Andy joined the band after the release of Midnight Organ Fight, allowing them to play many songs from the album they would previously have struggled to fill out instrumentally. Gordon joined the band in November 2009 and is a former member of Make Model. He left the band in 2014.
The origins of the band are rooted in 2003, when Scott began playing solo shows under the name Frightened Rabbit, mostly in support of fellow art-schoolers Shitdisco. Recordings were made on a tascam 4-track recorder, with Scott playing all the instruments (some more proficiently than others). Though looser, sparser, and certainly more lo-fi in terms of production values, their early demos still attest to a burgeoning talent with a defined personality and a now familiar penchant for being able to create widely appreciated pop songs.
In 2004 Scott’s brother Grant moved to Glasgow, Scotland, contributing drums to certain recorded tracks, and playing live. Frightened Rabbit became louder and better. They burnt 50 copies of their subsequent demo, and sent some out to labels, resulting in three tracks being hosted on the FatCat MP3/demo website, and marking the beginning of a wonderful relationship. In 2006, Billy joined the band playing primarily second guitar, making Frightened Rabbit in the band’s own words, a wee bit better and louder still. That February they went into The Diving Bell Lounge studio with Glasgow based producer Marcus Mackay to record some songs over the course of a week. The intention was to record a better quality demo, but the resultant recordings ended up as the bands debut LP Sing The Greys, of which 1000 copies were pressed and released that May on home grown label Hits The Fan.
An incredibly accomplished live outfit (seemingly without any effort whatsoever), further live dates followed into 2007, including a brief but successful US jaunt, culminating in a sold-out show at The Mercury Lounge in NYC, before the album was even available in the US. After an intense spate of writing, rehearsing, recording, and remixing, and of course playing more live shows, ‘Sing The Greys’ was remastered by Alan Douches, and re-released in significantly revamped form by FatCat Autumn 2007, along with debut single ‘Be Less Rude’. Rounding off the year with the incredible 'It's Christmas So We'll Stop' single.
In April 2008, the band released their second full length, "The Midnight Organ Fight", a progression in terms of songwriting, sonic depth, and as a fully realised entity. Recorded by Peter Katis (Mercury Rev, Interpol) over the space of two weeks, and mixed over the ensuing fortnight, ‘Midnight Organ Fight’ was conceived and realised in a much shorter time span than its predecessor, with the intention of creating a more coherent, ‘pop’ sounding album. Yet although musically more immediate, vitally, the band have not forsaken the personality or passion of any of their earlier recordings.
In July 2008, a live rendition of ‘Midnight Organ Fight’ was recorded in Glasgow, and mixed by Mice Parade’s Adam Pierce, entitled 'Liver! Lung! Fr!' The stripped-down instrumentation brings singer Scott Hutchison’s vocal delivery - now wrenching, now soaring - to the fore, showcasing the emotive lyrics and memorable melodies that have earned the band their passionate following. This album was released in the United States in late 2008, and a world release date to followed in March 2009.
The band's third album "The Winter of Mixed Drinks" was released in early 2010. The fourth album “Pedestrian Verse” was released in 2013, while their fifth and final album “Painting of a Panic Attack” was released in 2016.
The Modern Leper
Frightened Rabbit Lyrics
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All you tired human beings
He's got all the things a cripple has not
Two working arms and legs
And vital parts fall from his system
And dissolve in Scottish rain
But vitally, he doesn't miss them
Well is that you in front of me?
Coming back for even more of exactly the same
You must be a masochist
To love a modern leper on his last leg, on his last leg
Well I crippled your heart a hundred times
And still can't work out why
You see, I've got this disease
I can't shake and I'm just rattling through life
Well this is how we do things now
Yeah this is how the modern stay scared
So I cut out all the good stuff
Yeah I cut off my foot to spite my leg
Is that you in front of me?
