Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want Explained

Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want
Artist:the Smiths
A-Side:"William, It Was Really Nothing"
Released:20 August 1984[1]
Recorded:Jam Studios
Genre:Alternative rock[2]
Producer:John Porter

"Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want" is a song by the English rock band the Smiths. It was released on the B-side of the single "William, It Was Really Nothing" in 1984[3] [4] and later featured on the compilation albums Hatful of Hollow[5] and Louder Than Bombs.[6] It has been covered by several other artists.[7] The song was also included on the soundtrack album of the 1986 film Pretty in Pink and featured in the film Never Been Kissed. An instrumental cut of the song was featured in Ferris Bueller's Day Off during the art museum sequence when Cameron is viewing the pointilist painting "A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte".

Background

Johnny Marr wrote the music to "Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want" shortly after its eventual A-side, "William, It Was Really Nothing". Marr commented, "Because that was such a fast, short, upbeat song, I wanted the B-side to be different, so I wrote 'Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want' on Saturday in a different time signature—in a waltz time as a contrast".[8] Marr has also noted that the music was an attempt to "capture the ... spookiness and sense of yearning" in Del Shannon's "The Answer to Everything", a song his parents played for him as a child.[9]

The band's label, Rough Trade, initially was concerned about the song's short length. Morrissey recalled, "When we first played it to Rough Trade, they kept asking, 'Where's the rest of the song? Morrissey, who characterized the song "a very brief punch in the face," argued, "Lengthening the song would, to my mind, have simply been explaining the blindingly obvious".

"Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want" was released as a B-side to "William, It Was Really Nothing". Morrissey commented, "Hiding it away on a B-side was sinful" and remarked "I feel sad about it now". The song also appeared on the compilation Hatful of Hollow, an inclusion Morrissey considered "by way of semi-repentance".[10]

Cover versions

The Dream Academy version

Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want
Cover:Dappp.jpg
Type:single
Artist:the Dream Academy
Released:1985 (UK)
Recorded:1984
Length:3:09
Label:Blanco y Negro
Producer:David Gilmour and Nick Laird-Clowes
Prev Title:The Love Parade
Prev Year:1986
Next Title:Indian Summer
Next Year:1987

The Dream Academy covered "Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want" in 1985.[11] This version of the song peaked at number 83 on the UK Singles Chart.[12] An instrumental version of this cover was used in the movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off in 1986.[11]

Though Morrissey originally indicated his dislike for this version, he later used it as intermission music during late period Smiths concerts.[13] He commented after the band's breakup, "I mean, I liked the Dream Academy version of that old Smiths song. Everyone despised it and it got to number 81, which is nearly a hit".[14]

Track listing

7-inch version

  1. "Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want"
  2. "In Places on the Run"

12-inch version

  1. "Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want"
  2. "The Party" (acoustic)
  3. "Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want" (instrumental)
  4. "In Places on the Run" (edit)

Chart performance

Slow Moving Millie version

Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want
Cover:PPPLMGWIW.jpg
Type:single
Artist:Slow Moving Millie
Album:Renditions
Released:11 November 2011
Recorded:2011
Length:3:09
Label:Island Records
Prev Title:Beasts
Prev Year:2009

English actress and songwriter Slow Moving Millie released a cover version of the song,[15] adding commas to its title.[16] It was released on 11 November 2011 as a download from her debut studio album Renditions.[17] Her version was selected as the soundtrack to a John Lewis advertisement.[18]

Release history

Other cover versions

Certifications

The Smiths version

Notes and References

  1. Web site: The Smiths - William, It Was Really Nothing. 21 December 2008. www.discogs.com.
  2. Web site: Top Ten Most Depressing Alternative Rock Songs. Cross. Alan. Alan Cross. 6 April 2012. A Journal of Musical Things. 12 April 2019.
  3. Web site: 10 Smiths singles that didn't appear on a Smiths album. Radio X.
  4. Web site: The Smiths - William, It Was Really Nothing. 21 June 1984. www.discogs.com.
  5. Web site: The Smiths - Hatful Of Hollow. 21 June 1984. www.discogs.com.
  6. Web site: The World Fell in Love With The Smiths Just as They Were Falling Apart. . 24 March 2017.
  7. Web site: Covers of "Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want" by the Smiths. 9 November 2018. Cover Me.
  8. Book: Majewski . Lori . Bernstein . Jonathan . Mad World: An Oral History of New Wave Artists and Songs That Defined the 1980s . 15 April 2014 . Abrams . 978-1-61312-666-0 . en.
  9. Book: Luerssen . John D. . The Smiths FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Most Important British Band of the 1980s . 1 January 2000 . Rowman & Littlefield . 978-1-4950-4597-4 . en.
  10. Web site: Harbron . Lucy . The Smiths song Morrissey called "sinful" . Far Out . 23 January 2024 . 15 January 2024.
  11. News: Old Music: The Dream Academy – Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want (Instrumental). Stuart. Goodwin. 15 February 2012. The Guardian.
  12. Web site: The Official Charts Company - Dream Academy - Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want . . 2023-06-19.
  13. Book: McKinney . D. . Morrissey FAQ: All That's Left to Know About This Charming Man . 1 April 2015 . Rowman & Littlefield . 978-1-4950-2893-9 . en.
  14. Book: Woods . Paul A. . Morrissey In Conversation: The Essential Interviews . 1 October 2017 . Plexus Publishing . 978-0-85965-874-4 . en.
  15. Web site: Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want by Slow Moving Millie. secondhandsongs.com.
  16. Web site: Slow Moving Millie - Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want. 21 June 2011. www.discogs.com.
  17. Web site: Renditions by Slow Moving Millie. 12 December 2011. Amazon.
  18. Web site: Slow Moving Millie Insists The Smiths Are Fans Of John Lewis Cover | Live4ever Media. 25 November 2011.
  19. The Killers & Johnny Marr - Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Wanted (The Smiths Cover) . 2022-10-13 . tkillers music . 2024-07-16 . YouTube.
  20. Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want - Johnny Marr & Robyn Hitchcock . 2014-08-03 . TheJAMF95 . 2024-07-16 . YouTube.