“I did that [set out with a story beforehand – Ed] with “Love Vigilantes” where I decided to write a redneck song. It was quite tongue-in-cheek. It was about Vietnam. It was about a soldier that came back and his wife was sent a telegram to say that he was dead. You can take the ending one way or another. He’s either dead and he’s come back as a ghost and he sees her or he’s not dead and the telegram was a mistake. But his wife’s got it and killed herself.”Bernard Sumner (1130)

“It’s very tongue-in-cheek, it’s like a rebel song but it’s very tongue-in-cheek. It’s kinda laughing at rednecks. From what I said you may construe it to mean that I’m a redneck – I am not a redneck, I assure you, and ‘Love Vigilantes’ is like laughing at rednecks. The more ridiculous my lyrics are, the less serious the song is.”Bernard Sumner (1131)

“It’s not about AIDS! We were in one guy’s house in America and he was pulling guns out from under his bed – his personal arsenal. And then we went out and had a great night!”Bernard Sumner (1130)

“It was about a girl who used to come into the centre where Ian worked to try to find work. She had epilepsy and lost more and more time through it, and then one day she just didn’t come in any more. He assumed that she’d found a job, but found out later that she’d had a fit and died.”Bernard Sumner (1132)