Neil Jung

After many years where I thought this song was, as it reads literally, him dissecting a mate's relationship, have come to believe while listening to it on my drive to work this morning for the millionth time, that he's actually talking about himself, psychoanalysing himself, as the title suggests. Love that title, playful reference to Neil Young and Carl Jung, the famed psychoanalyst.

Anyway, I came to realise this, because I realised he's actually singing about me. I had a girlfriend, the only difference being that she was older than me, but it definitely wasn't right from the start, and I got that vibe from all my friends, but went along with it for three and a half years, and she began to suffer from depression, and I couldn't really handle it, and left her, probably when she needed me most. But I think it was for the best in the long run.

So, yes, this is what I think the song is about, looking at a past relationship, and saying "It's OK, it ended, it was for the best".

Fantastic chord sequence, great fun to play and sing along, I love the high strained voice going up in the chorus, and struggle to reach that note myself, but it's worth it when you do. Searing guitar solo, too. Good work once again, Mr Blake. Thank you.

I think this is about about one of their mates who has found himself trapped in a pathological (co-dependent) relationship. Full of drama, screaming and shouting , near breakups followed by declarations of undying love (and make-up sex). The girl probably has borderline personality disorder, their mate self-esteem issues. Bad news.

In fact the song is about Duglas T. Stewart, BMX Bandit's leader and long time friend of Norman. Norman was himself in the BMX Bandits for a long time.

It's a song about a destructive relationship Duglas was in. The key is the "you dropped a letter from your name" phrase (Douglas --> Duglas).

This has been mentioned by both Norman and Duglas in the past:

https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2016/mar/09/teenage-fanclub-10-of-the-best