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

This song – played only in 2001-2002 during the Regeneration tours – is about how magazines and ads and so on tell people what they should and shouldn’t be like. Neil Hannon said he wrote this song after reading a magazine: “I took the title of a ‘Lifestyle’ magazine I once read in the toilet. I was amazed at how they think they can manage people’s lives, tell them what is good or not. It’s particularly about those people who tell you how you should be: what clothes to wear, how not to be selfish, blah blah… It’s really making me sick. I should write a song to shout: “fucking be yourselves!”. Musically, it’s a very simple song because it goes straight to the target. It was ok right from the second take in studio.” [1]

Actually, if you consider the context around the recording of Regeneration, ‘The Beauty Regime’ is maybe more personal than Neil seems to be saying. It is likely that Neil Hannon was told what to do on this album: how he should dress, the style of music he should play. And this song would be a cry against this.
But at the same time, if Neil wants to be coherent with himself, the advices he gives in the song don’t necessarily have to be followed.


[1] New Comer, 2001