Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want
{{Short description|1984 song by The Smiths}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2012}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want
| cover =
| alt =
| type =
| artist = the Smiths
| album =
| EP =
| A-side = "William, It Was Really Nothing"
| published =
| released = 20 August 1984
| recorded = Jam Studios
| studio =
| genre = Alternative rock{{cite web|url=http://ajournalofmusicalthings.com/top-ten-most-depressing-alternative-rock-songs/|title=Top Ten Most Depressing Alternative Rock Songs|last=Cross|first=Alan|author-link=Alan Cross|date=6 April 2012|website=A Journal of Musical Things|access-date=12 April 2019}}
| length = {{Duration|m=1|s=50}}
| label =
| writer = Johnny Marr, Morrissey{{Cite web|url=https://secondhandsongs.com/work/264/all|title=Song: Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want written by Johnny Marr, Morrissey | SecondHandSongs|website=secondhandsongs.com}}
| composer =
| lyricist =
| producer = John Porter
| prev_title =
| prev_year =
| title =
| next_title =
| next_year =
}}
"Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want" is a song by the English rock band the Smiths. It was released on the B-side of the single "William, It Was Really Nothing" in 1984{{Cite web|url=https://www.radiox.co.uk/artists/the-smiths/smiths-singles-that-didnt-appear-on-album/|title=10 Smiths singles that didn't appear on a Smiths album|website=Radio X}} and later featured on the compilation albums Hatful of Hollow and Louder Than Bombs.{{Cite web|url=https://observer.com/2017/03/the-smiths-louder-than-bombs-album-anniversary-review/|title=The World Fell in Love With The Smiths Just as They Were Falling Apart|website=The New York Observer |date=24 March 2017}} The song was also included on the soundtrack album of the 1986 film Pretty in Pink and featured in the film Never Been Kissed. An instrumental cut of the cover from the Dream Academy was featured in Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
Background
Johnny Marr wrote the music to "Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want" shortly after its eventual A-side, "William, It Was Really Nothing". Marr commented, "Because that was such a fast, short, upbeat song, I wanted the B-side to be different, so I wrote 'Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want' on Saturday in a different time signature—in a waltz time as a contrast".{{cite book |last1=Majewski |first1=Lori |last2=Bernstein |first2=Jonathan |title=Mad World: An Oral History of New Wave Artists and Songs That Defined the 1980s |date=15 April 2014 |publisher=Abrams |isbn=978-1-61312-666-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q4JSAwAAQBAJ |language=en}} Marr has also noted that the music was an attempt to "capture the ... spookiness and sense of yearning" in Del Shannon's "The Answer to Everything", a song his parents played for him as a child.{{cite book |last1=Luerssen |first1=John D. |title=The Smiths FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Most Important British Band of the 1980s |date=1 January 2000 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1-4950-4597-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TtCGDwAAQBAJ |language=en}}
The band's label, Rough Trade, initially was concerned about the song's short length. Morrissey recalled, "When we first played it to Rough Trade, they kept asking, 'Where's the rest of the song?{{'"}} Morrissey, who characterized the song "a very brief punch in the face," argued, "Lengthening the song would, to my mind, have simply been explaining the blindingly obvious".
"Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want" was released as a B-side to "William, It Was Really Nothing". Morrissey commented, "Hiding it away on a B-side was sinful" and remarked "I feel sad about it now". The song also appeared on the compilation Hatful of Hollow, an inclusion Morrissey considered "by way of semi-repentance".{{cite web |last1=Harbron |first1=Lucy |title=The Smiths song Morrissey called "sinful" |url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/the-smiths-song-morrissey-called-sinful/ |website=Far Out |access-date=23 January 2024 |date=15 January 2024}}
Cover versions
=The Dream Academy version=
{{Infobox song
| name = Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want
| cover = Dappp.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = the Dream Academy
| album =
| released = 1985 (UK)
| recorded = 1984
| studio =
| genre = {{hlist|Soft-rock|alt-pop}}
| length = 3:09
| label = Blanco y Negro
| writer = Johnny Marr, Morrissey
| producer = David Gilmour and Nick Laird-Clowes
| prev_title = The Love Parade
| prev_year = 1986
| next_title = Indian Summer
| next_year = 1987
}}
The Dream Academy covered "Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want" in 1985.{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/feb/15/dream-academy-please-let-me-get|title=Old Music: The Dream Academy – Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want (Instrumental)|first=Stuart|last=Goodwin|date=15 February 2012|newspaper=The Guardian}} This version of the song peaked at number 83 on the UK Singles Chart.{{cite web |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/search/singles/please-please-please-let-me-get-what-i-want/ |title=The Official Charts Company - Dream Academy - Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want |website=Official Charts |access-date=2023-06-19}} An instrumental version of this cover was used in the movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off in 1986, during a scene in an art museum where Cameron is viewing the pointilist painting "A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte".
