John Lewis Schumann[1] (born c. 1953[2]) is an Australian singer, songwrite… Read Full Bio ↴John Lewis Schumann[1] (born c. 1953[2]) is an Australian singer, songwriter and guitarist from Adelaide. He is best known as the lead singer for the folk group Redgum, with their chart-topping hit "I Was Only 19 (A Walk in the Light Green)", a song exploring the psychological and medical side-effects of serving in the Australian forces during the Vietnam War. The song's sales assisted Vietnam Veterans during the 1983 Royal Commission into the effects of Agent Orange and other chemical defoliants employed during the war.[2] Schumann was also an Australian Democrats candidate in the 1998 Federal election standing against the Foreign Minister Alexander Downer. He resigned from the Australian Democrats shortly after and is no longer affiliated with any political party. He has wriitten numerous articles in the press as an independent political commentator on major issues concerned with educational issues, the environment and social justice

Fallen Angel
John Schumann Lyrics

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Did I see you there in the twilight
On the car yard side of town
Where the chrome and the glass
And the concrete
Push the neon sky around
And in the coming of the darkness
You lose your power base
The TV news and the business pages

tracked your fall from grace
And you're a fallen angel

Did you ever see me standing there
Beside your machine
Yeah that was me with a mortgage
And some hungry mouths to feed
And you came on to the floor one day
You smiled and turned away
You were lunching with the Prime Minister
In another state that day

Now you're a fallen angel
On a downhill run
Fallen angel
Look what you have done
We watched you fly so high
Fallen angel
Now there's nowhere for you to hide

You dined with kings and princess
And you rode in limosines
And we read about your life and times
In the glossy magazines
You bought and sold my children's future
With others of your class
Now the landscape's dry and dusty
And the diamonds have turned to glass
You're a fallen angel

Yeah that was me on the TV
Queuing up outside the door
Because mum had all her money in there
When it all went through the floor
And in the cold hard light of morning
You were nowhere to be found
Because you got out the day before
The house of cards came down

And you're a fallen angel
On a downhill run
Fallen angel
Look what you have done
We watched you fly so high
Fallen angel
Now there's nowhere for you to hide

I watched you while you watched our lives
And I tried to read your face
On the working side of town out here
You're just a little bit out of place
And in the coming of the darkness
I just turned and walked away
When everything is said and done
There's nothing more to say

Now you're a fallen angel
On a downhill run
Fallen angel
Look what you have done
We watched you fly so high

Fallen angel
Now there's nowhere for you to hide

Overall Meaning

The song "Fallen Angel" by John Schumann talks about a successful person who falls from grace due to their own actions, leaving behind a trail of destruction. The song opens with a description of the person in twilight, in a car yard side of town where people from the city's upper echelons come to do business. However, as night falls, the person loses their power base because the news and business pages track their fall from grace. The person was once powerful, dining with kings and princesses and riding in limousines; however, their downfall comes at a cost to the less fortunate. They bought and sold the future of people of lower classes with impunity, only to see the landscape become dry and dusty with diamonds turning into glass.

The second verse describes how the person deals with the consequences of their actions. By the time people lose their savings, the fallen angel is nowhere to be found since they left the day before the house of cards came down. The singer witnessed everything, saying that on the working side of town, the person is a little out of place. The song's chorus then repeats that the person is a fallen angel on a downhill run, with nowhere to hide.

Overall, the song "Fallen Angel" is a social commentary on the cost of greed that is often overlooked. The person who has fallen from grace is only one of many who are blinded by ambition and wealth, gaining power while stepping on the less fortunate. It is a song of warning and an appeal to the conscience of those who have forgotten their humanity.

Line by Line Meaning

Did I see you there in the twilight
Questioning if the person he's addressing was seen in a lowly part of town as evening approached

Where the chrome and the glass And the concrete Push the neon sky around
Describing the environment of the car yard side of town as one of metallic and synthetic materials reflecting the artificial brightness of the city skyline

And in the coming of the darkness You lose your power base The TV news and the business pages tracked your fall from grace And you're a fallen angel
As nighttime arrived, the person he's addressing lost their status and public support due to negative news coverage, symbolizing their descent from a position of power and reputation to one of disgrace

Did you ever see me standing there Beside your machine Yeah that was me with a mortgage And some hungry mouths to feed And you came on to the floor one day You smiled and turned away You were lunching with the Prime Minister In another state that day
The artist was once an employee of the person he's addressing, struggling to provide for his family while the person he's addressing ignored him to attend a high-profile meeting with a government leader in another location

Now you're a fallen angel On a downhill run Fallen angel Look what you have done We watched you fly so high Fallen angel Now there's nowhere for you to hide
The repeated chorus emphasizes that the person he's addressing has lost their power and fame, which the people around them had witnessed all along and now there's no escaping the consequences of their actions

You dined with kings and princess And you rode in limosines And we read about your life and times In the glossy magazines You bought and sold my children's future With others of your class Now the landscape's dry and dusty And the diamonds have turned to glass You're a fallen angel
The person he's addressing led a luxurious life, as depicted in media, but simultaneously took part in corrupt practices that harmed ordinary people's welfare, leading to economic inequality and environmental degradation, ultimately exposing their true nature

Yeah that was me on the TV Queuing up outside the door Because mum had all her money in there When it all went through the floor And in the cold hard light of morning You were nowhere to be found Because you got out the day before The house of cards came down
The singer is shown on TV queuing outside the person he's addressing's business due to his mother having invested her life savings in it, which ultimately leads to bankruptcy. The person he's addressing had escaped the situation beforehand, leaving ordinary people with the consequences of their reckless actions

I watched you while you watched our lives And I tried to read your face On the working side of town out here You're just a little bit out of place And in the coming of the darkness I just turned and walked away When everything is said and done There's nothing more to say
The artist once observed the person he's addressing observing the lives of ordinary people yet found it hard to understand their motives. Now, as the person he's addressing has lost their power and faces a backlash, the artist chose to distance himself from the situation and leave the person to face their downfall

Contributed by Alex H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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