“The City” by The 1975

It has been reasonably postulated that “The City” speaks to the subject of drug addiction. Those who believe so have relied on the terminology of the bridge. For instance, there Matty mentions “the MD” in a context where he may be alluding to someone ingesting more intoxicants than they comfortably should have. 

But Healy himself has described this piece as a love song for sorts and one in which he is apparently addressing his “teenage self” – or something like that.

The first couple of verses do come off as if the vocalist is addressing a romantic interest and more specifically one he has some type of beef with. Apparently, the two of them are obviously in disagreement at the moment. 

Healy also let it be known that the third verse was never intended to be part of this narrative per se. Instead it’s like he went out chillin’ one night and the next day found the passage, written in full as presented in the song, in his pocket. According to him, all this happened mysteriously. Be has stated that he has no recollection of actually writing it. In other words, a listener shouldn’t strain him or herself in trying to connect the third verse to the rest of this story.

The City

Concerning the title as presented in the chorus, it reads as if it revolves around the vocalist challenging the addressee that if she is dissatisfied with their relationship, then she should go and look for love elsewhere. 

And concerning the bridge, even with Matt’s explanation in tow it still reads as if he is touching on the subject of drug abuse.

So the logical conclusion would be that the bridge is in fact about an event. The event in question is the vocalist’s birthday, where apparently both he and his brother were getting high, alongside others. 

So it can be ascertained that there’s sort of a drug-referencing subtheme going on here. The further implication would be that such substances are contributing negatively to the romantic relationship between the vocalist and primary addressee. 

For example, telling your partner if “you wanna find love you know where the city is” would of course be an insensitive thing to say to your significant other. But maybe what’s compelling the vocalist to come off like that is the fact that he’s high on the type of drug(s) that induces an aggressive or callous disposition.

In Conclusion

To reiterate, according to Healy’s explanation, this piece is intended to speak more to the concept of teenage years being highlighted by “self-exploration in places loud and inspiring”. And the bridge especially seems as if it may be placed in such a setting, i.e. a party. 

But the main aspect of the storyline seemingly revolves around a troubled-romantic relationship more than anything else. 

And perhaps we can close by theorizing that the reason Matt supposed this as “a love song” nonetheless is because the vocalist, a participant in this romance, is able to perceive that said disagreements are in part due to him and his partner’s drug habit.

Release Date of “The City”

“The City” was formally released on 18 July 2012. It is one of the earliest entries in the band’s discography. As such, at first it was featured on their debut EP, which is 2012’s “Facedown”.  Subsequently it also made an appearance on their fifth EP, “IV”. The song also appeared on their debut studio album, “The 1975”.

Writing and Production Credits

The 1975 has consisted of the same quartet from inception to date:

• Matt Healy (frontman)
• Adam Hann (guitarist)
• Ross MacDonald (bassist)
• George Daniel (drummer)  

It is the musicians listed above that are individually credited with writing this song. They also collectively produced it alongside Mike Crossey, a musician from Northern Ireland.

Performance of “The City”

“The City” has thus far achieved BPI-platinum status. Furthermore, it also charted in a couple of countries, most notably (and barely) making it onto the top 30 of the UK Singles Chart.

It is far from being one of the biggest hits in the band’s catalog.

Taylor Swift performs “The City”

Taylor Swift made a surprise appearance at a concert The 1975 held in their homeland of England on 12 January 2023. While there Tay Tay covered “The City”. She also rendered her first live performance of “Anti-Hero“, one of the biggest hits of 2022,