You used to get it in your fishnets
Now you only get it in your night dress
Discarded all the naughty nights for niceness
Landed in a very common crisis
Everything's in order in a black hole
Nothing seems as pretty as the past though
That Bloody Mary's lacking a Tabasco
Remember when he used to be a rascal?

Oh, that boy's a slag
The best you ever had
The best you ever had
Is just a memory and those dreams
Not as daft as they seem
Not as daft as they seem
My love, when you dream them up

Flicking through a little book of sex tips
Remember when the boys were all electric?
Now, when she tells she's gonna get it
I'm guessing that she'd rather just forget it
Clinging to not getting sentimental
Said, she wasn't going, but she went, still
Likes her gentlemen to not be gentle
Was it a mega-dobber or a betting pencil?

Oh, that boy's a slag
The best you ever had
The best you ever had
Is just a memory, and those dreams
Weren't as daft as they seem
Not as daft as they seem
My love, when you dream them up
Oh, where did you go?
Where did you go?
Where did you go? Whoa

Falling about
You took a left off Last Laugh Lane
You just sounded it out
You're not coming back again

Falling about
You took a left off Last Laugh Lane
You just sounded it out
You're not coming back again

You used to get it in your fishnets
Now you only get it in your night dress
Started all the naughty nights with niceness
Landed in a very common crisis
Everything's in order in a black hole
Everything was pretty in the past though
That Bloody Mary's lacking in Tabasco
Remember when he used to be a rascal?



Lyrics submitted by sedders, edited by FClef, happysadfun, ponderst

Track duration: 03:03

"Fluorescent Adolescent" as written by Alex/bennett Turner

Lyrics © EMI Music Publishing

Lyrics powered by LyricFind


Fluorescent Adolescent song meanings
Add your thoughts

89 Comments

sort form View by:
  • 0
    Song Meaning:Isn't it obvious,it's about growing up,but not necessarily as a bad thing...at some point every girl/boy settles down,gets married and most likely has kids..,but in this case Alex is talking about a girl who wanted something but though it was to crazy 'and those dreams
    Weren't as daft as they seem
    Not as daft as they seem
    My love when you dream them up' and now when she passed the opportunity she sees it wasn't so crazy after all...so my interpretation is that you have to enjoy life while you can because growin up isn't rainbows and bunnies for most of us,so be crazy,wild and careless while you still can ;)
    Flag 1andonlyon April 21, 2013   Link
  • +3
    General Comment:im sure it's about a woman who used to be a 'fluorescent adolescent', but is now going through menopause 'That Bloody Mary's lacking a Tabasco'. She is remembering her days as a younger, more sexually attractive girl. 'You used to get it in your fishnets/ Now you only get it in your night dress' i.e she used to have sex when she went out in her fishnets, now only has sex in her nightdress (with herself...)
    she is remembering all her one night stands and how boys used to fall at her feet 'Remember when he used to be a rascal?' She wishes she was still like that, and was a bit naughty 'Likes her gentlemen to not be gentle/
    Was it a mega-dobber or a betting pencil?'
    Shes recently had sex with a man, maybe a male prostitute (slag is the english version for slut, usually used for girls but can be for boys too)
    Oh, that boy's a slag, the best you ever had (its the best she's had in ages, with the male prositute)
    The best you ever had is just a memory (she remembers being younger, the best of her life is gone)
    that's what i've always thought!
    Flag jecouteon February 01, 2013   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Slag=1-Also called cinder. the more or less completely fused and vitrified 2-matter separated during the reduction of a metal from its ore.
    3-the scoria from a volcano.
    4-waste left over after the re-sorting of coal.
    5-to convert into slag.
    6-Metallurgy . to remove slag from (a steel bath).
    Flag honeybee13on December 29, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:its about a girl who was in love with a guy who cheated on her a lot even she still loved him
    Flag bobbyboy67on November 18, 2012   Link
  • +1
    Song Meaning:It's about a girl who used to be crazy. Absolutely wild, going to parties, clubs and dressing trashy to get attention from boys. She craves sex and therefore is just known by the girl who will do whatever and whenever. Now, she has settled down after she got pregnant, "that bloody mary's lacking her tabasco" means that she skipped her period. It's unclear whether she ends up with the guy (slag) who impregnated her, but it is clear that whoever the guy was, was inadequate. She felt the need to settle and settled the guy who was easiest to get and now is just getting action in her nightdress, reminiscing on being young and free. Trying her best to be happy with such a guy, and her conditions.
    Flag ghosty17on August 31, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:this song is about a boy who fell for a girl that had a boyfriend and they gave it a shot,she couldnt pick the harder option so she chose what was comfortable and the 'slag' the other guy will always be best but the wrong choice,duh.
    Flag eatmypison August 28, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I think the song is about a friendship. He was the clown, he was the bad-boy. They went their seperate ways when the best friends fought ("very common crisis"). "I remember when he used to be a rascal." At the end the bag they were fighting over was the reason they had for fighting. But the clown threw it away because he realized that's not what he wanted. His friend is "not coming back again." And they started to go their seperate ways as in "flickin' through a little book of sex tips" and in the clown's bad0-boy friend changed like getting into sex and stuff like that.
    Flag brian94977on August 28, 2012   Link
  • +1
    Song Meaning:It's about a young woman who is losing her lustre.. and knows it. There's nothing else to be read into it, would you like to deconstruct the lyrics of "New Amsterdam" by Elvis Costella while you're at it?
    Flag AlexTurnerMShadowsSunglasseson May 19, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I just love the way his voice breaks at the end of "flicking through a little book of sex tips", he sounds quite sad. This is one of my favourites, the Arctic Monkeys at their best
    Flag arcticmimibeeon March 03, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Alex said this song is basically about growing up.
    "you used to get it in your fishnets
    now you only get it in your nightdress..."

    fishnet resembles being young and now your older you go out to clubs and parties and where a nightdress.

    "Nothing seems as the past though" to being young and looking back at the good times
    "Remember when he used to a rascal?" remember him being Juvenile
    Flag overdoitandhaveafiton February 24, 2012   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

Back to top
explain