View source for Irish Blood, English Heart

{{Short description|2004 single by Morrissey}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2019}}
{{Infobox song
| name       = Irish Blood, English Heart
| cover      = MorrisseyIBEH.jpg
| alt        =
| type       = single
| artist     = [[Morrissey]]
| album      = [[You Are the Quarry]]
| B-side     =
* "It's Hard to Walk Tall When You're Small"
* "Munich Air Disaster 1958"
* "The Never Played Symphonies"
| released   = {{start date|2004|4|12|df=y}}
| recorded   =
| studio     =
| length     = 2:37
| label      = [[Attack Records|Attack]]
| writer     =
* Morrissey
* Alain Whyte
| producer   = [[Jerry Finn]]
| prev_title = [[Satan Rejected My Soul]]
| prev_year  = 1997
| next_title = [[First of the Gang to Die]]
| next_year  = 2004
}}
"'''Irish Blood, English Heart'''" is a song by British singer [[Morrissey]], released as the lead single to his seventh studio album ''[[You Are the Quarry]].'' His first new song in seven years, it was released on 12 April 2004 in the United States and on 10 May 2004 in the United Kingdom.
The song, described as "the most unambiguously political of his career to date",<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Goddard |first=Simon |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/567155177 |title=Mozipedia : the encyclopedia of Morrissey and the Smiths |date=2010 |publisher=Penguin |isbn=978-0-452-29667-1 |location=New York |oclc=567155177}}</ref> touches upon Morrissey's identity as the son of Irish immigrants living in England. Driven by the hype of Morrissey's comeback, it became his highest-charting single in the United Kingdom (alongside 2006's "[[You Have Killed Me]]"), reaching number three on the [[UK Singles Chart]]. It is also his highest-charting single in Sweden, peaking at number four, and it reached number seven in Canada and the top 20 in Ireland and Norway.
==Background and composition==
"Irish Blood, English Heart" is one of the oldest-written songs on ''You Are the Quarry''. Morrissey first revealed its existence in a 1999 interview with ''[[The Irish Times]]'', introducing it as the likely title track to his next album. He first performed the song live in 2002, referring to the title as "the components that make up my tubby little body."<ref name=":0" />
The song discusses Morrissey's identity as the son of Irish immigrants growing up in Thatcher-era England, and explores the themes of contention between the two nations. It is one of Morrissey's more political songs, with him denouncing [[Oliver Cromwell]], [[Toryism]], the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]], the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]], and the [[British royal family]]. "[The lyrics] touch upon the disgust I feel for the British political system," Morrissey said.<ref name=":0" />
The song has drawn a particular following from [[Mexican Americans]] and [[Hispanic and Latino Americans]] in the United States, who resonate with its themes of "split identity."<ref>{{cite web |title=The love affair between Mexican Americans and Morrissey isn't that surprising |url=https://www.pri.org/stories/2014-10-30/love-affair-between-mexican-americans-and-morrissey-isnt-surprising |date=30 October 2014 |website=The World from PRX}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.vulture.com/2015/05/mexicos-cult-of-morrissey-comes-to-brooklyn.html |last=Hood |first=Bryan |title=Mexico's Cult of Morrissey Comes to Brooklyn |date=7 May 2015 |access-date=16 August 2022 |website=Vulture |language=en-us}}</ref>
==Release==
In the United Kingdom, the song was first played by [[Steve Lamacq]] on [[BBC Radio 1]] on 29 March 2004. However, Radio 1 did not playlist the single. Only [[Radio X (United Kingdom)|XFM]], which playlisted it, provided much exposure for the single in the UK. Despite the lack of exposure on mainstream stations, "Irish Blood, English Heart" debuted at number three on the [[UK Singles Chart]],<ref name="UK" /> making it Morrissey's joint highest-charting single with or without [[The Smiths]], alongside "[[You Have Killed Me]]" when it was released in 2006.
