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Arcadia is a fictitious land, The Libertines' private world; a vision of England in which no one is tied to societal rules, and in which everyone is free to do as they wish. A libertarian commune of the soul.
In a 2003 interview, Peter Doherty explained, "Just when you get really wound up, you turn a corner and you're somewhere else completely. You find an Arcadian glade - a glimpse of paradise in the middle of it all. And that's why you persevere. That's why you don't chuck yourself off a building or shoot yourself at the same time as someone else, like he [Carl] wanted us to."
In 2006, on being asked whether he still believed in Arcadia, Doherty replied, "I still do. It's changed a lot. It started off as something ancient and forgotten; and became something modern and real. I just couldn't swim. The tunnels get narrower and narrower."
Arcadia is referenced in the songs "Arcady" and "The Good Old Days." In an interview with the NME following the announcement of Dirty Pretty Things' separation, Carl Barat mentioned composing a song with the working title "Arcadian March On."
