What is a ‘Mardy Bum’, according to Arctic Monkeys?
Back in January 2006, off the back of a sell-out UK tour and two number one singles, emerging indie band Arctic Monkeys truly announced themselves to the world. They released their first LP, Whatever People Say I Am That’s What I’m Not, which, in a matter of days, became the fastest debut album in British history.
Not only that, the album reached number 24 in the US charts, a position only Oasis and Coldplay could better among British bands at the time. Not bad for a group on a small indie label whose promotion had been done almost exclusively through word-of-mouth and online file-sharing by fans. The debut record has since gone platinum in the US, reaching the magic one million sales mark.
That means around one million Americans, and countless others across Britain and the world unfamiliar with the South Yorkshire vernacular, have looked quizzically at its track list, eyes pausing on track nine. Listening to the track, you instantly get hooked in by its honeyed guitar harmonies, searching melody and tight, poppy arrangement.
Revisiting the lyrics, you get that there’s an argument taking place between the narrator, who’s “in trouble again”, and his romantic interest, wearing “that silent disappointment face”. He’s messed up. He was late, apparently. He yearns wistfully for the “cuddles in the kitchen” they shared when everything was OK. It’s a lovely little tune that set a precedent for the direction alternative music was heading at the time.
But then your eyes go back to the album’s tracklist, and you still don’t get it. What is a “mardy bum”?
They’ve “got the face on”
The key to understanding the expression “mardy bum”, which was itself likely coined or overheard by Arctic Monkeys songwriter Alex Turner, is the first word.
“Mardy” is an adjective common in northern English slang that’s used to refer to someone sulking, grumpy or in a bad mood. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, in the past, it was typically applied to teenagers or children. The word originated from the passive participle of the verb “mar”, as in “marred”, which was synonymous with someone being spoiled or overindulged.
Turner simply calls his love interest “mardy” to show they’re in a bad mood. He adds the word “bum” after the adjective as a cheeky affectation to make it sound a bit more jokey and less harsh. In the same way you might call a child “lazy bones” when they’re refusing to get up.
As perplexing as the vocabulary might seem to those uninitiated in Yorkshire speak, Turner’s affectionate sentiments and attempts to calm his grumpy partner down still shine through. The clever lines he builds around the title and the song’s sweet melody do the job of interpreting the expression for us.
And the title of ‘Mardy Bum’ is just perhaps the most prominent example of many words and phrases throughout the album belonging to Turner’s local northern dialect. His use of this dialect helps to ground the record in its setting, making it feel even more rooted in the authentic experiences of British youth back in the mid-2000s.
That’s why, paradoxically, millions who might not be party to these vernacular terms on first listen become so attached to the record. Because they don’t hear a pop star. They hear an ordinary kid like them from an ordinary place like theirs. There might be differences in time and place, but the affinity fans of the band feel is all the stronger for them.
