Down in the Tube Station at Midnight

"Down in the Tube Station at Midnight"
Single by The Jam
from the album All Mod Cons
B-side	So Sad About Us / The Night
Released	21 October 1978
Format	7" vinyl
Genre	Punk rock
Label	Polydor (UK)
Writer(s)	Paul Weller
Producer	Vic Coppersmith-Heaven
The Jam singles chronology
"David Watts" (1978) "Down in the Tube Station at Midnight" (1978) "Strange Town" (1979)
back of single cover (Keith Moon)

"Down in the Tube Station at Midnight" was the second single taken from the album All Mod Cons by The Jam. Released on 21 October 1978, it charted at number 15^[1] and was backed by a cover of the Who song "So Sad About Us", and "The Night", written by Bruce Foxton. The back of the record jacket displayed a photo of Keith Moon, former drummer of The Who, who had died of an overdose of prescribed medication intended to help his alcoholism the month prior to the single's release.

Development

Originally Paul Weller had wanted to exclude the track from the All Mod Cons album, on the grounds that the arrangement hadn't developed during the recording sessions.^[2] He was persuaded to include the track by the band's producer Vic Coppersmith-Heaven.^[2] The song suffered a BBC airplay ban.^[1]

Lyrics

The lyrics tell the story of an unnamed narrator, travelling home, who enters a London Underground station at midnight. He is carrying a take-away meal for himself and his wife. As he attempts to buy a ticket for his train, he is accosted by two thugs (who smell 'of pubs, Wormwood Scrubs' and 'too many right-wing meetings'), asking him whether he is carrying any money. When he replies that he has 'a little money', the thugs attack him, stealing everything, including his keys. The song ends with the narrator lying wounded or potentially dying ("And the last thing that I saw as I lay there on the floor") on the Tube Station floor, looking at graffiti and wall posters, reflecting on his life in contrast with the travel posters promising an enjoyable getaway, as he realises that the attackers now have the keys to his house.

The song starts with the sounds of an Underground station then a tense, syncopated beat carried by the bass guitar. The lyrics are sentimental, contrasting the warmth of home and domestic life with the horror of urban decay and violence.

Covers

The song has been recorded by Ade Edmondson's punk/folk band The Bad Shepherds for their album 'Yan, Tyan, Tethera, Methera!' which was released in 2009. It's also the B-side of the Carter USM single 'Do Re Me So Far So Good'. Released in 1992 on Chrysalis. He was worried about them going to his house and attacking his wife

References

1. ^ ^{a b} The Jam, The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll (Simon & Schuster, 2001) accessed 8 November 2010
2. ^ ^{a b} CLASSIC TRACKS: The Jam 'The Eton Rifles', Sound on Sound, March 2007