“Up the Junction” by Squeeze
Squeeze’s “Up the Junction” is an exercise in what some may term as kitchen sink drama or social realism. Or put more plainly, this narrative is meant to relay the challenges of being a young layman, as opposed to being focused on a hero or being autobiographical in nature per se. So even though the vocalist does speak from the first-person perspective, it is not to be taken that this is based on Glenn Tilbrook’s real life per se.
So basically what happens is that the narrator ends up hooking up with “the girl from Clapham”. This is someone who beforehand he never believed he would end up being romantically involved with. But anyway they do indeed become an item, shacking up and all. And as such stories tend to go, their goal is to eventually get married. But the implication behind it all is that this is a whirlwind romance, one in which neither party is necessarily prepared for the challenges married life.
So as time progresses, even though the vocalist is very hard working and committed to the relationship, economic hardship materializes. For instance, the television which plays such an important role in their home life has to be sold. And while all of this transpiring, the girl also gets pregnant.
By the time the fifth verse rolls around, two years have passed, and the vocalist’s girlfriend is now dating another dude. It is revealed that she dumped him due to the narrator developing a drinking and gambling habit. But he is trying to win her back, albeit in vain. Moreover, it is insinuated that he is still living in the same apartment that the two of them used to share. So it’s as if being in that environment is exacerbating his melancholy.
Song’s Title (“Up the Junction”)
All of the above ultimately brings us to the titular phrase. “Up the junction” is another way of saying ‘up the creek’. The latter term would be one Americans are familiar with as pointing to the idea of, most simply put, being in a messed up situation. So “up the junction” is reportedly a means of relaying that same idea, British style.
So perhaps it can be said, even though Tilbrook and co. were quite young themselves when this song was dropped, this is meant to be some sort of a cautionary tale – one which, as implied earlier, was inspired by the soap opera circuit. And if taken in such a manner, then reading in between the lines the lesson would read like don’t bite off more than you can chew, or you may end up an alcoholic or gambling addict or something. And as with the kitchen sink drama genre, said message would more or less be aimed specifically at young men.
Squeeze
Squeeze is one of those types of bands who are still technically doing their thing into the 2020s. But in the here and now they are not that well known, as their brief-lived heyday was decades ago, circa the early 1980s.
It was during that time, on 18 May 1979, that one of their biggest hits, “Up the Junction”, came out courtesy A&M Records. And this song is derived from the band’s second album, a project entitled “Cool for Cats”.
The entirety of the Squeeze crew is credited with writing this song. And for the record, at that time the band consisted of the following members:
- Glenn Tilbrook
- Chris Difford
- Gilson Lavis
- Harri Kokoulli
- Jools Holland
Tilbrook, who serves as lead vocalist on “Up the Junction”, is still down Squeeze as of the writing of this post, as is Chris Difford.
Even though the whole band gets credit for writing “Up the Junction”, in reality said responsibility was held down by Difford lyrically and Tilbrook musically.
Facts about “Up the Junction”
To note, this song is a hardcore narrative, even being devoid of a chorus in the name of not breaking the flow of the storyline.
The title of this track is derived from short story collection of the same name, which was published in 1963, by English author Nell Dunn.
This track was also inspired by a couple of other songs – “Virginia Plain” (1972) by Roxy Music, as well as “Positively 4th Street” (1965) and “Who Killed Davey Moore” (1963), both being by Bob Dylan. Chris Difford has noted yet another inspiration for this piece was The Wednesday Play, an old anthology series that used to air on BBC1.
Even though this track’s storyline may be based in London, “Up the Junction” was actually written in New Orleans, while Squeeze was touring the US. This is also one of those songs which lyrically, according to Chris Difford, only “took minutes” to ‘completely’ write.
Squeeze is a band from London, and we know that music videos were trendy in Europe prior to catching on in the United States. As such, this song does have its own video, which was actually filmed in a house where John Lennon (1940-1980) used to live. And it has been noted that said clip features Michelle Collins, prior to her embarking on a prolific (most notably soap opera based) acting career.
“Up the Junction” has been certified silver in Squeeze’s homeland, in addition to reaching an impressive second place on the UK Singles chart. And this is for a song which Difford actually wanted to “take… off the album”, having incorrectly concluded that it was never going to be successful.
i like the song and the video because there is no bad words in there
“Up the junction” can also means “hitting the buffers” at an end of line station platform. Meaning you took the relationship as far as it could go, before hitting the buffers leaving you “up the junction”.
WOW