The Boy With The Thorn In His Side (track)
by The Smiths
Year: 1986
From the album The Queen Is Dead (track #7)
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The Boy With The Thorn In His Side appears on the following album(s) by The Smiths:
- The Queen Is Dead (track #7) (this album) (1986)
- The Sound Of The Smiths (track #13) (compilation) (2008)
- The Very Best Of The Smiths (track #2) (compilation) (2001)
- Rank (track #6) (1988)
- Complete (track #27) (compilation) (2011)
- Complete (track #46) (compilation) (2011)
- Complete (track #78) (compilation) (2011)
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The Boy With The Thorn In His Side ratings
Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AVwhere:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.
Showing latest 3 ratings for this track. | Show all 784 ratings for this track.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Track ratings | Avg. track rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 09/01/2026 10:24 | Siromynian | 20,371 | 71/100 |
| ! | 05/19/2026 09:24 | libbyshuss | 963 | 78/100 |
| ! | 05/15/2026 17:55 | Jantje | 1,017 | 76/100 |
Rating metrics:
Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*In practice, some tracks can have several thousand ratings)
This track is rated in the top 1% of all tracks on BestEverAlbums.com. This track has a Bayesian average rating of 90.8/100, a mean average of 90.0/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 91.0/100. The standard deviation for this track is 11.7.
The Boy With The Thorn In His Side favourites
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The Boy With The Thorn In His Side forum mentions
The Boy With The Thorn In His Side comments
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HazeyTwilight TOP 100 COMMENTER 04/30/2013 19:07 | #74869
After the first listen, I knew this song was perfect. The vocals are delicate and nice on the ears, the guitars are sweet sounding and catchy, and the lyrics mesmerizingly clever and enchanting. Might not be the acquirements for the perfect song for everybody, but this is perfect in its own right.
JMGL95 01/14/2014 14:46 | #100634
My favourite guitar riff in modern music history. Charming, magic, classy, timeless. And along with Morrisey, one of the best songs ever.
Somehow manages to be both raw and lush at the same time -- I suppose that's what happens when Marr's grating jangly guitars mesh with the beautiful string arrangements...
Gorgeous, nostalgic, and charming. One of the best Smiths songs.
Not sure which one of this, Bigmouth and There is a Light i like the most, they are all perfect :)
SingingPeasant96 TOP 100 COMMENTER 12/24/2013 03:28 | #98656
The Smiths at their tweest. What's not to love?
