Girlfriend in a Coma (song)

"Girlfriend in a Coma" was inspired by Bob and Marcia's version of the Nina Simone song "To Be Young, Gifted and Black". Initially the band attempted to record the song with a reggae-inspired arrangement, but, unhappy with this sound, the band collaborated with co-producer Stephen Street to re-arrange it with a more gentle acoustic sound. Marr later spoke positively of the song, commenting in 1993, "Over the last few years I've heard 'Girlfriend in a Coma' in shops and people's cars, and I'm always surprised by how good it sounds." ==Music and lyrics==

The song's lyrics are told from the perspective of a man whose girlfriend is in a coma after an accident. The singer's anxiety is balanced by his memories of the bad times in lyrics such as "There were times when I could have murdered her/But you know I would hate anything to happen to her". The song quotes the Four Seasons' "Bye, Bye, Baby (Baby Goodbye)", a song that reached number one in the UK when covered by the Bay City Rollers. Armond White of Rolling Stone calls "Girlfriend" a song about AIDS which responds "to the crisis that took the lives and broke the hearts of so many friends and lovers" during the 1980s. ==Release==

Released on 10 August 1987, "Girlfriend in a Coma" was the last single by the Smiths to include newly recorded material on the B-side. It contains the band's last recorded song, "I Keep Mine Hidden", as well as a cover of a Cilla Black song, "Work Is a Four-Letter Word", both recorded in May 1987. Morrissey's insistence on including the Cilla Black B-side annoyed Marr and he left the band soon afterwards. Marr said to Record Collector in 1992: Work Is a Four Letter Word' I hated. That was the last straw, really. I didn't form a group to perform Cilla Black songs. That was it, really. I made a decision that I was going to get away on holiday. The only place I could think of was L.A. L.A. was the only place I knew where there'd be sunshine, so off I went. I never saw Morrissey again". Because of its morbid subject matter, the song received little airplay on BBC Radio 1. Morrissey later said, "You're not really supposed to like those songs. They're very depressing and not supposed to be played on radio." However, released in the wake of the Smiths' acrimonious breakup, the single reached number 13 in the UK. The single's cover features playwright Shelagh Delaney, from a 1961 edition of A Taste of Honey. This was the second time Delaney appeared on a Smiths cover; she also appeared on the cover of the Louder Than Bombs album. The British 7" vinyl contained the matrix message: AND NEVER MORE SHALL BE SO/SO FAR SO BAD. The British 12" version contained the etching: EVERYBODY IS A FLASHER AT HEART/AND NEVER MORE SHALL BE SO. ==Music video==

"Girlfriend in a Coma" was one of two songs on Strangeways selected to receive music videos. The song's video saw moderate success on MTV, though it only featured Morrissey, as the band had disbanded before the videos could be made. ==Critical reception==

"Girlfriend in a Coma" has seen critical acclaim since its release. David Browne of Rolling Stone praised the song's "bright acoustic guitars" for "add[ing] a folksy grace" to the track. Tim DiGravina of AllMusic named the song as a highlight of Strangeways, stating, "Punchy and fun, yet sad and tender, 'Girlfriend in a Coma' is a gleaming, romantic treat from a band crafting brilliant, genre-defining music in the turmoil of its dying days." Rolling Stone ranked the song as the 34th best Smiths' song, while NME named it the band's 20th best. Guitar named the song as the band's 17th greatest guitar moment, concluding, "Despite the higher watermarks elsewhere on Strangeways, it's still 'Girlfriend in a Coma's hooky little acoustic earworm that sticks in our grey matter the longest". Consequence ranked the song as the band's 23rd best, writing, "there's something so appealing about how Marr's upbeat composition clashes with the blacker-than-black comedy of Morrissey's lyrics." Author Douglas Coupland named his 1998 novel Girlfriend in a Coma after the song. ==Track listing==