Singles, 45s and Under from Squeeze seemed like something of a soundtrack in high school. Though I did not own the album until college, I seemed to hear it all the time, and almost everyone knew the songs, irrespective of their other musical tastes. Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook continued to make music together in and out of the band throughout the late 1980s and 1990s, with some success. Their sound evolved some, but Difford and Tilbrook kept much constant, including Difford's fun, intelligent, and engaging lyrics.

In picking a Squeeze lyric, it's tempting to stick to the 1982 compilation. Eric Muller of Is That Legal? suggests another Tilbrook-Difford composition: "Melody Motel" off of 1989's Frank. It's a sordid tale; "Sam Shepard meets Danny Baker," according to Difford. Here's how it begins:

He drove up to the motel
In his town and country car
He watched the working women
With the field hands from the farm
He walked into the lobby
With his pleased to see you smile
Scribbled on to the register
His fictitious name and smiled

The footsteps of a young girl
Came tapping along the hall
The outline of his features
Were shadowed on the wall
She stood a little nervous
Half lit by the neon light
That flashed in many colours
Through the darkness of the night

The full lyrics are on a Squeeze fansite here.