This Charming Man

The harmony of 'This Charming Man' derives its distinctive character from the interplay between A major and its relative minor F#m. Marr's arpeggiated guitar technique creates the illusion of greater harmonic complexity by spreading simple chord voicings across time, with open strings ringing as pedal tones against moving inner voices. The result is a shimmering, jangly texture that became the defining sound of indie pop guitar.

Johnny Marr wrote the music specifically for a John Peel Session on BBC Radio 1, composing it on the same night he wrote "Still Ill" and "Pretty Girls Make Graves". Feeling competitive after Rough Trade label mates Aztec Camera received daytime radio play with "Walk Out to Winter", Marr deliberately crafted an upbeat song in a major key to give The Smiths a potential chart hit. Morrissey wrote lyrics evoking an older, more coded and self-aware underground scene, feeling detached from early 1980s mainstream gay culture.

Released in 1983 as The Smiths' second single, "This Charming Man" paired Johnny Marr's iconic jangly guitar work with Morrissey's vulnerable, literary vocals to create a defining anthem of the UK indie movement. Its blend of upbeat musicality with themes of longing and sexual ambiguity established a template that influenced decades of British guitar pop.