Early predictions had the song reaching the number one spot, and after only debuting at number three, Morrissey criticised [[BBC Radio 1]] for not playing the song enough despite being "the only British single in the top five."<ref name=":0" />
The single's world premiere occurred on the [[KROQ-FM]] ''[[Kevin and Bean]]'' show on 22 March 2004. The song received consistent airplay throughout April and May on such [[alternative rock]] stations as [[WFNX (101.7 FM)|WFNX]] ([[Boston]]), [[WOSA|WWCD]] ([[Columbus, Ohio|Columbus]]), [[CIMX]] ([[Windsor, Ontario|Windsor]]), [[KDFG|KMBY]] ([[Monterey, California|Monterey]] / [[Salinas, California|Salinas]]), [[XETRA-FM|XTRA]] ([[San Diego]]), and of course KROQ-FM (Los Angeles), as well as [[CFNY]] ([[Toronto]]). The single's airplay increased over the next few months and upon its release it reached number 36 on the [[Alternative Songs|Modern Rock Tracks]] chart, Morrissey's first single to chart there since "[[The More You Ignore Me, The Closer I Get]]" in 1994.<ref name="usalt"/>
==Live performances==
The song was performed live by Morrissey on his 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, and 2014 tours. From the 2004 tour it was recorded and put on the DVD, ''[[Who Put the M in Manchester?]]''. In December 2013, Morrissey played "Irish Blood, English Heart" as the last of his three-song set during the [[Nobel Peace Prize Concert]] in Oslo.
==Track listings==
'''UK 7-inch single and CD1'''<ref>{{cite AV media notes|title=Irish Blood, English Heart|others=[[Morrissey]]|year=2004|type=UK 7-inch single sleeve|publisher=[[Attack Records]]|id=ATKSI002}}</ref><ref>{{cite AV media notes|title=Irish Blood, English Heart|others=Morrissey|year=2004|type=UK CD1 liner notes|publisher=Attack Records|id=ATKXS002}}</ref>
# "Irish Blood, English Heart"
# "It's Hard to Walk Tall When You're Small"
'''UK CD2'''<ref>{{cite AV media notes|title=Irish Blood, English Heart|others=Morrissey|year=2004|type=UK CD2 liner notes|publisher=Attack Records|id=ATKXD002}}</ref>
# "Irish Blood, English Heart"
# "Munich Air Disaster 1958"
# "The Never Played Symphonies"
'''UK 12-inch single; US 7-inch and CD single'''<ref>{{cite AV media notes|title=Irish Blood, English Heart|others=Morrissey|year=2004|type=UK 12-inch single sleeve|publisher=Attack Records|id=ATKTW019}}</ref><ref>{{cite AV media notes|title=Irish Blood, English Heart|others=Morrissey|year=2004|type=US 7-inch single sleeve|publisher=Attack Records|id=06076-86000-7}}</ref><ref>{{cite AV media notes|title=Irish Blood, English Heart|others=Morrissey|year=2004|type=US CD single liner notes|publisher=Attack Records|id=06076-86000-2}}</ref>
# "Irish Blood, English Heart"
# "It's Hard to Walk Tall When You're Small"
# "Munich Air Disaster 1958"
# "The Never Played Symphonies"
==Personnel==
* [[Morrissey]]: vocals
* [[Alain Whyte]]: guitar
* [[Boz Boorer]]: guitar
* [[Gary Day (musician)|Gary Day]]: bass
* Dean Butterworth: drums
* [[Roger Manning]]: keyboard
==Charts==
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
===Weekly charts===
{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
!scope="col"|Chart (2004)
!scope="col"|Peak<br/>position
|-
{{single chart|Flanders Tip|17|artist=Morrissey|song=Irish Blood, English Heart|rowheader=true|access-date=14 December 2018}}
|-
!scope="row"|Canada ([[Canadian Singles Chart|Nielsen SoundScan]])<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/morrissey/chart-history/cns/|title=Morrissey Chart History (Canadian Digital Songs)|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|access-date=14 December 2018}}</ref>
|7
|-
!scope="row"|Europe ([[European Hot 100 Singles|Eurochart Hot 100]])<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/00s/2004/BB-2004-05-29.pdf|title=Hits of the World – Eurocharts|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|volume=116|issue=22|page=47|date=29 May 2004|access-date=20 March 2020}}</ref>
