"End of a Century" is a song by English alternative rock band Blur. Released in November 1994 by Food Records, it was the last single to be released from their third album, Parklife (1994). The song reached number 19 on the UK Singles Chart, considered a disappointment by Andy Ross of Food. Damon Albarn later stated that "End of a Century" may not have been the best choice for the album's fourth single, and that "This Is a Low" would have been a better alternative.

Lyrical content

Damon Albarn stated that the song is about "how couples get into staying in and staring at each other. Only instead of candle-light, it's the TV light." The opening line, "she said there's ants in the carpet", refers to an infestation of ants that Albarn and his then-girlfriend Justine Frischmann suffered in their then-home in Kensington. The lyrics seem to emphasise the then upcoming millennium change and the fact that people contemplate the future rather than take care of the present. Producer Stephen Street saw the song as "Damon getting the art of songwriting really sorted".

Critical reception

Terry Staunton from Melody Maker wrote, "The fourth gem from Parklife in this, the year of the Blur. Forging the best bits of mid-era Beatles with wry Ray Davies observation, this has more charm than a lorryload of Lucy Claytons and should sound fantastic on the radio."

Music video

The video is a live performance recorded at Alexandra Palace. As with their later video to "Tender", it uses the audio track of the live performance, rather than overdubbing the audio of the studio take.

Track listings

Personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history