William, It Was Really Nothing

"William, It Was Really Nothing"
Single by The Smiths
B-side	"How Soon Is Now?" "Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want"
Released	20 August 1984
Format	7" single, 12" single, CD (1988)
Recorded	Summer 1984
Genre	Alternative rock
Length	2:09
Label	Rough Trade
Writer(s)	Johnny Marr Morrissey
Producer	John Porter
The Smiths singles chronology
"Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now" (1984) "William, It Was Really Nothing" (1984) "How Soon Is Now?" (1985) Alternate cover Alternate cover featuring Billie Whitelaw

"William, It Was Really Nothing" is a song by British band The Smiths. It was released as a single on 24 August 1984, featuring the B-sides "Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want" and "How Soon Is Now?", and reached number 17 in the UK Singles Chart. The song is featured on the compilation albums Hatful of Hollow and Louder Than Bombs as well as other best of and singles collections. In 2004 the song was ranked number 425 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.

The original artwork depicted comes from an early 80s advertisement for A.D.S. speakers (the object on the bed is a speaker), however due to legal reasons later pressings were produced with new artwork, a lilac-tinted still of Billie Whitelaw from the film Charlie Bubbles, directed by Albert Finney. The sleeve for the 1988 CD single reissue shows Colin Campbell from the 1964 film The Leather Boys. This artwork had previously been used in Germany for the single "Ask".

When the band performed the song on Top of the Pops, Morrissey ripped open his shirt to reveal the words "MARRY ME" written on his chest ("Would you like to marry me?" is one line of the song).^[1]

Lyrics

The lyrics are directed to a man called William, whose girlfriend has asked him to marry her. Morrissey tells William that marriage is "really nothing", and that William will lose his life if he accepts. Morrissey declares: "I don't dream about anyone except myself."

The song is popularly believed to have been written by Morrissey about his short-lived friendship with Billy Mackenzie, lead singer of Associates. The compilation Associates: Double Hipness released in Aug 2000 included the song "Stephen You're Really Something" recorded by Billy MacKenzie and Paul Haig in 1993 as a tribute to "William, It Was Really Nothing". Morrissey himself has said of his song:

What 'William It Was Really Nothing' is about is... it occurred to me that within popular music if ever there were any records that discussed marriage they were always from the female's standpoint - female singers singing to women: whenever there were any songs saying 'do not marry, stay single, self-preservation, etc'. I thought it was about time there was a male voice speaking directly to another male saying that marriage was a waste of time... that, in fact, it was 'absolutely nothing'.

Track listing

• in original green sleeve

• in lilac reprint sleeve

References