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"The Hand That Rocks the Cradle" is a song by British rock group The Smiths. It was recorded in 1983 and included on their debut album, The Smiths (1984).
The song borrowed its title from the oft-quoted poem by William Ross Wallace, changing it into "As long as the hand that rocks the cradle is mine." The song was controversial, leading some music journalists to speculate upon pedophilic content — a charge flatly denied.
Textually, the song, with its unusual lack of choruses or bridges, sounds like a poem set to music. Musically, the song is indebted to the Patti Smith Group's song "Kimberly".
Given the Smiths perhaps unique style of irony (which was intrinsic to the band, given the characteristic schism between Marr's happy music and Morrissey's sad voice), the song is widely thought to be a disguised anti-imperialist statement, underneath overtly outrageous lyrics. The original Wallace quote "...is the hand that rules the world," is reassembled as a first-person narrative; after each increasingly disturbing verse the insistent chorus boasts "as long as the hand that rocks the cradle is mine..."
Britain had a long history as an empire; it still has some influence over the "Cradle of civilization," and its highly sought-after oil resources. Given this, and the usual level of nuance and sophistication in The Smith's lyrics, rather than being an obtuse indictment of a paraphilia the song is more likely a ridiculous indictment of imperialism and conquest as a paraphilia; each being a violence of callous disregard for humanity. Consumed by his strange and sad addiction, the imperialist himself confesses "see how words as old as glyphs, just fit me like a glove." Other English bands have spoken to the issue of British imperialism in more overt ways, for example The Cure's "Killing an Arab".
An early live recording from 1983 originally had the character of an upbeat black comedy. The version on The Smiths' first album was made somber and melancholic, which tended to suppress the outrageous character of its lyrics.
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