Peggy Sang the Blues

English folk-punk singer-songwriter Frank Turner has had a privileged upbringing, thanks to his grandfather, the former chairman of high street retailer BHS, Sir Mark Turner. Brought up in a manor house by his city investment banker father, Roger Turner, and mother Jane, the daughter of a bishop, Turner was educated at Eton alongside Prince William. However, he doesn't take for granted his fortunate start in life. This song is a tribute to his late grandmother, who helped him develop a positive, individualistic attitude. "It doesn't matter where you come from," Peggy whispers to Frank in a dream during the song's chorus. "It matters where you go." "One of the things I don't like about English culture is our obsession with people's backgrounds," Turner told Spin Magazine. "I believe life is what you make of it as an individual."

Turner remembers Peggy fondly. "She was totally awesome," he gushed. "She got me drinking whisky and playing poker at age 10. She passed away a long time back but I think of her often."

The song is the first single from Turner's fourth album, England Keep My Bones, which features him frequently exploring his feelings of home. "I like music that has a sense of place to it, and I'm English through and through myself," he explained to Spin. "I always loved how Springsteen writes about New Jersey and I wanted to do the same for myself."

England Keep My Bones takes its title from a line in Shakespeare's The Life and Death of King John. Turner explained to Rock AAA: "I don't write albums to themes, but after they're done, certain things emerge and the record has a lot to do with both mortality and Englishness. When I stumbled across the quote it seemed to fit perfectly. I wrote this record whilst I was on the road, as ever, but the recording only took us a couple of weeks, it was a good experience."