 Tennant started to write the song when he was staying at his cousin 's house in Nottingham while watching a gangster film . Just when he was going to sleep he came up with the lines : " Sometimes you 're better off dead , there 's a gun in your hand and it 's pointing at your head " . The lyrics were inspired by T.S. Eliot 's poem The Waste Land , particularly in the use of different narrative voices and arcane references . The song 's lyrics are largely concerned with class , inner @-@ city pressure . Tennant later said that some listeners had assumed the song referred to prostitutes , but was actually , " about rough boys getting a bit of posh . " 
 Tennant started to write the song when he was staying at his cousin <a href='null_genetive' title='1'><mark>'s</mark></a>house in Nottingham while watching a gangster film . Just when he was going to sleep he came up with the lines : " Sometimes you 're better off dead , <a href='dey_it' title='2'><mark>there</mark></a> 's a gun in your hand and it 's pointing at your head " . The lyrics <a href='uninflect' title='3'><mark>were</mark></a> inspired by T.S. Eliot <a href='null_genetive' title='4'><mark>'s</mark></a>poem The Waste Land , particularly in the use of different narrative voices and arcane references . The song <a href='null_genetive' title='5'><mark>'s</mark></a>lyrics <a href='drop_aux' title='6'><mark>are</mark></a>largely concerned with class , inner @-@ city pressure . Tennant later said that some listeners <a href='been_done' title='7'><mark>had</mark></a> assumed the song referred to prostitutes , but was actually , " about rough boys getting a bit of posh . " 
Tennant started to write da song when he was stayin at his cousin  house in Nottingham while watching a gangster film . Just when he was going to slp he came up with tdalines : " Sometimes you 're better off dead , it 's a gun in yo hand and it 's pointing at your head " . The lyrics was inspired by T.S. Eliot  poem The Waste Land , particularly in the use of diffrent narrative voices and arcane references . The song  lyrics largely concerned with class , inner @-@ city pressure . Tennant later said that some listeners done assumed thdaong referred to prostitutes , but was actually , " about rough boyz geting a bit of posh . "