King's Cross

"King's Cross" is a Pet Shop Boys song, written by Chris Lowe and Neil Tennant, and is a track on their 1987 album Actually. Two months after the release of Actually, 31 people were killed in the King's Cross fire. Lines such as "dead and wounded on either side, you know it's only a matter of time" could be seen as prophetic of the disaster. In reality, the lyric is described by Tennant as "a metaphor for Britain" because "King's Cross is the station you come to when you come down to London looking for opportunity from the Northeast, the most depressed part of England [...] And there's lots of crime around King's Cross - prostitution, drug addicts, and a lot of tramps come up to you there" Pet Shop Boys' own version of this song remained an album-only track, but The Sun newspaper campaigned for it to be released as a charity single. The song featured in the 1987 film It Couldn't Happen Here in a scene where a man heads out to work engulfed in flames. Director Jack Bond was going to be delete the scene but it remained after he consulted with families of some of the victims.

[Verse 1] The man at the back of the queue was sent To feel the smack of firm government Lingered by the flyposter for a fight It's the same story every night I've been hurt and we've been had You leave home and you don't go back [Chorus] Someone told me Monday, someone told me Saturday Wait until tomorrow and there's still no way Read it in a book or write it in a letter Wake up in the morning and there's still no guarantee [Verse 2] Only last night I found myself lost By the station called King's Cross Dead and wounded on either side You know it's only a matter of time I've been good and I've been bad I've been guilty of hanging around [Chorus] Someone told me Monday, someone told me Saturday Wait until tomorrow and there's still no way Read it in a book or write it in a letter Wake up in the morning and there's still no guarantee [Interlude] [Bridge] So I went looking out today For the one who got away Murder walking round the block Ending up in King's Cross Good luck, bad luck waiting in a line It takes more than the matter of time [Chorus] Someone told me Monday, someone told me Saturday Wait until tomorrow and there's still no way Read it in a book or write it in a letter Wake up in the morning and there's still no guarantee [Interlude] [Chorus] Someone told me Monday, someone told me Saturday Wait until tomorrow and there's still no way Read it in a book or write it in a letter Wake up in the morning and there's still no guarantee [Outro] And there's still no guarantee There is still no guarantee