Songfacts®:

• Frontman Carl Barat told The Independent newspaper May 30, 2008 about this autobiographical song concerning his upbringing: "It's difficult to talk about that. I am a hippie's son, and I suppose I should be grateful. I wouldn't say it was a bohemian life. It was just alternative. Colorful. But my dad lived on a council estate. He worked in a factory."
  The interviewer then suggested that this song suggests a dark, monstrous world that left Barat with violent urges. He asked whether such feelings really were part of his childhood. Barat replied "I guess so. But it doesn't have a go at anyone. It just takes my make-up apart. You miss out on stability in the hippie world. It has other benefits. But that's the downside. Of course it's vitriolic and spitting, but at the same time it's full of love - like the chorus. 'Come fall into these arms,' you know - have some safety, security, some love. It's quite a loving song. Being autobiographical is new for me. It was hard to sing, and hard to allow to come out. It felt scary. I spent ages trying to explain it to my parents. They haven't heard it. But they know I don't mean any ill by it."