The Angel Islington

Album: Positive Songs For Negative People (2015)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This song picks up where "Broken Piano," the final song of Frank Turner's previous album, 2013's Tape Deck Heart, left off as he crawls out of his pit of despair. Turner explained to NME: "We start off back on the banks of the muddy Thames, with the fisher king (from Tape Deck Heart) feeling sorry for himself, but this time, rather than wanting to throw himself in the river and die, he's going 'F--k it, I'm going to do something else with my life.' It's sort of a love song as well, about a situation where I fell for a girl who turned out not to be straight. I felt like an idiot but I'm not bitter about it!"
  • The Angel, Islington is a series of buildings that have stood on the corner of Islington High Street and Pentonville Road in Islington, London for a number of centuries. Rosebery Avenue in Angel Islington, (which is mentioned in the lyrics), is exactly halfway, on foot, between Turner's house and where the subject of the song lives. The singer told The Sun: "We could both walk out of the house and meet there. My dad's family are from North London, and I feel very at home there."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Yacht Rock Quiz

Yacht Rock QuizFact or Fiction

Christopher Cross with Deep Purple? Kenny Loggins in Caddyshack? A Fact or Fiction all about yacht rock and those who made it.

Dean Friedman - "Ariel"

Dean Friedman - "Ariel"They're Playing My Song

Dean's saga began with "Ariel," a song about falling in love with a Jewish girl from New Jersey.

Concert Disasters

Concert DisastersFact or Fiction

Ozzy biting a dove? Alice Cooper causing mayhem with a chicken? Creed so bad they were sued? See if you can spot the real concert mishaps.

Michael Glabicki of Rusted Root

Michael Glabicki of Rusted RootSongwriter Interviews

Michael tells the story of "Send Me On My Way," and explains why some of the words in the song don't have a literal meaning.

Kevin Godley

Kevin GodleySongwriter Interviews

Kevin Godley talks about directing classic videos for The Police, U2 and Duran Duran, and discusses song and videos he made with 10cc and Godley & Creme.

Let Me Be Your Teddy Bear: Teddy Bears and Teddy Boys in Songs

Let Me Be Your Teddy Bear: Teddy Bears and Teddy Boys in SongsSong Writing

Elvis, Little Richard and Cheryl Cole have all sung about Teddy Bears, but there is also a terrifying Teddy song from 1932 and a touching trucker Teddy tune from 1976.