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"This Charming Man" is a song by the English rock band the Smiths, written by guitarist Johnny Marr and singer Morrissey. Released as the group's second single in October 1983 on the independent record label Rough Trade, it is defined by Marr's jangle pop guitar riff and Morrissey's characteristically morose lyrics, which revolve around the recurrent Smiths themes of sexual ambiguity and lust.
The Smiths' second single of 1983 depicts the story of a poor boy coming in contact with the upper class but feels unwelcome due to his lack of material wealth. The ambiguity of the characters' sexuality leaves the song very open to debate and speculation about the true meaning.
This song was covered by Death Cab For Cutie.
In a December 1993 interview with Guitar Player, guitarist Johnny Marr explained the overdubbing of his guitar that are consistent throughout “This Charming Man.”
"I’ll try any trick. With the Smiths, I’d take this really loud Telecaster of mine, lay it on top of a Fender Twin Reverb with the vibrato on, and tune it to an open chord. Then I’d drop a knife with a metal handle on it, hitting random strings. I used it on “This Charming Man”, buried beneath about 15 tracks of guitar … it was the first record where I used those highlife-sounding runs in 3rds. I’m tuned up to F# and I finger it in G, so it comes out in A. There are about 15 tracks of guitar. People thought the main guitar part was a Rickenbacker, but it’s really a ‘54 Tele. There are three tracks of acoustic, a backwards guitar with a really long reverb, and the effect of dropping knives on the guitar – that comes in at the end of the chorus."
On the album cover, that’s French actor Jean Marais in a still from the film Orpheus (1950) but in the video that’s Morrissey.
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