Songfacts®:

• For centuries, the mythical Atlantic/Pacific Sea Lane, the North West Passage, captivated explorers, adventurers, and dreamers with its promise of a shorter route between the two oceans. However, the unforgiving Arctic conditions, thick ice floes, and treacherous currents proved formidable opponents. Many ships were lost and lives were claimed by the harsh environment. Here, Public Image Ltd lead vocalist John Lydon employs the arctic sea route as a metaphor for the journey towards death.
• Throughout "North West Passage," Lydon ominously ruminates on there being "barely a future" and wondering "could it be the end of my life?" It seems mortality was on his mind when he wrote the song.
  
  "I look back at that song and I'm wondering, 'Oh, was I subconsciously thinking about that?'" he told Mojo magazine. "I do my best to, like, not be that way. But I have to question it. And I have to deal with it. I have to face it fully, as a man would and should."
  
  "My mum and dad would never tolerate self-pity," Lydon added. "Neither should I. But by God, I'll tell you, it's worth a lot to go through it too. As long as you see the light at the end of it."
• Public Image Ltd. recorded "North West Passage" for End Of World. It was their first album following the death of John Lydon's wife, Nora Forster.