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    The Smiths - Ask - UK 7'' Cover - Front
    1986 Singles The Smiths

    The Smiths – Ask

    4 Views1 Min Read

    The Eighties Archive

    Song Number 0051
    Released in 1986 as a standalone single, The Smiths’ “Ask” stands out as one of the most radiant and deceptively upbeat entries in the band’s famously melancholy discography. At its core, the song captures the agonising, universal paralysis of youthful shyness, transforming the quiet torture of social anxiety into a shimmering pop anthem. Written by singer Morrissey and guitarist Johnny Marr, the track perfectly exemplifies the creative tension that defined the band’s finest work: the contrast between Marr’s bright, jangling melodies and Morrissey’s sharp, literate, and often darkly humorous lyrics.
    From its opening bars, “Ask” establishes an irresistible, driving rhythm. Johnny Marr’s acoustic and electric guitar tracks layer together to create a lush, rolling soundscape that feels both immediate and timeless. The addition of Kirsty MacColl’s delicate, soaring backing vocals adds a unique texture, providing a soft counterpoint to Morrissey’s distinctive baritone. This musical brightness serves as a deliberate trojan horse for the song’s lyrical themes, wrapping a poignant exploration of insecurity and existential dread in a package that practically commands the listener to dance.
    Lyrically, “Ask” addresses the crippling nature of shyness, with Morrissey noting that “shyness is nice and shyness can stop you from doing all the things in life you’d like to”. This sentiment, later mirrored with coyness in the second verse, speaks to the frustration of wanting connection but being paralyzed by social anxiety.
    The song shifts from this diagnosis to an urgent plea, with the repetitive chorus encouraging listeners to break the ice. Morrissey offers a simple solution to this anxiety: “if there is something you wish to try, just ask”, promising “I won’t say no, how could I?”. A defining, ironic moment occurs when the song shifts from lighthearted lyrics—including a line about writing to a buck-toothed girl in Luxembourg—to darker, Cold War-era anxiety. The famous line, “because if it’s not love then it’s the bomb… that will bring us together,” uses the threat of nuclear annihilation as a bizarre romantic catalyst, suggesting that the fear of the end of the world is, in fact, less terrifying than the fear of social rejection. This juxtaposition of the trivial and the profound is where the song finds its brilliance, ultimately offering a message of liberation that encourages embracing communication over fear.
    The song peaked at No. 14 in the UK singles chart on the 8th November 1986.
    The Smiths - Ask - Eighties Archive - Promo Image
    The Smiths - Ask - UK 7'' Cover - Front
    The Smiths - Ask - UK 7'' Cover (Front)
    The Smiths - Ask - UK 7'' Cover - Back
    The Smiths - Ask - UK 7'' Cover (Back)
    A-Side Ask (2:59)
    (Morrissey, Marr)
    Produced By John Porter
    B-Side Cemetery Gates (2:39)
    (Morrissey, Marr)
    Produced By Morrissey, Marr
    UK Top 40 Chart Run  [4 Weeks] – 1st November 1986 – 22nd November 1986
    16
    14
    21
    33

    Officially Released Versions

    Ask (Single Version) (2:59)
    Ask (Album Version) (3:18)

    See ALL releases of ‘Ask’ on Discogs.

    Lyrics

    Shyness is nice and shyness can stop you
    From doing all the things in life you’d like to
    Shyness is nice and shyness can stop you
    From doing all the things in life you’d like to

    So, if there’s something you’d like to try
    If there’s something you’d like to try
    Ask me, I won’t say “no,” how could I?

    Coyness is nice and coyness can stop you
    From saying all the things in life you’d like to

    So, if there’s something you’d like to try
    If there’s something you’d like to try
    Ask me, I won’t say “no,” how could I?

    Spending warm summer days indoors
    Writing frightening verse
    To a buck-toothed girl in Luxembourg

    Ask me, ask me, ask me
    Ask me, ask me, ask me
    Because if it’s not love
    Then it’s the bomb, the bomb, the bomb, the bomb
    The bomb, the bomb, the bomb that will bring us together

    Nature is a language, can’t you read?
    Nature is a language, can’t you read?

    So ask me, ask me, ask me
    Ask me, ask me, ask me
    Because if it’s not love
    Then it’s the bomb, the bomb, the bomb, the bomb
    The bomb, the bomb, the bomb that will bring us together
    If it’s not love, then it’s the bomb
    Then it’s the bomb that will bring us together
    So ask me, ask me, ask me
    Ask me, ask me, ask me, oh

    La-da-da-da-da-da-da-dum
    La-da-da-da-da-da-da-dum
    La-da-da-da-da-da-da-dum
    La-da-da-da-da-da-da-dum
    La-da-da-da-da-da-da-dum
    La-da-da-da-da-da-da-dum
    La-da-da-da-da-da-da-dum
    La-da-da-da-da-da-da-dum

    Written By Morrissey, Marr

    The Smiths - Ask - Promo Advert

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    The Smiths
    Ask
    The Smiths - Ask - UK 7'' Cover - Front
    The Smiths - Ask - VIT Album

    Date Released

    20th October 1986

    Highest Chart Position

    No. 14

    Genre

    Rock, Pop, Indie

    Date Of UK Top 40 Entry

    1st November 1986

    Record Label

    ROUGH TRADE

    Catalogue Number

    RT 194

    Other Songs In Archive

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