Up the Junction was the third single released from Squeeze's second album, Cool for Cats, sung by Glenn Tilbrook. It is one of the band's most popular and well-remembered songs (especially in the UK), and reached number 2 on the UK Singles Chart, the same position as its predecessor, "Cool for Cats" .

Up the Junction is also the name of a collection of short stories by Nell Dunn, first published in 1963. Lyricist Chris Difford said that the title phrase was lifted from the 1965 TV play version of the work, directed by Ken Loach, and the subsequent 1968 movie version. The film had a soundtrack by Manfred Mann, and a song by them, also called Up the Junction

Although Squeeze's song is not derived, it includes several parallels to the drama:

Chris Difford wrote the lyrics in New Orleans while Squeeze were on tour. Difford passed the lyrics to Glenn Tilbrook who then wrote the music. The song is known for its use of half-rhymes, such as "ready" and "telly" or "kitchen" and "missing". The title is not sung until the final line. Difford has been quoted as saying that he took the lead from Roxy Music's Virginia Plain, in which the title also appeared only at the end. Glenn Tilbrook has said that the music was partly inspired by the Bob Dylan song Positively 4th Street, and the lack of a chorus was due to Tilbrook feeling that a repeated section would upset the flow of Difford's narrative lyrics.

The phrase 'Up The Junction' is London slang for being in deep trouble, as in the American 'Up the creek without a paddle'. It is also, like other lines in the song, a reference to the working-class area of Clapham in London. Clapham Common – the "windy common" of the first verse – is a popular courting spot.

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