LONDON BRIDGE – Interview with Winston
W: We are carrying on with the Bad Penny Opera song-by-song interview with Glen Laughlin. Today we’ll be discussing London Bridge. This song is another favourite, but it is difficult to know what is happening at that point in the story.
GL: Truthfully, it’s a bit vague to me as well! My original idea was that Penny unexpectedly sees her ex-boyfriend in London. It is obviously an emotional moment. She has finally arrived in London after meeting these unsavoury characters along the way and she finds that London is much more of a madhouse than she bargained for. Then, she is called back to her past in the form of her ex, or at least a ghost of an ex. She has to reconcile her remaining feelings for him and the home she’s left with the promise of a new life. She comes out of it with a new realization that surfaces in the next song.
W: The music hall feel really does evoke London.
GL: The inspiration for that song was a Steeleye Span song that I think is called The Treadmill Song. I think my very imperfect recollection of it caused me to come up with London Bridge!