A lot of critics think this song, whose lyrics provided the title for Graham Parker’s 1979 album “Squeezing Out Sparks,” is the best he ever wrote. But if you ever need an example of confirmation bias in action, consider how many people think this is an anti-abortion song.
Parker has gotten pushback about the song from the very first, initially because the its narrator seems to be blaming the woman for an abortion. Parker said the song was based on the experience of an Australian friend (hence the “Luna Park” reference), but the fact that the song speaks of regret was — pardon the pun — music to conservatives’ ears. Parker eventually explained,
When you’re 16, or 18 or something, you haven’t got any money or anything, and the only thing you can think about is, “God, I only hope she gets rid of it.” But I’m not 18 now, and it just makes you think…
But when I say, “You decide what’s wrong,” I’m not putting any blame on a woman. I’m saying the fact is that a man doesn’t have to decide. A woman does. If it’s saying anyone is weak, it’s the men, because they don’t feel it.
By the early ’90s he had tired of trying to explain that it was complicated. “I get fairly rankled when people ask whether it’s pro- or anti-abortion,” he said. “I don’t deal with such simplicities. It’s about being involved in an event.”
Unfortunately, simplicities are the only things conservatives understand. When some National Review mook listed it among the “top 50 conservative rock songs” a few years ago, Parker responded with resignation: “I guess you can take what you want from it.”
Parker credits producer Jack Neitzsche with giving the song its power by slowing down its original country-shuffle arrangement.
The song has been covered by several people, most notably Bob Geldof, Robbie Fulks and Joe Jackson.
