Pete Shelley later recalled: "We were in the Blenheim Guest House with pints of beer, sitting in the TV room half-watching Guys and Dolls.

"[7] The following day, Shelley wrote the lyrics of the song in a van outside the main post office on nearby Waterloo Place.

"[11] The minor chords and the B-major-to-D-major move in the chorus are unusual for a 1970s punk song, yet they contribute to its ear-catching nature, along with the vocal melody.

The vocal melody ranges from G#3 to baritone F#4 in the verses and chorus; in the ending, Shelley hits a tenor G4 and then a G#4.

According to music critic Mark Deming, "the lyrics owe less to adolescent self-pity than the more adult realization of how much being in love can hurt – and how little one can really do about it.

"[11] Pitchfork's Jason Heller described the music by writing, "Guitars seethe and beats clench.

"[14] Mark Deming notes, "Pete Shelley's basic formula in the Buzzcocks was to marry the speed and emotional urgency of punk with the hooky melodies and boy/girl thematics of classic pop/rock.

1Remix In 2011, a cover was made by the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street for their winter season, with a jazzy feel, sung by Amanda Billing, who played Sarah Potts.