To explain it, I’m tempted to generalise about human experience and say something throw-away like, “I’m sure in everyone’s life there are moments, where everything just turns to misery”… but I think that would take you down the wrong path.  I think you’d jump to conclusions, thinking it’s about the commonest causes of pain: relationships, finances, disease… a lost pet… But this comes instead from a bit of black humour that everynow and then I have to dole out.  It’s cathartic.  Yes, it is misery… but saying so throws out a smile.

I think the joy in this shirt is the word misery.  We rarely use the word.  We say pain.  We say hurt.  We say … but there is something satisfying about calling something “a” misery… “This is misery… pure misery….”….”MISERY…. OH THE MISERY!” It conveys a black humour at the suffering we have to endure as little tiny people fighting an inevitability of tragedy and suffering.  It revels in a sardonic acknowledgement of our helplessness.  We try and control things… but really, we are hapless and helpless, cast about without a rudder.  What can we do but just bemoan our fate…

MISERY, OH THE MISERY!