Still Ill

The speaker sounds angry, dissatisfied, and uncertain about how to live. At first, life seems to him like a one-sided bargain: people take from him but give nothing back. He also resists ordinary work and recalls a past romance that no longer feels the same. As the song develops, his defiance gives way to questions about whether his distress is still present, or whether he has changed.

The claim that “England” owes him a living can be read as bitter, exaggerated entitlement: he demands support but refuses to explain himself calmly. The kiss beneath the iron bridge is a concrete memory, yet “sore lips” and the sense that it was not like the old days suggest that closeness now brings discomfort rather than happiness. The repeated question about whether the body rules the mind, or the mind the body, expresses confusion about where feelings and actions come from.

The speaker’s advice not to bother going to work sounds like rebellion, but it may also be a bleak joke rather than a serious recommendation. He admits that brighter sides of life exist, while adding that he has seen them only rarely. “Still ill” may mean emotionally unwell, stuck in old pain, or simply unsure whether his unhappiness has passed. The lyrics leave that question open rather than offering a clear recovery or explanation.