"I Know It's Over" is a song by the English

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band

the Smiths The Smiths were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Manchester in 1982, composed of Morrissey (vocals), Johnny Marr (guitar), Andy Rourke (bass) and Mike Joyce (musician), Mike Joyce (drums). Morrissey and Marr formed the band's songwrit ...

. Recorded in 1985, it is the third track on their third studio album ''

The Queen Is Dead ''The Queen Is Dead'' is the third studio album by the English rock band the Smiths, released on 16 June 1986, by Rough Trade Records. Following the release of their second album '' Meat Is Murder'', the Smiths retreated to Greater Manchester ...

''.

Background

The instrumentation was written by

Johnny Marr John Martin Marr (Birth name#Maiden and married names, né Maher; born 31 October 1963) is a musician, songwriter and singer. He first achieved fame as the guitarist and co-songwriter of the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. He has sinc ...

in summer 1985. Morrissey's vocal performance on this track is considered by many to be one of the finest of his career. The song was originally meant to have

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...

on it during the

refrain A refrain (from Vulgar Latin ''refringere'', "to repeat", and later from Old French ''refraindre'') is the Line (poetry)">line or lines that are repeated in poetry or in music">poetry.html" ;"title="Line (poetry)">line or lines that are repeat ...

at the end, but it was scrapped. In the book ''Songs That Saved Your Life'',

Simon Goddard Simon Goddard (born Cardiff, 21 December 1971) is a British author and music journalist. Early life Goddard was born in Wales and later moved to Scotland. Though a writer by profession, Goddard originally went to art school in Carlisle, then Hul ...

explains that Morrissey did not show his bandmates the lyric until the instrumental track was entirely finished. Marr once described witnessing Morrissey's vocal performance as "one of the highlights of my life".

Reception

Simon Reynolds Simon Reynolds (born 19 June 1963) is an English music journalist and author who began his career at ''Melody Maker'' in the mid-1980s. He subsequently worked as a freelancer and published a number of books on music and popular culture. Reynold ...

of ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' wrote: "The writing in 'I Know It's Over' is a tour de force, from the opening image of the empty—sexless, loveless—bed as a grave, through the suicidal inversions of 'The sea wants to take me/The knife wants to slit me,' onto the self-lacerations of 'If you're so funny, then why are you on your own tonight?' and finally the unexpected and amazing grace of 'It's so easy to hate/It takes strength to be gentle and kind. In 2017,

Rob Sheffield Robert James Sheffield (born February 2, 1966) is an American music journalist and author. He is a long time contributing editor at ''Rolling Stone'', writing about music, TV, and pop culture. Previously, he was a contributing editor at '' Blen ...

of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' placed the song number three in his ranking of 73 songs by the Smiths.

Live performances

The song was performed 29 times by the Smiths, being played on every show on the UK leg of the Queen Is Dead tour besides the final one-off show. The song is featured on the 1988 live album ''

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''.

Cover versions

The song was covered frequently in live shows by late American musician

Jeff Buckley Jeffrey Scott Buckley (raised as Scott Moorhead; November 17, 1966 – May 29, 1997) was an American musician. After a decade as a session guitarist in Los Angeles, he attracted a cult following in the early 1990s performing at venues in ...

, and a cover was recorded in 1995.

In popular culture

The song is used as a plot point in the film ''

500 Days of Summer ''(500) Days of Summer'' is a 2009 American romantic comedy film directed by Marc Webb, written by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, and produced by Mark Waters. The film stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel as Tom and Summer re ...

'', in which the protagonist (as a child) misinterprets the tongue-in-cheek lyrics of the song as genuine.

Personnel

Morrissey Steven Patrick Morrissey ( ; born 22 May 1959), known :wikt:mononym, mononymously as Morrissey, is an English singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the frontman and lyricist of rock band the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 198 ...

– vocals *

– guitars *

Andy Rourke Andrew Michael Rourke (17 January 1964 – 19 May 2023) was an English musician best known as the bassist of the 1980s indie rock band the Smiths. Regarded as one of the greatest bassists of his generation, he was known for his melodic and funk- ...

– bass guitar * Mike Joyce – drums

References

{{Authority control 1986 songs 1980s ballads Alternative rock ballads Songs written by Morrissey Songs written by Johnny Marr The Smiths songs