Coming back for even more of exactly the same
You must be a masochist
To love a modern leper on his last leg
Well I am ill but I'm not dead
And I don't know which of those I prefer
Because that limb which I have lost
Well it was the only thing holding me up, holding me up
Well I'm lying on the ground now
And you're walking through the only door
Well I have lost my eyesight like I said I would
But I still know
That that is you in front of me
And you are back for even more of exactly the same
Well are you a masochist?
You love a modern leper on his last leg
And you're not ill and I'm not dead
Doesn't that make us the perfect pair?
You should sit with me and we'll start again
And you can tell me all about what you did today
What you did today
The song "The Modern Leper" by Frightened Rabbit is about a man with a physical disability, who is isolated from the rest of the world. The lyrics describe how this man is viewed as lesser than, despite his capabilities as a human being. He is seen as crippled and incapable, while others take their able bodies for granted. The singer takes on a fatalistic attitude towards his situation and embraces it further with self-destructive behavior. He is willing to cut off his own body parts to spite himself.
The chorus of the song is directed towards someone who keeps returning to the singer despite his ill health and destructive tendencies. The singer questions why this person would want to love someone who is on their last legs, who is dying a slow death. He asks if they are a masochist, unable to bring themselves to let go of him.
Line by Line Meaning
A cripple walks amongst you
A physically disabled person is present in your society
All you tired human beings
All of you, the exhausted people
He's got all the things a cripple has not
The disabled person lacks what able-bodied people possess
Two working arms and legs
The disabled person cannot use their legs and arms properly
And vital parts fall from his system
The person is losing important body parts
And dissolve in Scottish rain
The lost body parts fade away into the rainy Scottish environment
But vitally, he doesn't miss them
Interestingly, the person does not feel the absence of the lost body parts
He's too fucked up to care
The feeling of being mentally disturbed makes him not care about the loss of body parts
Well is that you in front of me?
I see someone, is it you?
Coming back for even more of exactly the same
Returning for the same problems, behaviors or patterns
You must be a masochist
You might be someone who seeks pain or humiliation
To love a modern leper on his last leg, on his last leg
To love a person who is emotionally or physically drained and the relationship is about to end
Well I crippled your heart a hundred times
I hurt you emotionally many times
And still can't work out why
I'm unable to understand why
You see, I've got this disease
I have an illness that I cannot control
I can't shake and I'm just rattling through life
I feel like I'm barely surviving with a condition I don't know how to handle
Well this is how we do things now
This is the new normal for us
Yeah this is how the modern stay scared
This is how people choose to live in constant fear
So I cut out all the good stuff
I decided to eliminate all the positive things from my life
Yeah I cut off my foot to spite my leg
To prove a point I did something that ultimately harmed myself
Well I am ill but I'm not dead
Although I am ill, I am still alive
And I don't know which of those I prefer
I don't know if it would be better to be dead than to suffer with illness
Because that limb which I have lost
The lost body part I mentioned earlier
Well it was the only thing holding me up, holding me up
It was the only thing that kept me going, I feel quite hopeless without it
Well I'm lying on the ground now
Now I'm at my lowest point
And you're walking through the only door
While I'm left helpless, you're able to move on
Well I have lost my eyesight like I said I would
As I predicted, I lost my vision
But I still know
Nevertheless, I still understand something
That that is you in front of me
I can recognize that the person standing in front of me is you
And you are back for even more of exactly the same
You are someone who repeatedly pursues the same things or people
Well are you a masochist?
Do you enjoy suffering?
You love a modern leper on his last leg
You care for someone who is going through a terrible time in their life
And you're not ill and I'm not dead
You're healthy and I'm not deceased yet
Doesn't that make us the perfect pair?
Aren't we a good match because of our differences?
You should sit with me and we'll start again
Let's sit together and start anew
And you can tell me all about what you did today
You can share with me your stories about today
What you did today
I'm genuinely interested in your recent life experiences
Lyrics © DOMINO PUBLISHING COMPANY
Written by: Grant David Hutchison, Scott John Hutchison, David Kennedy
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind