Analysing The Smiths - There is a light that will never go out Video. By Lily Jones

THE SMITHS - THERE IS A LIGHT THAT WILL NEVER GO OUT.

In this clip of the video there is a very fast pace of editing, creating a very quirky image which compliments the indie genre as it is creative. It disorientates the audience with its use of camera shots, and uses a combination of short shots, it allows the reader to feel they are over looking the sleeping man, Morrisey, making connotations to him dreaming.



Here the clip illustrates the lyrics as it talks about driving in cars, as there is a clip of a car crash we can make negative connotations which contrasts with the cheerful rhythm of the song. The use of tracking dollies are then used to create the movement which makes connotations to a car journey, which allows us to feel we are taking a journey through the song, as if we are being told a story. There is an antic like filter over the shots and it is black and white, which could make connotations to dreaming or remembering as it is common to dream in black and white. Also because he is outside of the house and he is "welcome no more" it makes connotations to being left, or doing something wrong, leaving him on the outside of their house, representing their trust.

The lyrics are then, again, illustrated by the video, using "and then a double decker bus crashes into us, to die by your side, is such a heavenly way to die" synced with a clip of a double decker bus and then changing to a boy and a girl hugging and kissing on the grass, creates the subject of the song which is love and loneliness. We can then make connotations that the song is about regret and love loss.



This clip makes connotations to the boy thinking about the girl, and the orange filter on the screen makes connotations to fire. montage editing is then used with clips of a burning car, which makes connotations to the girl dying in a car crash, and that it may have been the boys fault and he is feeling guilty that she died, when it should have been him. This creates a clear narrative, as the lyrics are illustrated with the video. The video is abstract as it does not feature the artist, however it does resemble the song lyrics.



As the editing is very fast pace it is hard to fit the lyrics to the story in one viewing which a very quirky and artistic looking video, as it all looks fairly random. However once you grasp the illustrations, they help you to understand the meaning of the song. This supports Steve Archers theory that the video has a strong relationship between the lyrics and the performance. In this clip the montage of shots creates connotations that the boy wants to go out and take his mind off of things, however it will always be in the back of his mind as he is feeling the guilt and sadness of what has happened. It uses Andrew Goodwin's theory of illustration with lyrics, but it also amplifies the orange fire like filter, which represents morrisey's thoughts.




The video uses the televised bard, so uses on screen images, as opposed to personal ones of himself. In the last 54 seconds the shots are fairly repetitive and editing is very fast, it summarises the car crash and the thoughts going through morrisey's head. "there is a light that will never go out" is repeated numerously, which emphasises the fact that Morrisey cannot get the thought of her out of his head. The fast pace editing could represent his frustration, it uses a montage of cuts which could represent the fast pace of his thoughts. The shots and editing techniques create a very quirky and unusual video, which you have to concentrate on to understand and realise the correlation between the images and the lyrics.

By Lily Jones