Background and synopsis
"Cornerstone" is performed in the key of A major.
The track is about a man who goes around to different pubs and bars in hopes of finding his ex-girlfriend. He is, however, only able to find look-alikes in each location. He approaches them anyway and is rejected by them in turn when he asks them if he can call them her name. [4]
In each verse, the lyrics reference different made-up pubs (the Battleship, the Rusty Hook, the Parrot's Beak), with the last verse taking place in "the Cornerstone". It is here that he comes across his ex's sister, who finishes the song by saying "you can call me anything you want".
Some have speculated that "the Cornerstone" is a reference to a counselling centre in Sheffield, the home town of Arctic Monkeys. [5] [6]
Alex Turner told Uncut magazine that he wrote this song, "one morning, quite quickly." He added: "There's something to be said for writing in the morning. At other points in the day you're a bit more defensive. I saw it as a challenge to write something in a major key, but that wasn't cheesy." [5]
Music video
The music video for the single debuted on Channel 4 in the UK on 15 October 2009.
The music video, directed by Richard Ayoade, who worked on the videos of "Fluorescent Adolescent", "Crying Lightning" and their At the Apollo DVD, shows frontman Alex Turner singing the song alone in a white room holding a cassette recorder and microphone during the whole video. [7] The other members of the band (Jamie Cook, Matt Helders and Nick O'Malley) are not present in the video.
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