Indefinite Leave to Remain
Writers - Tennant/Lowe
First released - 2006
Original album - Fundamental
Producer - Trevor Horn
Subsequent albums - Concrete
Other releases - (none)
One of the more curious titles in the PSB canon, "indefinite leave to remain" is actually a British governmental term related to immigration. A holder of ILR (as it's commonly abbreviated) has the legal right to reside permanently in the United Kingdom. After having lived there for five years, he or she may apply for citizenship. In the July 2006 issue of Literally, Neil says that he'd had this phrase in mind for a song after having seen it stamped on the passport of a Sri Lankan friend, for whom (as he later noted in One Hundred Lyrics and a Poem) he served as a sponsor. Neil noted that he "was struck by the poetic quality of the phrase."
"Indefinite Leave to Remain" is a deeply touching song that opens with a stately, muted brass quartet. In that same issue of Literally, Chris noted the strong cultural association of brass bands with northern England towns like Bradford and Oldham, which in 2001 had been sites of riots between "natives" and immigrants—almost certainly why they opted for that particular instrumentation. Meanwhile, the lyrics demonstrate once again how the Pet Shop Boys can skillfully take an all-too-current sociopolitical concern—in this case, issues and tensions surrounding immigration—and apply it metaphorically to interpersonal relationships. In this case, the title phrase provides the narrator with a clever way of saying that he wants to spend the rest of his life with the person to whom he's speaking:
You're my nation
This is my application
Give me hope, keep me sane
Give me indefinite leave to remain
Neil would later (in the booklet that accompanied the 2017 reissue of Fundamental) say that this song essentially boils down to a marriage proposal. What's absolutely remarkable is the way in which he manages to turn such a coldly bureaucratic term into an expression of love so profoundly touching. It is, in fact, the juxtaposition of these two opposite worlds of meaning—cold bureaucracy and interpersonal warmth—that lends these lyrics their power.
While we're on the subject of cold bureaucracy, consider the next (and final) song on the album as well.
Annotations
- Neil
has said that this song was based at least partly on "a Bach chord change"
that Chris modified slightly. The introductory brass chorale serves to heighten
its rather "hymnal" feel.
- A little more about "Indefinite Leave to Remain" – ILR status may be granted to an immigrant to the United Kingdom who does not hold "right of abode" in the U.K. (that is, the same absolute and inviolate right to live there that belongs to native-born citizens) but who has been admitted to the country without any time limit on length of stay and who is free to take up employment or schooling. Before ILR status can be granted, the applicant must have already lived in the U.K. for a certain amount of time, though the precise period (which can range anywhere from 1 to 5 years) varies depending on assorted factors. (Persons who are granted similar privileges while residing outside the U.K. are instead granted ILE status, meaning "Indefinite Leave to Enter.") Holders of ILR status may apply for full U.K. citizenship after one year if they meet certain other requirements. Both the ILR terminology and its definition were formalized with a set of 1983 immigration reforms.
- One of my site visitors has observed that—issues surrounding immigration aside—this song also lends itself to the subject of civil unions, specifically between persons of the same sex, which had become legal in the United Kingdom in late 2005. Seeing as how this was less than a year before the release of Fundamental and had been very much in the news at the time the Boys were writing and recording this song, it was an especially timely topic. The line "It may seem superficial, but can we make it official?" seems particularly suggestive of this interpretation.
- Another site visitor first heard the lyrics of this song as coming from the perspective of former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair, about whom (around the time this song was released) the British media was widely speculating that he would soon be leaving office—as indeed he soon did. It's probably not what the Boys had in mind, but it's certainly another intriguing way of looking at the lyrics.
Mixes/Versions
Officially released
- Mixer: Tim Weidner
- Album version (3:08)
- Live Concrete rendition (2:59)
Official but unreleased
- Mixer: Tim Weidner
- Instrumental version (3:08)
- Mixer: [unknown at this time]
- Demo (3:09)
List cross-references
- PSB songs based on classical compositions (and some others with "classical connections")
- Anne Dudley's guest work on PSB recordings
- The key signatures of selected PSB songs
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