Love Is a Bourgeois Construct

"Love Is a Bourgeois Construct" was written in 2012^[7] in Berlin after the completion of the Pet Shop Boys' album Elysium earlier that year.^[8] Chris Lowe had the idea to write music inspired by "Chasing Sheep Is Best Left to Shepherds".^[9] Neil Tennant came up with the title based on a passage from the novel Nice Work by David Lodge, about a plant manager who falls in love with a feminist university lecturer.^[7]

"I've been in love with you for weeks."

"There's no such thing," she says. "It's a rhetorical device. It's a bourgeois fallacy."

"Haven't you ever been in love, then?"

"When I was younger," she says, "I allowed myself to be constructed by the discourse of romantic love for a while, yes."^[10]

For the song, Tennant imagined a middle-class man who was living a comfortable life, until his partner left him and his bourgeois lifestyle became meaningless.^[9] The lyrics make reference to the writings of Karl Marx, from the narrator's university days,^[9] and to Labour Party politician Tony Benn, who was known for his tea-drinking habit.^[11][12]

The songs on Electric were recorded and sequenced in alphabetical order; the demo was originally called Bourgeois, so it followed Bolshy.^[13] When the song was recorded for the album, producer Stuart Price used the sheet music from Purcell's work.^[14]

The single was released digitally on 2 September 2013 in two bundles, followed by a CD single on 30 September. Both the physical and digital formats include remixes by Little Boots, The Penelopes and Dave Audé, as well as two previously unreleased B-sides, "Entschuldigung!" and "Get It Online".^[15] The twelve-inch single was released on 9 December 2013.^[16]

"Love Is a Bourgeois Construct" was performed on select dates of the Electric Tour,^[18] with scenes of the Goldhawk Road in London, mentioned in the lyrics, as a backdrop.^[19] The song was played regularly during the Super Tour,^[20] and it is included on the live album Inner Sanctum, which was recorded during the Pet Shop Boys' residency at the Royal Opera House in July 2018.^[21]

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Electric^[24] and "Love Is a Bourgeois Construct".^[25]

On the album, a songwriting credit for "Love Is a Bourgeois Construct" is given to Henry Purcell in addition to Tennant and Lowe; whereas on the single, Michael Nyman is credited instead of Purcell, and his music publisher, Chester Music, is also listed.

Pet Shop Boys

• Neil Tennant
• Chris Lowe

Additional vocals

• Stuart Price
• Andy Crookston
• Pete Gleadall
• Luke Halls