Up The Junction
The Squeeze Lyrics
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With me and the 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 in to 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 Squeeze's song "Up The Junction" is a melancholic tale of the ups and downs of a young couple's relationship. The opening lyrics describe a chance encounter between the singer and "the girl from Clapham" on a windy common. From the start, their relationship is built on passion rather than affectionate familiarity. They move in together, but their living conditions are less than ideal. Despite the smelly basement and the Railway Arms they miss out on, they are enamored with each other and spend most of their time kissing. The singer gets a job with Stanley, but he has to work eleven-hour days to support them both.
The song takes a dramatic turn when the singer takes his pregnant girlfriend to an incubator, where she gives birth to a daughter. Their lives change significantly with the arrival of the baby. The singer works hard to make ends meet, saving up a tenner each week to make his girlfriend better. The lyrics don't shy away from the harsh realities of their situation, and the image of a man struggling with his responsibilities while battling his inner demons is powerfully evoked.
The last verse of the song sees the singer alone in the kitchen, regretful and remorseful. He desperately wants forgiveness but knows he cannot ask for it, and it's unlikely he'll receive a letter from his now ex-girlfriend. He quietly concludes, "And so it's my assumption I'm really up the junction."
Line by Line Meaning
I never thought it would happen
I did not expect this to happen
With me and the girl from Clapham
Me and the girl from Clapham got together
Out on the windy common
We were outside on the windy common
That night I ain't forgotten
I still remember that night
When she dealt out the rations
When she distributed the food
With some or other passions
With some other emotions
I said "you are a lady"
I told her that she was a lady
"Perhaps" she said. "I may be"
She replied saying maybe she was a lady
We moved in to a basement
We started living in a basement
With thoughts of our engagement
Thinking of our future together
We stayed in by the telly
We spent our time watching TV
Although the room was smelly
Even though the room had an unpleasant odor
We spent our time just kissing
We spent time kissing each other
The Railway Arms we're missing
We were missing going to the Railway Arms
But love had got us hooked up
But we were in love and committed
And all our time it took up
It consumed all our time
I got a job with Stanley
I got a job with Stanley
He said I'd come in handy
He said I would be useful
And started me on Monday
He asked me to start working on Monday
So I had a bath on Sunday
So I took a bath on Sunday in preparation
I worked eleven hours
I worked for eleven hours
And bought the girl some flowers
Bought some flowers for the girl
She said she'd seen a doctor
She told me that she had seen a doctor
And nothing now could stop her
Nothing could stop her now
I worked all through the winter
I worked throughout the winter
The weather brass and bitter
The weather was harsh and cold
I put away a tenner
I saved ten pounds
Each week to make her better
To support her financially
And when the time was ready
When the time was right
We had to sell the telly
We had to sell the TV
Late evenings by the fire
We spent evenings sitting by the fire
With little kicks inside her
With the baby kicking inside her
This morning at four fifty
This morning at 4:50
I took her rather nifty
I took her quickly
Down to an incubator
I took her to an incubator
Where thirty minutes later
Thirty minutes later
She gave birth to a daughter
She gave birth to a daughter
Within a year a walker
Within a year, the baby was walking
She looked just like her mother
The baby looked like her mother
If there could be another
If there could be another baby
And now she's two years older
The baby is two years old now
Her mother's with a soldier
Her mother is with a soldier
She left me when my drinking
She left me when I started drinking
Became a proper stinging
It became a problem for her
The devil came and took me
I was consumed by my addiction/problem
From bar to street to bookie
I was going to bars, streets, and bookies
No more nights by the telly
No more nights spent watching TV
No more nights nappies smelling
No more nights smelling nappies
Alone here in the kitchen
I am alone in the kitchen
I feel there's something missing
I feel like something is missing
I'd beg for some forgiveness
I would ask for forgiveness
But begging's not my business
I don't like begging
And she won't write a letter
She won't write me a letter
Although I always tell her
Even though I keep telling her
And so it's my assumption
So I assume
I'm really up the junction
I'm in a difficult situation
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: CHRISTOPHER HENRY DIFFORD, GLENN MARTIN TILBROOK
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@thelen3553
Don’t worry! If your listening to this in 2024 you are not alone
@ChunkyLover69420
i thought people stopped posting these fucking cringe comments years ago
@robpugh1000
Yes, I've read the same message to so many tunes. Its a marketing thing
@johnalpfecubillo6178
a facebook reel led me to this video lol
@joanne4361
@@ChunkyLover69420calm down mate, just enjoying a good tune
@joanne4361
@@robpugh1000 not a marketing thing, a genuine person loving this song..
@joebyrne-ev8rs
“I beg for some forgiveness, but beggings not my business” what a lyric by a legendary band!!
@sd3457
The golden era of British lyricists. Tilbrook and Difford, Weller, Dury, Costello...
@HarryHopkins-fv3li
Fuckin spot on my friend
@subatomar9244
My god I'm absolutely addicted to british music like this. I'm not even british but somehow I absolutely love stuff like Squeeze, Steve Harley, The Kinks, The Jam, and of course the other usual suspects. Hats off to you Brits, you make the best music in the world. Much love from your german brothers!
Edit: recently visited England and I loved it. The people, the music, the architecture, the football and THE FOOD!!! I'll have to return soon, I long for a sunday roast again...