Squeeze - Up the Junction - Lyrics Meaning

Written by Chris Difford of Squeeze, this is one of the band's most popular songs. Released in 1979, the lyrics tell a complete story in a little over three minutes.

The story begins with a moment of teenage passion which leads to the main characters falling in love, moving in together, and sharing the sort of dreams that young lovers do until things are changed by an unplanned pregnancy. They attempt to make the best of the situation and settle into family life but by the end of the song we learn that he has taken to drink and she has left him, with their daughter, to start a new life with a soldier.

The title of the song is also the title of a novel published in 1963 but although Difford took the name and created some similarities within the content, the story told in the song isn't based on the book. However, both stories have a strong British theme and are set in Clapham, London. The `Junction' referred to in the titles is actually Clapham Junction - Britain's busiest railway station.

Classic lines in the song include, `She said she'd seen a doctor, and nothing now could stop her,' which tells of the decision to keep the baby, and, `...when the time was ready, we had to sell the telly,' really highlights the song's working class roots.

It's a sad song of regret. He wishes things could be different but he's not able to face making any changes so his `assumption' is he's, `really up the junction' - a figure of speech suggesting he's stuck somewhere he doesn't want to be.