Players
John Metcalfe (Viola)
Fenella Barton (Violin)
Mark Davies (Cello)
Richard Koster (Violin)
Robert Woollard (Cello)
Rachel Maguire (Cello)

Officially Released Versions
Studio Version: Viva Hate album (March 1988) - Produced by Stephen Street

Live History
Th'Lads massacred the song during the Kill Uncle tour.

Critical Commentary
"'Angel, Angel, Down We Go Together' is... um, a bit 'Eleanor Rigby". I assume that the infamous strings are a signifier for a damp, abiding 'Englishness'. They may be an ennobling gesture - as Eldritch self-effacingly put it, 'No guitars - that means it's an important song.'" - David Stubbs, Melody Maker, March 19, 1988

Thus Spake Morrissey
"It was written with Johnny Marr in mind and it is the only song that I have written with him in mind, post Smiths. I saw him in the music industry being used and being pushed around and being manipulated and I felt I was in a situation and I thought, 'Look at me, look at you - it's the same, it's a mess and this is as far as we will go' which wasn't quite true in the end but at that moment it felt pretty despairing for both, I felt despairing for both of us but I was wrong." (1992)

Comtesse Review (as if you care)
This is the first of Morrissey's "orchestral" songs, and definitely the most successful of the lot. The lyrics are classic Morrissey. Critics would laugh them off as melodramatic and almost a self-parody, yet, as a formerly quite suicidal Angel(a), I can vouch for the fact that these words saved lives. That Morrissey himself understood this I have no doubt. Although I do feel that the song could have benefited from a more conventional acoustic guitar backdrop, it's hard to criticize such a poignant little gem. (Avoid the clumsy electric live version from 1991 if you want to associate any sense of grace with the song.)