Songfacts®:

• I am not in charge of what I do
  The only thing I could think to ask was
  "Do you like stumpwork?"
  Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo
  
  "Stumpwork" refers to a type of embroidery that is done on fabric stiffened with glue or starch. This technique is often used to create three-dimensional effects and can be used to create realistic representations of objects or people. Singer Florence Shaw uses stumpwork as a metaphor for her sense of disconnection. She feels adrift in a world that is unfamiliar and hostile as she struggles to find her place.
• The song contains an intriguingly petulant lyric:
  
  What I really love is to not use something to its full capacity
  
  That kind of anti-optimization feels "subversive," Shaw told Mojo magazine. "And it's counter to what my life is actually like, which is a lot of hard work. It's been on my mind a lot. It's meant to be a bit of a f--k you. I'm not sure who to. Maybe myself."
• This is the title track of Dry Cleaning's second studio album. Shaw gleaned quite a lot of the record's cut-and-paste lyrics from an archive of newspaper clippings she went through in Woolwich Arsenal. They include these lines from "Stumpwork":
  
  A ceremonial crawl-through
  Designed to keep toads off the roads
  
  "It's millions and millions of newspaper clippings on different subjects," Shaw told Apple Music. "There's a bit about toads crossing roads from this little article I found about a special tunnel being built, so that toads could traverse the street without being run over."
• Guitarist Tom Dowse told Mojo they named the album after this song for its "utilitarian poetry" and because it contains the word "work." They see Dry Cleaning as a band that is all about hard work, and they wanted the album title to reflect that. The band's success came later in life, which made them aware of how fleeting it can be. They had all spent their 20s in bands that never went far, so they were grateful when one of them finally clicked.
• Stumpwork found favor with the critics. DIY, Mojo and Popmatters all ranked it among their Top 10 albums of 2022.
• Dry Cleaning took home the award for Best Recording Package at the 2024 Grammys for the unconventional artwork used for their Stumpwork album. Created by Rottingdean Bazaar and Annie Collinge, the cover art shows an old bar of soap with the album title spelled out in pubic hair.