"Irish Blood, English Heart" is a song written by the British singer Morrissey in 2002, from his

2004 album You Are the Quarry. It was released on 4 May 2004 in the United States and 10 May
2004 internationally. The song became Morrissey's 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
The song had been performed live numerous times prior to release, but Morrissey was without a
record deal for some time. It was Morrissey's first single in seven years, and considered a major
comeback. The music was written by Alain Whyte and had already been used on a song called "Not
Bitter but Bored" for a band he was a part of called Johnny Panic and the Bible of Dreams.
Morrissey wrote a whole new set of lyrics for this tune as well as changing the melody. He also did
this with another Johnny Panic tune, "Paranoia", which was rewritten as "Don't Make Fun of
Daddy's Voice".

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 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 charts,[1] making it Morrissey's joint
highest-charting single with or without The Smiths, alongside "You Have Killed Me" when it was
released in 2006.

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 (Boston), WWCD (Columbus), CIMX (Windsor), KMBY (Monterey / Salinas), 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 Modern Rock
Tracks chart, Morrissey's first single to chart there since "The More You Ignore Me, The Closer I
Get" in 1994.[2]

Composition
The song draws on Morrissey's English and Irish heritage, and explores the themes of contention
between the two nations. It is one of Morrissey's more political songs, with him denouncing Oliver
Cromwell, the Conservative Party, the Labour Party, and the British royal family.

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
7" vinyl and CD 1 (UK)

1. "Irish Blood, English Heart"

2. "It's Hard to Walk Tall When You're Small"
CD 2 (UK)

1. "Irish Blood, English Heart"

2. "Munich Air Disaster 1958"
3. "The Never Played Symphonies"
CD (US) and 12" vinyl (UK)

1. "Irish Blood, English Heart"

2. "It's Hard to Walk Tall When You're Small"
3. "Munich Air Disaster 1958"
4. "The Never Played Symphonies"
Countr Catalogue
Record label Format
y number
Attack/
UK 7" vinyl ATKSI002
Sanctuary
Attack/ 12"
UK ATKTW019
Sanctuary vinyl
Attack/
UK CD#1 ATKXS002
Sanctuary
Attack/
UK CD#2 ATKXD002
Sanctuary

Personnel
• Morrissey: vocals
• Alain Whyte: guitar
• Boz Boorer: guitar
• Gary Day: bass
• Dean Butterworth: drums
• Roger Manning: keyboard
Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts
 Peak
Chart (2004) positio
n
Belgium (Ultratip Flanders)[3] 17
Canada (Nielsen SoundScan)[4] 7
France (SNEP)[5] 66
Germany (Official German Charts)[6] 65
Ireland (IRMA)[7] 17
Italy (FIMI)[8] 48
Norway (VG-lista)[9] 18
Scotland (Official Charts Company)[10] 4
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[11] 4
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[1] 3
UK Indie (Official Charts Company)[12] 1
US Alternative Songs (Billboard)[2] 36

Positio
Chart (2004)
n
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[13] 136

Media usage
An edited version eventually became one of the songs on the EA Sports videogame FIFA Football
2005's soundtrack. 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".

The song has also been released as downloadable content for the console versions of the main
games in the Rock Band series.

See also
• Morrissey discography
• Irish Briton
References
1.
"Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 14 December 2018.
"Morrissey Chart History (Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 14 December 2018.

"Ultratop.be – Morrissey – Irish Blood, English Heart" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved 14 December
2018.

"Morrissey Chart History (Canadian Digital Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 14 December 2018.

"Lescharts.com – Morrissey – Irish Blood, English Heart" (in French). Les classement single.
Retrieved 14 December 2018.

"Offiziellecharts.de – Morrissey – Irish Blood, English Heart". GfK Entertainment Charts.

Retrieved 14 December 2018.

"The Irish Charts – Search Results – Irish Blood, English Heart". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 14
December 2018.

"Italiancharts.com – Morrissey – Irish Blood, English Heart". Top Digital Download. Retrieved 14
December 2018.

"Norwegiancharts.com – Morrissey – Irish Blood, English Heart". VG-lista. Retrieved 14 December

2018.

"Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 14 December
2018.

"Swedishcharts.com – Morrissey – Irish Blood, English Heart". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 14
December 2018.

"Official Independent Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 14 December
2018.

1. "The Official UK Singles Chart 2004" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. Retrieved 14 December 2018.
External links
• "Irish Blood, English Heart" at Passions Just Like Mine
• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics