Songs like “How Soon Is Now?” from 1985 and “There Is A Light That Never Goes Out” from 1992 remain just a few of The Smiths’ most memorable songs from alt-rock history. But what about the underrated gems that impacted alt-rock just as well but don’t get quite as much attention as the hits?
When I think of such songs, I immediately think of “Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me”. This track remains the most underrated (and gut-wrenching) Smiths song I can think of. If you’re a diehard fan of the English rock band, you might just agree with me.
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The Story Behind “Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me” by The Smiths
“Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me” by The Smiths comes from their final album, Strangeways, Here We Come. Written by the songwriting partnership of Morrissey and Johnny Marr, the song was released as the final UK single from the album in late 1987.
Shockingly, the song was commercially disappointing, only making it as far as No. 30 on the UK Singles chart. Thankfully, though, the song has gotten a little bit more love in retrospect from fans. “Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me” has made it to several compilation albums since its debut.
It’s still an underrated Smiths song, though, one that feels a little too real every time I hear it.
“It’s built around the guitar riff going round and round, the heart of it is the guitar riff but I orchestrated it using a keyboard and string sound,” Marr said of “Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me”. “What I love about it is the drama in it – the drama sums up how I was feeling at the time. That song got written because at the core of it is a very melancholic and dramatic guitar riff that goes round and round and round. And first and foremost, amongst other particularly melancholic things in the Smiths, I hear myself in that.”
Marr also went on to say that the song was “the best thing we’d done”. It’s also his personal favorite Smiths song. The lyrics, written by Morrissey, are notably cryptic as always. But when you really dig into it (or listen to it 100 times on repeat as I did), its deeper meaning becomes quite obvious. This song explores loneliness (gut-punching loneliness) and isolation that comes after a romantic encounter that dissolves in disappointment.
So tell me how long
Before the last one
And tell me how long
Before the right one
This story is old, I know
But it goes on.
Devastating.
(Photo by Peter Noble/Redferns)