"Cemetry Gates" is a 1986 song by English alternative rock band the Smiths from The Queen Is Dead, their third album.

However, Smiths singer Morrissey liked Marr's performance of the song's music and convinced him it was worthy of release.

[5] The song features Morrissey commenting on critics who demeaned his quotation of other writers, notably Oscar Wilde.

[2] Author Simon Goddard stated of this: It was extremely ironic, if not deliberately self-parodic, of Morrissey to address the issue of plagiarism in a song which itself brazenly incorporated words which weren't his own.

[2][4][7] Although "Cemetry Gates" was inspired by Southern Cemetery in Manchester, the song's central lyric, "Keats and Yeats are on your side/While Wilde is on mine", makes reference to the graves of three noted literary figures who are buried elsewhere; John Keats lies buried at the Protestant Cemetery, Rome,[8] W. B. Yeats' remains are in the churchyard of St Columba's Church, Drumcliff in Ireland,[9] and Oscar Wilde's tomb is in Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris.

Mark Coleman of Rolling Stone spoke glowingly of Morrissey's vocal performance on "Cemetry Gates", concluding "When he's at his most pretentious, pitting Wilde against Keats and Yeats in a battle of the bards on 'Cemetry Gates,' Morrissey sounds clearer and more melodic than ever before, wafting unlikely lines to high heaven.

[20] Consequence of Sound ranked the song as the band's 29th best, calling it "a rare chance to see Moz comfortable in his own skin.