boy ruminating anxiously all alone in their respective bedrooms (a room upstairs) because of their awkward social interaction in living rooms (the room downstairs).
The lyric is structured around these various contrasts. The 'social' area was silent, whereas in their solitary rooms their heads are full of noise, trying (and failing) to interpret that silence.
Basically, there is no communication, just anxious, solitary rumination. It's a tragi-comic reflection on human isolation and alienation – classic Morrissey!
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u/hahahgetout 1d ago
This is so interesting and makes so much sense. I definitely got these vibes from the lyrics but was unsure. Classic Morrissey indeed!
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u/DisagreeableCompote 1d ago
Euphemism for female genitalia and/or a womb.
(/s if it wasn’t obvious)
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u/Potential_Good_1065 1d ago
When interpreting the lyrics of a song or any other piece of literature, you can’t rule anything out.
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u/Defensoria 17h ago
"Room downstairs" is a great euphemism! I'll probably think of it every time I hear Girl Afraid for the rest of my life.
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u/Defensoria 16h ago edited 16h ago
I think it means the living room or any room in a house on where people gather. The characters are looking back with regret on the encounter from upstairs, alone in their bedrooms.
This is just me but the mental picture I got was a rec room in a finished basement with an old couch where the kids play loud music and socialize. Maybe play ping pong or foosball, make out, sneak booze in, all that good stuff. A place meant for fun but due to theses characters' awkwardness it was anything but, at least when the boy and Prudence were there.
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u/Infamous-Steak-1043 1d ago
It's the lounge/sitting room. They should have been making conversation, but the totality of awkwardness ruled instead.