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Gin and Jag

Writers - Tennant/Lowe
First released - 2009
Original album - Format
Producer - Pet Shop Boys
Subsequent albums - (none)
Other releases - bonus track with single "Love etc."; Yes 2017 reissue Further Listening 2008-2010 bonus disc

Another track completed in early January 2009. On their official website Neil described it succinctly and, as it turns out, understatedly: "It's quite dark." Later, in the 2012 Format interview booklet, he referred to it as "a cautionary tale about the Internet" (more about that in a moment), adding that "it's one of the creepiest songs we've ever written."

According to the 2006 edition of Brewer's Dictionary of Modern Phrase & Fable, the title phrase "gin and jag," which dates back to the 1960s, is British slang referring to "gin and a Jaguar car, two of the desirable perquisites of the upper-middle class and an encapsulation of their lifestyle."

Neil based his lyrics on a true story he'd read in the newspaper of a near-rape experience from which the woman barely escaped. Backed by one of their harshest, most ominous-sounding arrangements—which ingeniously overlays the slightly twee sound of a celesta atop distorted, discordant power chords, possibly mirroring a certain duality in the personality of the narrator—the Boys paint a thoroughly unflattering portrait of a well-to-do middle-aged character who concedes that he's "a little too gin and jag." With the help of the Internet, he has hooked up with a perhaps naive young woman. The "gin and jag" guy has now invited this potential lover to his fairly high-class digs, complete with "quite a view." As his paramour mixes him a drink ("go easy on the tonic"), she's warned, "Be careful with that decanter, dear—do you know how much it's worth?"

Neil's lyrical persona here is a classic "untrustworthy narrator." That is, we can't necessarily take everything he says at face value. While he's clearly affluent, has he really been as great a success as he makes himself out to be? Did he really never marry simply because he "didn't want a litter"? (An admittedly funny line, albeit a nasty, cynical one.) Was he really "quite a catch" in his prime? Is he truly not yet "an old has-been"? Perhaps the most revealing line is when he warns, "You don't want to end up bitter." Yet that's precisely how he sounds throughout the song: an extremely bitter man lonely for company. But he also reveals both his pride and his pridefulnes—not to mention his sheer lust—when he tells his would-be lover, "If you don't want to give it a go tonight, you may as well pack your bag." No, he's not a very nice person.

While this is indeed an extremely unattractive character portrait, it's pervaded by an air of tragedy and regret. The Boys make us feel for this wretched guy. In fact, the overwhelming mood seems to be one of tremendous waste, which Neil evokes somewhat ironically early on by quoting George Bernard Shaw's famous line, "Youth is wasted on the young." And the narrator's opening words, "Don't stare at the setting sun" (which recur with every chorus), is both a literal warning to his partner (who's apparently gazing out the window) and a figurative warning to himself as he desperately tries to fend off old age and death.

In short, "Gin and Jag" is a remarkable track that, as its narrator suggests of himself ("I know my taste isn't everyone's"), won't be to everyone's liking. But it demonstrates as well as or even better than any other recent song of theirs the amazing breadth and power of Tennant and Lowe's songwriting. That they should feel free to relegate such a song to mere "b-side status" is testament not only to their determination to preserve the thematic integrity of the concurrent album Yes (keeping it an upbeat "pop" album) but also to the wealth of the original material at their disposal.

Annotations

"Gin and jag" – As noted above, this British slang refers to "gin and a Jaguar car," describing a stereotypical upper-middle-class lifestyle.
"Youth is wasted on the young" – There's some scholarly debate as to who coined this aphoristic phrase—which basically means that once you've collected enough wisdom in life to really appreciate the advantages of youth, you're usually too old to enjoy them first-hand anymore—but the consensus appears to be that it originated with the Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950), although the precise source remains uncertain.
"I'm going supersonic" – Although one-word song titles will coincidentally crop up in the lyrics of virtually any song by any artist, this is a case where there can be no doubt that a specific song with a single-word title is being referenced. Here the narrator says, as he's being poured a gin and tonic, that he's "going supersonic." Compare that to the 1994 Oasis song "Supersonic," which includes the line "I'm feeling supersonic, give me gin and tonic."
"Boredom deplores a vacuum" – At least that what how this line of the song reads in the lyrics section of the Pet Shop Boys' official website. But in the actual recording, Neil clearly sings "Boredom abhors a vacuum" [my emphasis], which more closely matches how the original phrase that inspired this line is most often rendered. It's a takeoff on the ancient dictum "Nature abhors a vacuum," attributed to the Greek philospher-scientist Aristotle (384-322 BC). I know of no reason for the deplores/abhors discrepancy aside from a simple mistake on someone's part.
"There's a lot of room at the inn tonight" – A rather perverse parody of the biblical "no room at the inn," which led to Joseph and Mary taking overnight shelter in the stable in which Jesus was born. The implication might be that, if the night in which there was no room at the inn was the holiest of nights, then this night in which there's a lot of room must be anything but holy.
"I made a pile and got out quick" – In other words, he made a lot of money in whatever business he was in and then moved on, or perhaps even retired early.
"I never got a gong for services rendered" – To "get a gong" is slang that originated with Britain's Royal Air Force during World War II, meaning to receive a medal. By extension it refers to receiving any sort of award or recognition.
One of my site visitors has shared his interesting observation that some of the language in this song can be interpreted to allude to vampires, which may not be wholly inappropriate given its fiercely negative portrayal of the narrator:
- "Don't stare at the setting sun" – Of course, vampires dare not look at the sun or even risk direct exposure to it.
- "[Don't…] say youth is wasted on the young" – Vampires (at least those who became vampires while young) retain eternal youth as long as they continue drinking blood.
- "There's a lot of room at the inn tonight" – In Bram Stoker's classic vampire novel Dracula, Jonathan Harker stays at a village inn briefly before proceeding to Dracula's castle.
- "This is quite a view you must admit" – Possibly alluding to the view from said castle.
- "Be careful with that decanter, dear" – Admittedly a stretch, but Dracula does at one point in the novel refer to Mina Harker as his "bountiful wine-press"; wine and blood are also traditionally associated with each other through the Christian eucharist. And don't forget the dark humor of Dracula's famous line "I never drink—wine" in more than one film version of the novel (although it doesn't appear in the novel itself; it originated with the 1931 film starring Bela Lugosi). So such a reference to a decanter may evoke, at least indirectly, this vampire/blood/wine connection.
- "Don't waste your bloody time" – The mention of blood, after all, even if it is in adjectival form.

Mixes/Versions

Officially released

Mixer: Pete Gleadall
- Single b-side version (4:33)
Mixer: Chris Lowe
- Frisky Mix (7:15)
  - Officially released on a rare U.K. promo CD and on one of the Yes 2017 reissue Further Listening 2008-2010 bonus discs

List cross-references

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