Morrissey is absolutely iconic for many, many things. In particular, his animal rights activism. He’s worked with PETA, constantly spoken about how he feels about the meat industry, and isn’t afraid to be bold about it. His new tune, “The Bullfighter Dies”, was released to coincide with the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona, an extremely famous tradition.
Moz commented on the sport, saying “The contest is not equal, the animal is unable to protest or to walk away, and the bullfighter doesn’t even actually fight the bull at all! Whatever the results, whatever the motive, the bullfight is systematic torture, and the disgrace of it falls back on any society that allows it to continue.”
The message of the song, Moz says, is, “a shout out for the total abolition of the living horror of bullfighting, and since those who control such barbarity have no interest in the welfare of the bull, then we can only approach the subject by stressing how the overwhelming majority do not have any sympathy when the bullfight does not go the bullfighters’ way. Why should we?”
Morrissey’s passion for helping animals is admirable, and though this time around when it’s expressed in music it’s not as obvious as “Meat Is Murder”, it still gets the message across. It’s a beautiful song, elaborate and fresh, and is proof that the man can write a song with a powerful theme, and also keep it from being too preachy.
