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Dear Stephen is the song that's grown on me the most, at first it passed me by but then the tune wormed its way in and I realised I was humming it to myself without even knowing it.
I don't really know what Nicky is trying to say with it though, the way he's described it in interviews, as being about his own failure to move on from the past, seems completely at odds with the lyrics themselves, which seem to just be having a pop at Morrissey for not being "kind" , in complete contradiction to the lyrics of Critical Thinking, which mocks the whole "be kind" culture.
It does seem that the world of cancel culture and self censorship is a running theme in the album, Critical Thinking, Deleted Scenes and One Man Militia all make mention of it. Morrissey is the ultimate British example of someone who has supposedly been cancelled, but who is still very much in the public eye, regularly selling out tours and having his every word reported in the press.
I do wonder if Nicky is a bit envious of the freedom that Morrissey, as a solo artist with no family, has to say and do whatever he likes, safe in the knowledge that his hardcore fanbase will love him anyway? Whereas Nicky is presumably very aware that any ill advised comment he makes will effect James and Sean, his kids, his brother, and the whole little army of people who rely on Manic Street Preachers Inc for their livelihoods.
I imagine it gets quite frustrating, artistically, to always have to reign yourself in from saying what you really think and speak in riddles all the time.
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