The brilliantly titled “Barbarism Begins at Home”, during which Morrissey yelps as if in pain, is also about children being hit – a crack on the head is what you get for asking. Violence or the implied threat thereof is an integral component of Smiths songs, from “In a river the color of lead/immerse the baby’s head” in “This Night Has Opened My Eyes” to the angry mob that opens “Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me.”

The song shares a chord progression and underlying rhythm with the S.O.S. Band’s 1980 funk/disco hit “Take Your Time (Do It Right)”. Guitarist Johnny Marr and bassist Andy Rourke had played in a funk band named Freak Party prior to Marr and Morrissey starting the Smiths, and likely would have known “Take Your Time” very well (although it missed the Top 40 in the UK). It is not known whether the owners of the composition copyrights to “Take Your Time (Do It Right)” have ever filed an infringement claim against Marr and Morrissey for “Barbarism.”