¹ This line comes from A taste of honey by Shelagh Delaney: 'I haven't got any clothes to wear for one thing'.

² This is a reference to Sleuth, a movie starring Laurence Olivier and Michael Caine and scripted by Anthony Shaffer. In a dialogue Olivier accuses Caine at gunpoint to be 'a jumped-up pantry boy who doesn't know his place'.

Morrissey declared that this song "refers to a low-life street character. I'm sure there are worse things that you could be rather than a jumped-up pantry boy, but it just seemed very rhythmical at the time." Talking to NME in 1984 he also claimed that the scene depicted by ⁽¹⁾ were based upon his own experiences: "I found that on those very rare occasions when I did get invited anywhere, I would constantly sit down and say: 'Good heavens, I couldn't possibly go to this place tonight because I don't have any clothes... I don't have any shoes.' So I'd miss out on all those foul parties. It was really quite a blessing in disguise."

It is undeniable the reference to a specific homosexual scenario, even though Morrissey once stated: "Really it was just a collection of lines that were very important. They seemed to stitch themselves perfectly under the umbrella of This Charming Man."

According to a bisexual reading: "The punctured bicycle symbolizes our protagonist's bisexuality. It is punctured because his attraction to men has been repressed up to now. The desolate hillside represents the state of general unhappiness of his life. He is confused and asks 'Will nature make a man of me yet?' because he wishes to fit into our society's popular perception of what it is to be a 'man' (macho, heterosexual, etc.) but knows deep down that he cannot.

The charming man in the charming car is the sexual breakthrough our protagonist has been hoping for. The driver is the ultimate gay icon and comforts our protagonist by telling him not to 'pamper life's complexities' and to join him in the exiting bisexual lifestyle he should be leading. Immediately on entering the world of liberated sexuality, our protagonist feels free to dicuss his worries about appearance ('I would go out tonight...') and flirts openly with the driver of the car. The driver suggests his passenger forgets about the previously punctured side of his sexuality ('return the ring') and our protagonist is confident in the wisdom of this ultimate gay man ('he knows so much about these things').

The overall impression is that of hope for the triumph of human sexuality over the repression of our culture."

¹ L'espressione deriva dal racconto A taste of honey della scrittrice Shelagh Delaney: 'I haven't got any clothes to wear for one thing'.

² Questo è un riferimento a Sleuth, un film con Laurence Olivier e Michael Caine e sceneggiato da Anthony Shaffer. In un dialogo acceso del film Olivier accusa Caine sotto la minaccia di un'arma di essere 'a jumped-up pantry boy who doesn't know his place'.

Morrissey ha dichiarato che la canzone "si riferisce ad un personaggio dei bassifondi. Sono certo che ci sono cose peggiori che essere un parvenu, ma all'epoca mi sembrava una frase molto ritmata." Intervistato da NME nel 1984 reclamò a sè la scena dipinta da (1) dicendo che era una sua esperienza diretta: "Scoprivo che in quelle rare occasioni in cui venivo invitato in qualche posto, mi ritrovavo sempre seduto a dire a me stesso: 'Santo cielo, non potrò mai andarci stasera perché non ho alcun abito... Non ho scarpe.' Così mi perdevo tutti quei party disgustosi. Si trattava in realtà di una vera e propria benedizione."

E' innegabile il riferimento ad uno scenario specificatamente omosessuale, anche se Morrissey dichiarò una volta: "In realtà era soltanto una collezione di frasi che erano molto importanti per me. Sembravano cucirsi insieme perfettamente sotto l'ombrello di This Charming Man."