Tim Booth is on record as saying the song is about his fractured relationship with his mother. She was not abusive to him as he was growing up, but she was emotionally cold and distant, and showed Tim little affection. When he wanted to describe her coldness, he came up with Alaskan Pipeline as a euphemism for cold. The other interpretations here are far off base.
Tim Booth is on record as saying the song is about his fractured relationship with his mother. She was not abusive to him as he was growing up, but she was emotionally cold and distant, and showed Tim little affection. When he wanted to describe her coldness, he came up with Alaskan Pipeline as a euphemism for cold. The other interpretations here are far off base.