Marillion - that time of the night the short straw, 1987

"There's sort of a dual meaning I think; it also seems to allude to "drawing the short straw," which would indicate bad luck, losing, or being otherwise ill-fated. As in the practice of choosing straws among a group to determine who has to undertake an unpleasant, dangerous, or otherwise undesirable task. The person who draws the short straw generally loses."