"National Express" is a song by The Divine Comedy

The Divine Comedy (band)

The Divine Comedy are a chamber pop band from Ireland, fronted by Neil Hannon. Formed in 1989, Hannon has been the only constant member of the group, playing, in some instances, all of the non-orchestral instrumentation bar drums. To date, ten studio albums have been released under the Divine...

. It was released as the third single from the album Fin de Siècle

Fin de Siècle (album)

Fin de Siècle is the sixth album by The Divine Comedy, released in 1998.-Track listing:# "Generation Sex" – 3:31# "Thrillseeker" – 3:33# "Commuter Love" – 4:42# "Sweden" – 3:25# "Eric the Gardener" – 8:26# "National Express" – 5:05...

and reached number eight on the UK Singles Chart

UK Singles Chart

The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

.

The song is based on Neil Hannon

Neil Hannon

Neil Hannon is a Northern Irish singer and songwriter, best known as the creator and frontman of the chamber pop group The Divine Comedy. The band's official website even goes so far as to say, "The Divine Comedy is Neil Hannon," and Hannon is quoted in an interview as saying, "The Divine Comedy...

's observations of life from the window of a National Express

National Express

National Express Coaches, more commonly known as National Express, is a brand and company, owned by the National Express Group, under which the majority of long distance bus and coach services in Great Britain are operated,...

 bus

Bus

A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...

. Some critics have criticised the song for "sneering" at the working classes, but Hannon has vehemently dismissed this notion.

The official video for the song examines, with some irony, the UK National Health Service

National Health Service

The National Health Service is the shared name of three of the four publicly funded healthcare systems in the United Kingdom. They provide a comprehensive range of health services, the vast majority of which are free at the point of use to residents of the United Kingdom...

 from the viewpoint of a patient in a psychiatric hospital

Psychiatric hospital

Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental hospitals, are hospitals specializing in the treatment of serious mental disorders. Psychiatric hospitals vary widely in their size and grading. Some hospitals may specialise only in short-term or outpatient therapy for low-risk patients...

 who is about to undergo treatment

Electroconvulsive therapy

Electroconvulsive therapy , formerly known as electroshock, is a psychiatric treatment in which seizures are electrically induced in anesthetized patients for therapeutic effect. Its mode of action is unknown...

.

Track listing

• CD1 (SETCDA069)

1. National Express (Radio Edit)
2. Going Downhill Fast
3. Radioactivity (Kraftwerk
   Kraftwerk
   Kraftwerk is an influential electronic music band from Düsseldorf, Germany. The group was formed by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider in 1970, and was fronted by them until Schneider's departure in 2008...
   
    cover version)
   • CD2 (SETCDB069)
4. National Express (Album Version)
5. Famous (The Magnetic Fields
   The Magnetic Fields
   The Magnetic Fields is the principal creative outlet of singer-songwriter Stephin Merritt...
   
   cover version)
6. Overstrand

External links

• Divine Comedy - National Express - official video clip on youtube
• Bus Journey through Cambridgeshire - (unofficial?) video clip on youtube