Summary of Where was 505 in the Arctic Monkeys song?
- What is the story behind the song 505?
- What does 505 mean in slang?
- What does 505 stand for?
- What does 505 mean in a relationship?
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Arctic Monkeys’ “505” is
a passionate song about returning to a lover, using Room 505 as a symbolic meeting point for a relationship strained by distance (like touring), representing longing, reunion, and a bittersweet mix of intense love and potential pain, often linked to Alex Turner’s real-life relationship with Johanna Bennett. It’s considered one of their first true love songs, exploring the addictive pull of a person who’s both life-giving and destructive.
This video provides a breakdown of the song’s meaning:
52s
Louie Marquis
YouTube • Jun 11, 2023
Key Meanings & Interpretations:
A Specific Place/Metaphor: Room 505 isn’t just a random number; it’s a physical place where the singer desperately wants to return to his love, overcoming the miles (a “7 hour flight or 45 minute drive”)
.
Touring & Longing: The lyrics capture the intense desire to reunite with a partner, particularly after being separated by the band’s touring schedule, making distance feel irrelevant compared to the pull of the relationship.
Intense Love & Addiction: The song features passionate, almost obsessive lines like “I’d probably still adore you with your hands around my neck,” highlighting a deep, consuming love that’s both thrilling and potentially harmful.
First “Proper” Love Song: Lead singer Alex Turner described it as their first real love song, focusing on a singular person rather than general themes, notes Wikipedia and Radio X.
Symbolism of “505”: Some interpret it as an unhealthy obsession, a place of powerful memories after heartbreak, or even an area code (New Mexico’s 505), but most agree it’s a key location for reunion.
In essence, “505” is about the powerful, sometimes destructive, gravitational pull back to a significant other, making any journey to them feel worthwhile.
I’m Going Back To 505 — Artefact
The song “505” by the Arctic Monkeys is about a relationship that was torn apart by touring and traveling. The song’s lyrics are f…
www.artefactmagazine.com
505 (song) – Wikipedia
The song’s lyrics prominently focus on a relationship, and the protagonist yearningly returning to a place for a certain moment or…
Wikipedia
What is the meaning of 505 ? : r/arcticmonkeys
The song “505” by Arctic Monkeys has many meanings: * **Unhealthy obsession** Some say the song is about an unhealthy obsession wi…
Reddit
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Where was 505 in the Arctic Monkeys song?
21 April 2025, 18:00
It’s the final, evocative track on the band’s second album Favourite Worst Nightmare. But what inspired the song?
2007’s Favourite Worst Nightmare was a huge step forward for Arctic Monkeys. Their debut album the previous year was the hugely acclaimed Whatever People Say I Am That’s What I’m Not, which propelled the Sheffield band to the top of the charts and instant stardom.
But while the debut was a snapshot of life as a young man (or woman) in modern day Britain, the follow-up showed how Alex Turner’s songwriting was beginning to mature.
Take the album closer, 505. It’s a step away from the breakneck sounds of Brianstorm or Teddy Picker and demonstrates a more introspective side of the frontman.
In the song, Alex Turner is longing to get back to 505 – the number of the hotel room where his girlfriend is staying.
“I’m going back to 505
If it’s a seven hour flight or a forty-five minute drive”
505 lyrics – Arctic Monkeys
But the reunion doesn’t always go to plan:
“I’m always just about to go and spoil a surprise
Take my hands off of your eyes too soon”
Accompanied by guitar from former Rascals man and future member of The Last Shadow Puppets, Miles Kane, 505 is led by an organ sound which appears to have come from the 1966 classic Italian western The Good The Bad And The Ugly. It can be heard as the villainous Lee Van Cleef shows up to confront Clint Eastwood’s Man With No Name at the climax.
The Good The Bad and the Ugly Finale
The band later claimed that 505 was “the first proper love song” that they recorded and it’s long been though that the subject of the lyrics was Turner’s former girlfriend Johanna Bennett.
Formerly a member of the band Totalizer, Bennett co-wrote the Arctic Monkeys track Fluorescent Adolescent. She told The Guardian in 2007: “We were on holiday and had cut ourselves off from everything. We were in a really quiet hotel and didn’t watch TV or listen to that much music. So as not to drive each other mad we started messing around with these words like a game, singing them to each other.”
Was that hotel room the infamous 505?
Johanna is now married to Kings Of Leon’s Matthew Followill and they have three children.
READ MORE: Who and what is Arctic Monkeys’ Brianstorm about?