Barbarism Begins at Home Lyrics
Unruly boys who will not grow up
Must be taken in hand
Unruly girls who will not settle down
They must be taken in hand
[Chorus]
A crack on the head
Is what you get for not asking
And a crack on the head
Is what you get for asking
[Interlude]
Woo! Woo!
Woo! Woo!
[Verse]
Unruly boys who will not grow up
Must be taken in hand
Unruly girls who will not settle down
They must be taken in hand
[Chorus]
A crack on the head
Is what you get for not asking
And a crack on the head
Is what you get for asking
Woo! Woo!
Woo! Woo!
[Chorus]
No, a crack on the head
Is what you get for not asking
And a crack on the head
Is what you get for asking
[Bridge]
A crack on the head is just what you get
Why? Because of who you are
And a crack on the head is just what you get
Why? Because of what you are
A crack on the head
Because of the things you said
Things you said
The things you did
[Outro]
Unruly boys who will not grow
Must be taken in hand
Unruly girls who will not grow
They must be taken in hand
La-da-da-da-da
La-da-da-da-da
Oh no, no, no
La-da-da-da-da
La-da-da-da-da
Oh no, no, no, no
No, no!
No, no, no
No!
No, no, la-da-da-da-da
La-da-da-da-da
Oh no, oh no
La-da-da-da-da
La-da-da-da-da
Oh no, no, no
La-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da
No, no, no
La-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da
Noo, no, no
La-da-da-da-da
La-da-da-da-da
Oh no, no-no-no
La-da-da-da-da
Oh no, oh no
No! No, no, no
No! No, no, no
La-da-da-da-da
La-da-da-da-da
Oh no, no, no, no
La-da-da-da-da
La-da-da-da-da
Oh no, oh no, woo!
About
The brilliantly titled “Barbarism Begins at Home”, during which Morrissey yelps as if in pain, is also about children being hit – a crack on the head is what you get for asking. Violence or the implied threat thereof is an integral component of Smiths songs, from “In a river the color of lead/immerse the baby’s head” in “This Night Has Opened My Eyes” to the angry mob that opens “Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me.”
The song shares a chord progression and underlying rhythm with the S.O.S. Band’s 1980 funk/disco hit “Take Your Time (Do It Right)”. Guitarist Johnny Marr and bassist Andy Rourke had played in a funk band named Freak Party prior to Marr and Morrissey starting the Smiths, and likely would have known “Take Your Time” very well (although it missed the Top 40 in the UK). It is not known whether the owners of the composition copyrights to “Take Your Time (Do It Right)” have ever filed an infringement claim against Marr and Morrissey for “Barbarism.”
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
Guitarist Johnny Marr opened up to Uncut Magazine in 2008:
With ‘Barbarism Begins At Home,’ a lot’s been made of the funky aspect of the bassline, but that track harks back to what I was doing with Andy (Rourke) before The Smiths. I guess it came out of this love of retro kind of James Brown records, and things like Rip Rig & Panic and The Pop Group. That period of anaemic, underfed white funk. It’s me and Andy being townies in Manchester, liking a bit of the American No-Wave thing. James Chance, I guess.
Bassist Andy reflected:
It is the song – I would say it’s 80 to 90 percent bassline. I’m into my funk and this was the closest I could get away with. We used to jam along to it for hours and hours, even pre-Smiths. I was into Stanley Clarke, James Jamerson and, I’m almost embarrassed to say it, Mark King from Level 42. I think doing more in that style would have been a terrible idea, though. People would probably have assassinated us
- 6.Nowhere Fast
- 8.Barbarism Begins at Home
