This anthem to suburban romance sees vocalist and lyricist Brett Anderson desperate to convince himself that there's an escape from council estate gloom. He recalled to Q magazine April 2011: "I had this schoolboy-ish idea to sneak an overtly sexual song with the framework of pop. I was amazed it got daytime radio play, considering the title is a play on amyl nitrite. To me, it's set in suburbia, in a council estate in Haywards Heath. I was brought up as a white, working-class English boy, and that's what I wrote about. If you're born in a dump you aspire to something better."
Amyl nitrite is employed medically to treat heart diseases such as angina and also to treat cyanide poisoning. It is also used as an inhalant drug that induces a brief euphoric state, and when combined with other intoxicant stimulant drugs such as cocaine or ecstasy, the euphoric state intensifies and is prolonged. However, its use as a recreational drug is risky as once its effects have worn off, a common side effect is a period of depression or anxiety.
The song was originally called "Dixon." Anderson explained to Q magazine: "The working title was Dixon, because we all thought it sounded like the theme from (BBC TV series) Dixon Of Dock Green. I think Bernard (Butler) wrote the music for this quite early on but I couldn't crack a really good vocal melody or lyric, so I sat on it for a while."
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