The lyric Pete Doherty wishes he wrote
We have Pete Doherty to thank for plenty of timeless indie anthems. Within The Libertines, Doherty and Carl Barât have proved themselves to be one of the genre’s most fearsome duos, dominating the indie sleaze era of the 2000s and remaining beloved ever since. Plenty of people would be able to quote a line from one of their tracks when asked which lyrics they wished they’d penned. But for Doherty, that praise has always landed on the shoulders of another indie big league.
“Somewhere between the pillows and the skies, amidst the stark satanic thrills of adolescent whimsy, there’s a second-hand record shop. Let’s say it’s in Nuneaton,” Doherty recalled of his teenage years, setting the scene for a landmark moment. “Let’s imagine a wonky-fringed 15-year-old striding purposefully towards it with his paper round money in his hand,” he continued, painting the picture of himself heading into the shop and leaving with a disc that he said shifted everything. “My life changed forever,” he said of the purchase.
“‘I Started Something I Couldn’t Finish’ cranked into life, and something divine occurred to me,” he concluded, claiming that the second he was introduced to Morrisey, nothing was the same. “Within six months, I had officially taken up residence inside Smiths songs.”
From then on, The Smiths leader has guided him through the music world, from his first introductions to today. When he was 16 or 17, Morrissey at Battersea Power Station was Doherty’s first gig. When asked by Hot Press which albums he believes everyone should hear, he replied, “Any of The Smiths’ albums.”
It’s easy to hear The Smiths’ influence on The Libertines’ work. Doherty plays on the same line of poetry and wit that Morrissey mastered, never shying away from darkness or deepness, even in the catchiest indie tracks. In an interview with Q, he said he holds one Smiths’ line close when it comes to his songwriting, using it as a teacher or a guide. “‘Don’t forget the songs the songs that made you cry,’” he quotes from ‘Rubber Ring’, stating, “that line always made me well up.” Reminding him of the glorious worth of a sad song, he said, “It’s better than any therapy or any conversation. You just hit something on the head and it captures a mood.”
But when it comes to the line he wishes he’d written, he looks to Morrissey again but for a more poetic quip. “There’s ice on the sink where we bathe,” he quotes from ‘Jeane’, one of his favourite tracks from the band and one of the earliest he encountered. Who knows what it means or what the songwriter was trying to say with it, but either way, Doherty wishes he’d got there first.