This song is about two long-deceased historical women that members of Alt-J have crushes on: American mid-20th century photographer Elizabeth "Lee" Miller and Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII's second wife. The band told NPR's All Things Considered: "As we were finishing writing our second album, This Is All Yours, we came up with a quick jam which we luckily captured on one of our phones. This turned into 'Deadcrush', which is a word we made up to describe someone who is no longer alive that you fancy. Thus the first verse is about Lee Miller, Joe's deadcrush, the second about Anne Boleyn, Gus's."
Elizabeth "Lee" Miller was a successful fashion model in New York City in the 1920s before going to Paris, where she became an established fashion and fine art photographer. Miller is best known for her work as a correspondent for Vogue magazine during World War II, covering events such as the London Blitz, the liberation of Paris, and the concentration camps at Buchenwald and Dachau.
Alt-J's 2011 song "Taro" is about two other mid-20th century war photographers, Gerda Taro and Robert Capa. That track deals with Taro and Capa's deaths in their line of work.
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