ABSTRACT

In London by 1980s rock band The Smiths, singer Steven Morrissey sketches an image of a young working class man leaving Manchester for a new life in the capital. Whilst London is little over two hours away by train, this move is clearly a major event in the young man’s life (Tyrrell and Kraft, Chapter 2). It is of great significance, not just for him – as he constantly wonders if he has made the ‘right decision’, apprehensive of the trials and tribulations ahead – but also for his family (left ‘grieving’, yet jealous because they are ‘the ones who had to stay behind’) and girlfriend (left with a ‘really ragged notion’ that he will return, yet knowing ‘that when he goes, he really goes’).