#-----------------------------------PLEASE NOTE------------------------------#
# This file is the author's own work and represents their interpretation #
# of the song. The owner of this website has not reviewed the contents of #
# this file. If you feel that the content of this file may be violating #
# copyright law, you may not use the information displayed here in any way. #
#----------------------------------------------------------------------------#
forge@interramp.com
The Hand That Rocks the Cradle
--------------------------------
by Marr/Morrissey
This is a collaboration between I, the writer, and Cypher, the actual
composer. This is what the riff is in raw form. It may fro guitar to guitar
but this is the skeleton of it.
RIFF
E|-----0--------0-----0-----------0--|
B|-----------3--------------3--------| *REMEMBER THIS IS RAW FORM*
G|--0-----0--------0-----0-----0-----|
D|-----------------------------------|
A|-----------------------------------|
E|-----------------------------------|
2nd part of RIFF
E|-----0--------0-----0-----------2--|
B|-----------3--------------3--------|
G|--0-----0--------0-----0-----0-----|
D|-----------------------------------|
A|-----------------------------------|
E|-----------------------------------|
If you can improve on this please do and mail me a copy. If any one can get
the bass line I could use it as well.
Brought to you by the GUITARMASTA - http://www.guitarmasta.net
Tab Discussion, Comments, and Critiques
|
No Picture
Speed Demon Professional |
#1 by Speed Demon at Apr 15, 1971 at 1:19 AM EST |
| this song is so sweet....and yet so sad....not sure the actual meaning of it, nor do i really care what it's about....i really love this song!!!!!!!!! | |
|
No Picture
Jake Average |
#2 by Jake m at Mar 9, 1972 at 9:09 AM EST |
| "The Hand that Rocks The Cradle", title of "Crib"-detective series,1981 "Climb upon my knee, sonny boy..." "Sonny Boy", Al Jolson "Over the stones, rattle his bones, he's only a beggar who nobody owns." Gray's Elegy (original source) "So rattle her bones all over the stones, she's only a beggar-man whom nobody owns." The Lion In Love, by Shelagh Delaney (this is the most likely direct source) | |
|
No Picture
keith Wanna Be |
#3 by keith mckinlay at Mar 19, 1976 at 9:23 AM EST |
| The title of this song was not original to Morrissey. A birth control drama titled The Hand That Rocks The Cradle was released by Universal American Films back in 1917. Morrissey's source can be more accurately traced to Saturday 12 April 1981 when Granada Televisionbroadcast a 40-minute episode of the detective series Crib, in which a Victorian hero "sets a trap for some anarchists". The episode was evocatively titled 'The Hand That Rocks The Cradle', and Morrissey probably wrote the composition during April 1981, a period when he was particularly productive. | |
|
No Picture
chris Average |
#4 by chris ovari at Aug 23, 1977 at 12:42 AM EST |
| I don't think this song can be considered to be about anything else other than child abuse. 'I looked into his wondrous eyes and said never, never, never again' followed by the lines about returning like a moth to a flame. The character we hear knows what he's doing is wrong but he can't/won't stop. Images such as the piano playing in an empty room/wavering shadows looming create a malevolent atmosphere that reaches a peak with the wardrobe towering like a beast of prey - the latter places the events in a bedroom. 'I once had a child and it saved my life' could just be the words of a happy parent, but in context is clearly a sexual reference. As if we needed any more evidence it ends talking about the child's mother never knowing. Perhaps the character is the child's father or uncle? All credit to Morrissey for writing a song that deals with such a taboo subject without resorting to Daily Mail-esque sentiments. Whilst he's clearly not condoning the abuse, he does allow us to hear the abusers side of the story. Great song. | |
|
No Picture
Gunther Wanna Be |
#5 by Gunther at Aug 3, 1979 at 6:23 PM EST |
| Well it seemed to me as a song about parental love...great, obsessive, (over)protective love for a child, which sounds more and more ominous as the song progresses. "There never need be longing in your eyes As long as the hand that rocks the cradle is mine" - that might sound sweet, but on the other hand it might sound overbearing and suffocating. It might be about child abuse, but then again it might not be about direct abuse. Still, parental love can be dangerous if the parent is too possessive of a child. | |
|
No Picture
Kyle Average |
#6 by Kyle Landers at Aug 26, 1984 at 3:02 PM EST |
| a piano plays in an empty room- that just rolls off the tongue, thats what this song is about, its not how its read, its how its sung and said aloud, it just flows, thats why it sounds good despite no change in the music throughout, this song could be about his cat....maybe? probably not, but i wouldnt be surprised | |
|
No Picture
jordan Wanna Be |
#7 by jordan at Mar 13, 1986 at 7:42 AM EST |
| Both the tune and lyrics reflect a generally feeling of darkness and gloom suggesting something terrible has or will happen. Marrs repetitive chord is based on Patti Smiths' "Horses". This is not typical Morrissey - lyrically it is more like a poem that has had music put to it, rather than the normal Marr tune that Morrissey adds his lyrics to. It is very dark and lacks some of Morrisseys usual frankness. The suggestion of the song not only has connotations of child abuse but also that the mother has been murdered and is laying downstairs. Making use of ordinary household objects linked with choice adjectives allows you to feel the sinister atmosphere of the house from a child's perspective - "the wardrobe towers like a beast of prey" and "piano plays in an empty room". Simple but effective. | |
|
No Picture
Steve Wanna Be |
#8 by Steve Williams at Mar 25, 1989 at 8:37 AM EST |
| Wow - what a gorgeous song. The menace creeps upon this lullaby almost unnoticed. Protection ("my life down I will lie") soon turns to obsession ("Oh, your untouched, unsoiled, wonderous eyes"). Of course it COULD be a harmless ode of protection, but the line "I once had a child, and it saved my life" suddenly shifts the protagonist to the position of the vulnerable - suggesting that despite the strong front he puts on, there's a serious weakness inside (and of course there are the undertones of child abuse in those few lines). | |
|
No Picture
camilo Average |
#9 by camilo velasquez at Jul 10, 1993 at 11:02 PM EST |
| i get the idea that it's about a father separated from his son, whose mother never knew who the real father was. maybe he runs into the kid on the street and recognizes his eyes. then he returns to the house later and kidnaps him so that they can be together. | |
|
No Picture
Shotgun Average |
#10 by Shotgun Joe at Nov 13, 1994 at 9:41 AM EST |
| it is interesting as the only point at which I think that an accusation of paedophilia about Morrissey lyrics miught be fair enough - it doesn't seem like he's related to the child, I once had a child and he saved my life and I never even asked him him name... if he is related why do you have to ask his name??? In the lyric sheet the words are I never even gave him a name implying he has the right to do it... implying relationship... the meaning kind of hinged on that line for me. although my conclusions are not decided upon. Good song though | |
|
No Picture
Niks Average |
#11 by Niks at Jun 8, 1995 at 6:34 PM EST |
| It is one of the Smiths finest and earliest track. The menaing is ambigious: a) child abuse, b) real love for the child. The end is to do with the mother of the child in my opinion. It's a beautiful song regardless of its proper meaning. | |
|
No Picture
Sara Average |
#12 by Sara Sunshine at Dec 19, 2000 at 2:33 AM EST |
| the Smiths live debut was in October 82, They only played a couple orginals, no covers. This was one of their first songs. | |
|
No Picture
Randy Lead Player |
#13 by Randy Lott at Apr 12, 2006 at 2:42 AM EST |
| the Smiths live debut was in October 82, They only played a couple orginals, no covers. This was one of their first songs. | |
Top 7 The Smiths Guitar Tabs
Popular Guitar Tabs