When the Sun Goes Down (Arctic Monkeys song)

"When the Sun Goes Down"
Single by Arctic Monkeys
from the album Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
B-side	"Stickin' to the Floor" "Settle for a Draw" "7"
Released	16 January 2006
Format	CD, 7", 12"
Recorded	Track one (Chapel Studios, Lincolnshire Tracks two & three (The Motor Museum, Liverpool) Track A (The Chapel Studios, London) Track B (The Motor Museum, Liverpool)
Genre	Garage rock, indie rock
Length	3:20
Label	Domino
Writer(s)	Alex Turner
Producer	Track one Jim Abbiss Tracks two & three Mike Crossey & James Ford Track A Jim Abbiss Track B Mike Crossey & James Ford
Arctic Monkeys singles chronology
"I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" (2005) "When the Sun Goes Down" (2006) "Leave Before the Lights Come On" (2006)
Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not track listing "The View from the Afternoon" "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" "Fake Tales of San Francisco" "Dancing Shoes" "You Probably Couldn't See for the Lights But You Were Staring Straight at Me" "Still Take You Home" "Riot Van" "Red Light Indicates Doors Are Secured" "Mardy Bum" "Perhaps Vampires Is a Bit Strong But..." "When the Sun Goes Down" "From the Ritz to the Rubble" "A Certain Romance"

"When the Sun Goes Down" is a song and the second single by the English indie rock band Arctic Monkeys, released on 16 January 2006. The song, about prostitution in the Neepsend district of Sheffield, was originally known as "Scummy" and followed debut single "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" to UK Number One. The track is featured on the band's debut album, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, released the week after this single.

Original reports suggested its name would be simply "Sun Goes Down", but the full name was confirmed on the band's website. The line, "and he told Roxanne to put on her red light," is a reference to The Police song, "Roxanne".

The cover image shows a street in Sheffield.

Content

The song is told from the point of view of a concerned individual who is approached by a scantily-clad girl, heavily implied to be a prostitute. The prostitute propositions the song's narrator and he turns her down politely; he then observes a "scummy man" who has been hanging around the neighbourhood; the man is implied to be either the prostitute's pimp or a 'client' who is picking her up for sex. The last line "I hope you're not involved at all," is either the narrator expressing his disappointment that the girl has turned to prostitution or a person to whom the narrator is telling the story, who also may be involved with the scummy man.

Music video

The song's video was directed by Paul Fraser and premiered on MTV Two on December 21, 2005. It starred Lauren Socha and Stephen Graham. The music video used footage from a longer film, Scummy Man, which used the same actors who appeared in the music video to tell the story of 'Nina', the nameless "that girl there" from the song.

Track listing

All lyrics written by Alex Turner, all music composed by Arctic Monkeys.

CD
No.	Title	Length
1.	"When the Sun Goes Down"	3:20
2.	"Stickin' to the Floor"	1:18
3.	"7"	2:10

7"
No.	Title	Length
1.	"When the Sun Goes Down"	3:20
2.	"Settle for a Draw"	3:19

10" (US Only)
No.	Title	Length
1.	"When the Sun Goes Down"	3:20
2.	"Stickin' to the Floor"	1:18
3.	"Settle for a Draw"	3:19
4.	"7"	2:10

Release history

Country	Date
United Kingdom	16 January 2006
United States	14 February 2006

Charts

Charts (2006)	Peak position
UK Singles Chart	1
Australian Singles Chart	26
Netherlands Singles Chart	72
Irish Singles Chart	11

External links

• Arctic Monkeys Worldtour 2006 Mapped on Platial.
• Music video

Preceded by "That's My Goal" by Shayne Ward

UK Singles Chart number-one single January 2006

Succeeded by "Nasty Girl" by The Notorious B.I.G. feat. Nelly, Jagged Edge & Avery Storm