Dinner Lady Arms

"Dinner Lady Arms" is a song by the English rock band The Darkness.
Origin and recording
The song is about longing.
Justin Hawkins elaborated on a Rolling Stone interview, were he stated: "That's just a sweet story about an elderly couple who get back together after a long time," he explains. "I suppose it's an English thing, 'dinner lady arms,' but the lady who serves you lunch at school tends to have these flaps of skin on the underside of her arms. And the song also talks about the man being bald and sullen -- so it's about finding something that you're attracted to that doesn't age, you know?"
It is the fourth track in the bands sophomore album One Way Ticket to Hell... and Back and it was recorded at Chapel Studios, South Thoresby, Lincolnshire; Paul Smith Music Studios, London.
Release history
The song has been released in three different albums:
On 28 November 2005 on the bands second album One Way Ticket to Hell... and Back.
On 1 April 2008 in the first compilation album "The Platinum Collection".
On 4 August 2008 in the second compilation album "2 in 1: Permission to Land/One Way Ticket to Hell".
Critical reception
PopMatters praised "the palm-muted guitars that propel Dinner Lady Arms".
Rolling Stone highly praised the song, stating "Highland-jig rock with a Chinese-opera vocal twist. Dinner Lady Arms struts like a chip off Permission's "I Believe in a Thing Called Love," but the mix deadens the swagger. The guitars cut like penknives, not sabers, and Justin's vocal fireworks seem to go off behind the boom of the band, instead of way out front as they did on Permission."
Drowned in Sound criticized the song saying it "feels like a twenty year old out-of-focus video shot at night in a petrol station forecourt".
AllMusic statess that "the soaring power ballad "Dinner Lady Arms" highlights the good-natured streak running through a surprising amount of the Darkness' songs."
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Personnel
*Justin Hawkins - vocals, lead and rhythm guitar, synthesizer, piano
*Dan Hawkins - rhythm and lead guitar
*Frankie Poullain - bass
*Ed Graham - drums
;Additional personnel
*Pedro Ferreira - production, mixing, engineering
*Mike Marsh - mastering
*Will Bartle - recording assistance
*Nick Taylor - mixing assistance

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