This song just means how some people, like the guy in this song, can't sustain a relationship until the very end. Some people can't stay with someone else long enough to get married or when they ARE married, they don't have enough willpower to stay until the end (til DEATH do us part).
He want's her (his girlfriend) to meet him at his breaking point (midway), the point where he wants to stop loving her and get out of the relationship, and make him change his mind and continue the relationship to the very end so that he won't be a repeat offender of this situation and ultimately be lonely. Because people are meant to finish long distance races and if you don't, well then you're all alone while everyone else is passing you by. You're not a winner but a.... loser.
Beautiful song because there are too people like this and if only they were helped or encouraged along the way somehow, we'd have more long distance runners who finish.
I like the imagery of rainy fields and railway stations, which places the listener into the landscape of kitchen sink drama (the genre which spawned 'The Loneliness of a Long Distance Runner')
I like the imagery of rainy fields and railway stations, which places the listener into the landscape of kitchen sink drama (the genre which spawned 'The Loneliness of a Long Distance Runner')
When this came out, I always associated the verse about a 'sulky afternoon spent in dispute' with the vitriolic cover article in the NME by the late 'angry young man' Steven Wells, which sort of marked the end of B+S period of not engaging with the media. A strange article where B+S were attacked for somehow betraying 'rock n roll' I somehow...
When this came out, I always associated the verse about a 'sulky afternoon spent in dispute' with the vitriolic cover article in the NME by the late 'angry young man' Steven Wells, which sort of marked the end of B+S period of not engaging with the media. A strange article where B+S were attacked for somehow betraying 'rock n roll' I somehow doubt there is any connection, could just as well allude to Stuart Murdoch or anyone else's wasted afternoon debating things in their own head.
I would also read this as a reflection on the daily life of a musician... spending so much time in solitude, preparing for those short times when you're 'on stage'. Also the juncture that B+S had reached, following an apparantley tumultous period, 'it doesn't mean that we will show'; the song seems to reflect the adventure of being a successful band, the uncertainty of its future, and its engagement with the commercial world, 'businessman's conspiracy to sell you wares' Less obvious now, but at the time B+S seemed to embrace a DIY ethic and shun the business side of music business. I thought the line was 'I left the stage, I've seen it now'.
Also, always thought the closing line was 'Won't you follow me down?' as in the Dylan song.
It seems obvious but I will add that this song is surely also inspired by Stuart's love of cross country running.
This song just means how some people, like the guy in this song, can't sustain a relationship until the very end. Some people can't stay with someone else long enough to get married or when they ARE married, they don't have enough willpower to stay until the end (til DEATH do us part). He want's her (his girlfriend) to meet him at his breaking point (midway), the point where he wants to stop loving her and get out of the relationship, and make him change his mind and continue the relationship to the very end so that he won't be a repeat offender of this situation and ultimately be lonely. Because people are meant to finish long distance races and if you don't, well then you're all alone while everyone else is passing you by. You're not a winner but a.... loser. Beautiful song because there are too people like this and if only they were helped or encouraged along the way somehow, we'd have more long distance runners who finish.
This song is a real grower...
This song is a real grower...
I like the imagery of rainy fields and railway stations, which places the listener into the landscape of kitchen sink drama (the genre which spawned 'The Loneliness of a Long Distance Runner')
I like the imagery of rainy fields and railway stations, which places the listener into the landscape of kitchen sink drama (the genre which spawned 'The Loneliness of a Long Distance Runner')
When this came out, I always associated the verse about a 'sulky afternoon spent in dispute' with the vitriolic cover article in the NME by the late 'angry young man' Steven Wells, which sort of marked the end of B+S period of not engaging with the media. A strange article where B+S were attacked for somehow betraying 'rock n roll' I somehow...
When this came out, I always associated the verse about a 'sulky afternoon spent in dispute' with the vitriolic cover article in the NME by the late 'angry young man' Steven Wells, which sort of marked the end of B+S period of not engaging with the media. A strange article where B+S were attacked for somehow betraying 'rock n roll' I somehow doubt there is any connection, could just as well allude to Stuart Murdoch or anyone else's wasted afternoon debating things in their own head.
I would also read this as a reflection on the daily life of a musician... spending so much time in solitude, preparing for those short times when you're 'on stage'. Also the juncture that B+S had reached, following an apparantley tumultous period, 'it doesn't mean that we will show'; the song seems to reflect the adventure of being a successful band, the uncertainty of its future, and its engagement with the commercial world, 'businessman's conspiracy to sell you wares' Less obvious now, but at the time B+S seemed to embrace a DIY ethic and shun the business side of music business. I thought the line was 'I left the stage, I've seen it now'.
Also, always thought the closing line was 'Won't you follow me down?' as in the Dylan song.
It seems obvious but I will add that this song is surely also inspired by Stuart's love of cross country running.