I believe the song is meant tongue-in-cheek. I especially love the opening verse, with the third line: “Speaking English as a foreign language.” Somehow, I can relate to that. That’s really the language that I speak, nowadays.
What I’m listening to right now.
Pet Shop Boys, “Love Is a Bourgeois Contruct.”
Lyrics:
I’ve been taking my time for a long time
Putting my feet up a lot
Speaking English as a foreign language
Any words that I haven’t forgotI’ve been thinking how I can’t be bothered
To wash the dishes or remake the bed
What’s the point when I could just doss instead?I’ve been hanging with various riff-raff
Somewhere on the Goldhawk Road
I don’t think it’s gonna be much longer
Til I’m mugging up on the penal codeLove is a bourgeois construct
So I’ve given up the bourgeoisie
Like all their aspirations, it’s a fantasyWhen you walked out you did me a favor
You made me see reality
That love is a bourgeois construct
It’s a blatant fallacy
You won’t see me with a bunch of roses
Promising fidelity
Love doesn’t mean a thing to meTalking tough and feeling bitter
but better now, it’s clear to me
That love is a bourgeois construct
So I’ve given up the bourgeoisieBourgeois, Bourgeoisie
While the bankers get their bonuses
I’ll just get along with what I’ve got
Watching the weeds in the garden
Putting my feet up a lot
I’ll explore the outer limits of boredom
Moaning periodically
Just a full-time, lonely layabout
That’s meWhen you walked out you did me a favor
It’s absolutely clear to me
That love is a bourgeois construct
Just like they said at university
I’ve been taking my time for a long time
With all the schaudenfreude it’s cost
Calculating what you’ve lostNow I’m digging through my student paperbacks
Flicking through Karl Marx again
Searching for the soul of England
Drinking tea like Tony Benn
Love is just a bourgeois construct
So give it up, the bourgeoisie
Until you come back to meBourgeois, Bourgeoisie
Bourgeois, Bourgeoisie
Bourgeois, Bourgeoisie
Bourgeois, Bourgeoisie
Bourgeois, Bourgeoisie
Bourgeois, BourgeoisieTalking tough and feeling bitter
We’re better now, it’s clear to me
That love is a bourgeois construct
So I’ve given up the bourgeoisie