There Is A Light That Never Goes Out

There Is A Light That Never Goes Out is a track by The Smiths, perhaps their best-known and most widely covered song. It was originally featured on the album The Queen Is Dead in 1986, and was released as a single in 1992. Former Smiths lead Morrissey released a cover of this track as a double-A side live single, in 2005, reaching the 11th position in the UK Singles Chart.

Background
The music and lyrics were composed and written in the late summer of 1985 at Marr's home, on an acoustic guitar, during a "marathon writing session". Work on the track commenced in September, during sessions at RAK Studios in London. A rehearsal tape was first recorded in the key of F# minor. Four days later, a monitor mix in the key of C# minor, accompanied by a strings arrangement by Marr, on an emulator (credited to the Hated Salford Ensemble in the album release).

Demo
A demo track was recorded and compiled on the bootleg LP The Smiths: Unreleased Demos and Instrumentals. The vocal part had a more husky sound to it, and the intro featured the original lyric and ending refrain "there is a light in your eyes and it never goes out". The demo lacked the synthesised strings and flute melody.

Artwork
The single version released in 1992 featured a tinted-blue photograph of English singer and Morrissey muse Sandie Shaw.