After watching the video, I feel like this comes a little clearer. There are 2 layers in the storyline I think, one from the point of view of a young prostitute, Bee, while the other one belongs to the man that got her pregnant (foetus on a leash, where leash is simply the umbilical cord?) For some reasons Bee has to leave the apartment in Jubilee Street where she received their clients (probably she's turned down by them because they discover the pregnancy -- or maybe caught and arrested) and so the man, who somehow was obsessed with her "is too scared to even walk on past" (maybe eaten by guilt and memories and all of that).
I think this could be all wrong, but the song to me is more generally about how people focus on a fake appearance of morality and decour, but then deep inside they all know they are fucked up and desperate and, ultimately, need love, no matter how "dirty" and immoral it is. The contrast here is beautiful, Jubilee Street is a symbol for this formal morality, this masquerade of social order, somehow connected with the figure of the Queen (the ultimate thing is that Bee could be a nickname for girl called Elizabeth) and all that she represents. But on Jubilee street there's darkness too, there are prostitutes and stories going horribly wrong. Guys, this is still Nick Cave after all.
After watching the video, I feel like this comes a little clearer. There are 2 layers in the storyline I think, one from the point of view of a young prostitute, Bee, while the other one belongs to the man that got her pregnant (foetus on a leash, where leash is simply the umbilical cord?) For some reasons Bee has to leave the apartment in Jubilee Street where she received their clients (probably she's turned down by them because they discover the pregnancy -- or maybe caught and arrested) and so the man, who somehow was obsessed with her "is too scared to even walk on past" (maybe eaten by guilt and memories and all of that).
I think this could be all wrong, but the song to me is more generally about how people focus on a fake appearance of morality and decour, but then deep inside they all know they are fucked up and desperate and, ultimately, need love, no matter how "dirty" and immoral it is. The contrast here is beautiful, Jubilee Street is a symbol for this formal morality, this masquerade of social order, somehow connected with the figure of the Queen (the ultimate thing is that Bee could be a nickname for girl called Elizabeth) and all that she represents. But on Jubilee street there's darkness too, there are prostitutes and stories going horribly wrong. Guys, this is still Nick Cave after all.