To see the lyrics, click on the name of the version you are interested in (on the left).

This song has been regularly played live since 1996.

Alfie is the protagonist of a film of the same name. Recently, it's been remade with Jude Law in the main role, but the sample at the beginning of the song is taken from the version featuring Michael Caine.

The phrase "Well, are you settled in? Right, we can begin. Once there was a time…" was actually the introduction phrase to a British radio program from the 1940s called ITMA (It's That Man Again).

Within Casanova, it marks a turning point in the story narrated. The character changes radically from romanticism to womanising following what happened in the previous song, 'Something For The weekend'.

Neil Hannon says about the song: "Oh, come on! It's alright to be a laddish, mysogonistic wanker, isn't it? And besides, I can express it in a darling, retro-cockney pastiche just like everybody else...Or can I?"

A French version, sang in French, was released under the name 'Comme Beaucoup De Messieurs'.