Lyric discussion by green vii 

Cover art for Are you ready to be heartbroken? lyrics by Lloyd Cole & The Commotions

And we only need to listen to the rest of the album to realise that the friend who is feeling guilty about their cynicism is Lloyd. I also read that Lloyd also said that everyone in Glasgow at the time was listening to arthur lee records, that line seems to be about cliques and the inner debate between joining them or ignoring them.