|11
|-
{{single chart|France|66|artist=Morrissey|song=Irish Blood, English Heart|rowheader=true|access-date=14 December 2018}}
|-
{{single chart|Germany|65|songid=33874|artist=Morrissey|song=Irish Blood, English Heart|rowheader=true|access-date=14 December 2018}}
|-
{{single chart|Ireland2|17|song=Irish Blood, English Heart|rowheader=true|access-date=14 December 2018}}
|-
{{single chart|Italy|48|artist=Morrissey|song=Irish Blood, English Heart|rowheader=true|access-date=14 December 2018}}
|-
{{single chart|Norway|18|artist=Morrissey|song=Irish Blood, English Heart|rowheader=true|access-date=14 December 2018}}
|-
{{single chart|Scotland|4|date=20040522|rowheader=true|access-date=14 December 2018}}
|-
{{single chart|Sweden|4|artist=Morrissey|song=Irish Blood, English Heart|rowheader=true|access-date=14 December 2018}}
|-
{{single chart|UK|3|date=20040522|rowheader=true|access-date=14 December 2018|refname="UK"}}
|-
{{single chart|UKindie|1|date=20040522|rowheader=true|access-date=14 December 2018}}
|-
{{single chart|Billboardalternativesongs|36|artist=Morrissey|rowheader=true|access-date=14 December 2018|refname="usalt"}}
|}
{{col-2}}
===Year-end charts===
{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
!scope="col"|Chart (2004)
!scope="col"|Position
|-
!scope="row"|UK Singles (OCC)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ukchartsplus.co.uk/ChartsPlusYE2004.pdf|title=The Official UK Singles Chart 2004|work=[[UKChartsPlus]]|access-date=14 December 2018}}</ref>
|136
|}
{{col-end}}
==Release history==
{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
!scope="col"|Region
!scope="col"|Date
!scope="col"|Format(s)
!scope="col"|Label(s)
!scope="col"|{{abbr|Ref.|Reference}}
|-
!scope="row"|United States
|12 April 2004
|{{hlist|[[Hot adult contemporary]]|[[Adult album alternative|triple A]] radio}}
|rowspan="2"|[[Attack Records|Attack]]
|<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-RandR/2000s/2004/RR-2004-04-09.pdf|title=Going for Adds|magazine=[[Radio & Records]]|issue=1550|page=20|date=9 April 2004|access-date=15 June 2021}}</ref>
|-
!scope="row"|United Kingdom
|10 May 2004
|{{hlist|7-inch vinyl|CD}}
|<ref>{{cite magazine|title=New Releases: Singles|magazine=[[Music Week]]|page=29|date=8 May 2004}}</ref>
|}
==Media usage==
An edited version eventually became one of the songs on the [[EA Sports]] video game ''[[FIFA Football 2005]]''{{'}}s soundtrack.<ref>{{cite news |last1=White |first1=Mark |last2=McCambridge |first2=Ed |date=14 September 2022 |title=Ranked! The 100 best FIFA songs ever |url=https://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/ranked-the-100-greatest-fifa-songs-ever |access-date=18 March 2023 |website=FourFourTwo |language=en}}</ref> The game's version does not include the line "And spit upon the name Oliver Cromwell/And denounce this royal line that still salutes him. And will salute him, forever"; instead, after the verse "I've been dreaming of a time when/The English are sick to death of Labour and Tories", the song reverts to the line that begins "To be standing by the flag not feeling shameful/Racist or partial".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRm-UGDp4dY|title=FIFA 2005 soundtrack Morrissey Irish Blood, English Heart|via=www.youtube.com}}</ref>
==See also==
* [[Irish Briton]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Morrissey singles}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Morrissey songs]]
[[Category:2004 singles]]
[[Category:Songs written by Morrissey]]
[[Category:Songs written by Alain Whyte]]
[[Category:Irish patriotic songs]]
[[Category:British patriotic songs]]
[[Category:Political songs]]
[[Category:2004 songs]]
[[Category:UK Independent Singles Chart number-one singles]]