Though Morrissey originally indicated his dislike for this version, he later used it as intermission music during late period Smiths concerts.{{cite book |last1=McKinney |first1=D. |title=Morrissey FAQ: All That's Left to Know About This Charming Man |date=1 April 2015 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1-4950-2893-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QNCGDwAAQBAJ |language=en}} He commented after the band's breakup, "I mean, I liked the Dream Academy version of that old Smiths song. Everyone despised it and it got to number 81, which is nearly a hit".{{cite book |last1=Woods |first1=Paul A. |title=Morrissey In Conversation: The Essential Interviews |date=1 October 2017 |publisher=Plexus Publishing |isbn=978-0-85965-874-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7sw2DwAAQBAJ |language=en}}
==Track listing==
7-inch version
- "Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want"
- "In Places on the Run"
12-inch version
- "Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want"
- "The Party" (acoustic)
- "Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want" (instrumental)
- "In Places on the Run" (edit)
==Chart performance==
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Chart (1985)
!Peak |
|---|
| UK Singles (OCC)
| style="text-align:center;"| 83 |
{{Clear}}
=Slow Moving Millie version=
{{Infobox song
| name = Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want
| cover = PPPLMGWIW.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Slow Moving Millie
| album = Renditions
| released = 11 November 2011
| recorded = 2011
| studio =
| genre =
| length = 3:09
| label = Island Records
| writer = Johnny Marr, Morrissey
| producer =
| prev_title = Beasts
| prev_year = 2009
| next_title =
| next_year =
}}
English actress and songwriter Slow Moving Millie released a cover version of the song, adding commas to its title. It was released on 11 November 2011 as a download from her debut studio album Renditions.{{cite web|url=https://www.amazon.co.uk/Renditions-Slow-Moving-Millie/dp/B0064ZDQFQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1321273236&sr=8-1|title=Renditions by Slow Moving Millie|date=12 December 2011|via=Amazon}} Her version was selected as the soundtrack to a John Lewis advertisement.{{Cite web|url=https://www.live4ever.uk.com/2011/11/slow-moving-millie-insists-the-smiths-are-fans-of-john-lewis-cover/|title=Slow Moving Millie Insists The Smiths Are Fans Of John Lewis Cover | Live4ever Media|date=25 November 2011}}
==Track listing==
{{tracklist
| headline = Digital download
| title1 = Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want
| length1 = 2:51
}}
==Chart performance==
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Chart (2011)
! Peak |
|---|
| {{singlechart|UK|31|artist=Slow Moving Millie|single=Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want|date=2011-12-10}} |
==Release history==
| class=wikitable
!Region !Date !Format !Label |
| United Kingdom
|11 November 2011 |Digital download |
Certifications
The Smiths version
{{Certification Table Top}}
{{Certification Table Entry|type=single|region=Italy|artist=The Smiths|title=Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want|award=Gold|relyear=1984|certyear=2024|id=12030|access-date=February 14, 2024}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=single|artist=Smiths|title=Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want|award=Gold|relyear=2008|certyear=2024|id=15840-175-1|access-date=2 February 2024}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true|noshipments=true|streaming=true}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{The Smiths}}
{{The Dream Academy}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:The Dream Academy songs
Category:Alternative rock ballads
Category:Songs written by Morrissey
Category:Songs written by Johnny Marr