The Bad Shepherds play punk songs on folk instruments. Not as a joke, but because they really like the noise. They think the songs are better than people remember. They love folk instruments. It works. They do songs by The Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Stranglers The Jam, Sham 69, The Undertones, Talking Heads, Squeeze and others, even Kraftwerk! Alright, they're not all punk, but they come from roughly the same era. The songs are mostly given a kind of Celtic feel, with the odd reel and jig stuck here and there. But occassionally they just thrash! They've always thought the excitement of a reel taking off is the nearest thing to the excitement of watching punk live in the 70s!
Other musicians recording and appearing with the Bad Shapherds include Carol Dawson (fiddle), Eimear Bradley (fiddle), Keith Angel (percussion), Mark Woolley (percussion), Martin Allcock (bass), Brad Lang (bass) and Tim Harries (bass).
Their albums include:
Yan, Tyan, Tethera, Methera! (2008)
By Hook or By Crook (2010)
Up The Junction
The Bad Shepherds Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
With me and a girl from Clapham
Out on the windy common
That night I ain't forgotten
When she dealt out the rations
With some or other passions
I said, "You are a lady"
"Perhaps," she said, "I may be"
We moved into a basement
With thoughts of our engagement
We stayed in by the telly
Although the room was smelly
We spent our time just kissing
The Railway Arms we're missing
But love had got us hooked up
And all our time it took up
I got a job with Stanley
He said I'd come in handy
And started me on Monday
So I had a bath on Sunday
I worked eleven hours
And bought the girl some flowers
She said she'd seen a doctor
And nothing now could stop her
I worked all through the winter
The weather brass and bitter
I put away a tenner each week to make her better
And when the time was ready
We had to sell the telly
Late evenings by the fire
With little kicks inside her
This morning at four-fifty
I took her rather nifty
Down to an incubator
Where thirty minutes later
She gave birth to a daughter
Within a year a walker
She looked just like her mother
If there could be another
And now she's two years older
Her mother's with a soldier
She left me when my drinking
Became a proper stinging
The devil came and took me
From bar to street to bookie
No more nights by the telly
No more nights nappies smelling
Alone here in the kitchen
I feel there's something missing
I'd beg for some forgiveness
But begging's not my business
And she won't write a letter
Although I always tell her
And so it's my assumption
I'm really up the junction
The Bad Shepherds's song "Up The Junction" tells the story of a couple from different social classes who fall in love and move in together. The lyrics describe their journey from their first night together on the common, through their life as a couple and ultimately, their breakup.
The song begins with the singer recounting the night he met the girl from Clapham and how they moved into a basement together. The couple spends their time kissing and missing the Railway Arms pub. The singer starts working for Stanley and saves up money, so they can have a child. After the birth of their daughter, their relationship starts to unravel when the singer turns to drinking, and the girl goes off to be with a soldier. The song ends with the singer alone in the kitchen, realizing he is "up the junction."
The lyrics present a narrative that is nostalgic and wistful, filled with sadness as the story of the couple's love and ultimate separation unfolds. The song draws its inspiration from a 1963 short story collection by Nell Dunn, titled "Up the Junction."
Line by Line Meaning
I never thought it would happen
I couldn't believe it happened
With me and a girl from Clapham
I met a girl from Clapham and we fell in love
Out on the windy common
We were outside, probably in a park or field, and it was windy
That night I ain't forgotten
I remember that night very well
When she dealt out the rations
When she gave me what I needed, probably love and affection
With some or other passions
With a lot of love and desire for each other
I said, "You are a lady"
I complimented her by calling her a lady
"Perhaps," she said, "I may be"
She replied to me humbly by saying that she might be a lady
We moved into a basement
We started living in a basement
With thoughts of our engagement
We were thinking of getting engaged and getting married
We stayed in by the telly
We spent our time at home watching TV
Although the room was smelly
Even though the room didn't smell very good
We spent our time just kissing
We were very much in love and spent most of our time kissing
The Railway Arms we're missing
We missed going to the Railway Arms for drinks
But love had got us hooked up
But we were so in love with each other that we didn't mind missing out on other things
And all our time it took up
Our relationship took up all our time and energy
I got a job with Stanley
I found a job working for Stanley
He said I'd come in handy
Stanley thought I was useful and could do the job well
And started me on Monday
I started working for him on Monday
So I had a bath on Sunday
I made sure to bathe and be clean in preparation for my job
I worked eleven hours
I worked long hours
And bought the girl some flowers
I bought my girlfriend some flowers
She said she'd seen a doctor
My girlfriend saw a doctor for some reason
And nothing now could stop her
Whatever the doctor did or said made her feel better and she was ready for anything
I worked all through the winter
I worked the entire winter season
The weather brass and bitter
The weather was very cold and unpleasant
I put away a tenner each week to make her better
I saved ten pounds each week so I could improve her life
And when the time was ready
When the time was right
We had to sell the telly
We had to sell our TV to get money
Late evenings by the fire
We spent our evenings sitting beside the fire
With little kicks inside her
My girlfriend was pregnant and I could feel the baby moving inside her
This morning at four-fifty
Early this morning, at four-fifty AM
I took her rather nifty
I took her quickly and efficiently
Down to an incubator
We went to a place that had an incubator, probably a hospital
Where thirty minutes later
Thirty minutes after we arrived there
She gave birth to a daughter
My girlfriend gave birth to our daughter
Within a year a walker
Within a year, our daughter was able to walk
She looked just like her mother
Our daughter looked exactly like her mother
If there could be another
If we had another child, they would probably look like their mother too
And now she's two years older
Our daughter is now two years older
Her mother's with a soldier
My girlfriend is now with a soldier
She left me when my drinking
She left me when I started drinking too much
Became a proper stinging
My drinking became a real problem
The devil came and took me
I was taken away by the devil, meaning that I was probably in a very bad place
From bar to street to bookie
I was probably moving from a bar to the street to a bookmaker, indicating that I had a serious gambling or drinking problem
No more nights by the telly
I don't spend any more nights at home watching TV
No more nights nappies smelling
I'm not there to help with changing our daughter's nappies anymore
Alone here in the kitchen
I'm alone in the kitchen
I feel there's something missing
I feel like there's something important missing in my life
I'd beg for some forgiveness
I wish I could ask for forgiveness
But begging's not my business
I don't like to beg for things
And she won't write a letter
My girlfriend won't write to me
Although I always tell her
Even though I always ask her to write to me
And so it's my assumption
Therefore, I believe
I'm really up the junction
I'm in a very difficult and unpleasant situation
Contributed by Gabriella F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.