I Am Sick And I Am Dull And I Am Plain

Accept Yourself
Words by Morrissey - Music by Johnny Marr

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Everyday you must say
so, how do I feel about my life?
anything is hard to find
when you will not open your eyes
when will you accept yourself?
I am sick and I am dull
and I am plain
how dearly I'd love to get carried away
oh, but dreams have a knack of just not coming true
and time is against me now
oh, who and what to blame?
oh, anything is hard to find
when you will not open your eyes
when will you accept yourself, for heaven's sake?
anything is hard to find
when you will not open your eyes
everyday you must say
oh, how do I feel about the past?
others conquered love — but I ran
I sat in my room and I drew up a plan
oh, but plans can fall through as so often they do
and time is against me now
and there's no one left to blame
tell me when will you
when will you accept your life?
the one that you hate
for anything is hard to find
when you will not open your eyes
everyday you must say
oh, how do I feel about my shoes?
they make me awkward and plain
how dearly I would love to kick with the fray
but I once had a dream and it never came true
and time is against me now
time is against me now
and there's no one but yourself to blame
oh, anything is hard to find
when you will not open your eyes
anything is hard to find for heaven's sake
anything is hard to find
when you will not open your eyes
when will you accept yourself?
when?
when?
when?
when?

Officially Released Versions
"This Charming Man" 12" (RT 136 - Released October, 1983). An echo-laden studio version produced by John Porter. This version fades out during the final musical section.
"This Charming Man" CD #2 (CD Single - Released August, 1992)
Hatful Of Hollow (Rough 76 - Released November, 1984). A much-improved version of the song (also produced by John Porter), recorded for the David Jensen Show (BBC Radio 1).

Bootleg Versions
Asleep (instrumental soundcheck version, Eden Court, Inverness, October 1, 1985)
Devils Charm; Live At The Electric Ballroom; Live At The Electric Ballroom, 19 December 1983 (live at the Electric Ballroom, December 19, 1983)
Smithsessions (David Jensen Show - also available on Hatful Of Hollow)
Wilde About The Smiths (Fighting Cocks, Birmingham, June 3, 1983)
Wonderful Woman (Troy Tate Sessions)

Quintessential Bootleg Version
Although I've yet to hear it myself, Stephane of Passions Just Like Mine has the following to say about the Fighting Cocks (June 3, 1983) recording of the song, which makes it sound like the quintessential readily-available bootleg version: "'Accept Yourself' was definitely more assured than the performance from 2 weeks earlier at the Electric Ballroom when it was probably debuted and just written. On one occasion Morrissey still echoed his 'time is against me now' line with a falsetto repeat and yelping, something that would soon disappear from the song."

Controversy
None I am aware of.

Smiths-Speak
"One of the lines in the song 'Accept Yourself' is 'When will you accept your shoes?', and I find that so many people have this dilemma about shoes. If they have the wrong pair of shoes it can totally destroy their entire life. Similarly if people think their feet are too big, or that their nose is too big it can result in a diminished social life for totally false reasons."
- Morrissey, Undress, 1984

"We received so many letters by people utterly affected by this song, people who'd let their shoes and their past completely dominate their lives."
- Morrissey, Songs That Saved Your Life

"The fundamental request of Smithdom. Simply accept yourself, be yourself, relax, don't worry about anything as there's no point."
- Morrissey, Songs That Saved Your Life

Miscellaneous
In his wonderfully comprehensive book Songs That Saved Your Life, Simon Goddard theorizes that the opening line from Magazine's "A Song From Under The Floorboards" - "I am angry, I am ill and I'm as ugly as sin" - may have inspired Morrissey's line "I am sick and I am dull and I am plain". Considering that Morrissey was friends with Howard Devoto, this seems plausible... and considering the fact that Morrissey covered the Magazine song during his 2005 tour, even more so.

Comtesse Review (as if you care)
"Accept Yourself" is one of those Smiths songs that is more important lyrically than it is musically. It was welcomed by early Smiths fans as a rallying cry for the disenfranchised, and it was a live highlight throughout 1983. However, the song has not aged particularly well. The music is pointlessly complex and the abrupt tempo changes are more grating than exhilarating. Morrissey had not yet mastered the art of the melody and some of the lyrics are quite clunky. Still, you have to give props to any song that includes the lyric, "I am sick and I am dull and I am plain".