The one permanent fixture amidst the Fall's ever-changing line-up was Mark E. Smith (1957 – 2018). Smith's lyrics are free, unboxed and unpredictable, touching on an extremely wide range of subjects and places, and caring little for being tied down to easily digestible messages.
Smith's singing could put off some people, but others find it a uniquely expressive instrument. Smith was not a conventionally great vocalist, but his keen sense of rhythm, his energy and personality more than made up for this.
The Fall's music changed depending on the line-up at a given time. Always experimental, Mark E. Smith claimed to invent several musical genres, including house music; "we were doing that years ago" and even the internet. "He told me I didn't understand, that we were from the bleak industrial wastes of North England, or something, and that we didn't understand the Internet. I told him Fall fans invented the Internet. They were on there in 1982." One thing that is for sure is that The Fall (and their fans) always pushed the boundaries, and were never afraid to experiment.
The Fall were a favorite group of DJ John Peel, recording 24 sessions for his BBC1 radio program over the years.
The Fall's back catalogue consists of 29 studio albums, and is very fragmented with a seemingly endless number of compilations and semi-official live albums.
In 2006, British music-critic Dave Simpson published an entertaining account of a journalist's attempt to track down all 43 former members of The Fall in the Guardian. Many previous members have been fired, often with little or no notice. Simpson's ongoing effort was subsequently described at greater length in his book "The Fallen" (2008). His effort to track down the final unaccounted stragglers of at least 50 previous members of The Fall - including drummer Karl Burns - continues in his blog. Having decried Simpson's book as a "hatchet job" in the pages of Pseud. Mag., a Fall fan-mag, Mark E. Smith countered in short order with his autobiography "Renegade: The Lives and Tales of Mark E. Smith" (Viking, 2008/Penguin 2009).
Mark E. Smith died on 24 January 2018, aged 60.
Key Albums include:
# Live At the Witch Trials (debut)
# Dragnet
# Totale's Turns (It's Now Or Nevr)
# Grotesque (after the Gramme)
# Perverted By Language
# Hex Enduction Hour
# This Nation's Saving Grace
# Middle Class Revolt
# Bend Sinister
# Extricate
# The Infotainment Scan
# Country on the Click aka The Real New Fall LP
# Fall Heads Roll
# Reformation Post TLC (new)
Compilations/Singles/B-Sides:
# 50,000 Fall Fans Can't Be Wrong: 39 Golden Greats
# The Complete Peel Sessions 1978-2004
# Totally Wired: The Rough Trade Anthology (disc 1) and Totally Wired: The Rough Trade Anthology (disc 2)
# 458489 A-Sides
# 458489 B-Sides
Birthday
The Fall Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Took off her glasses, let her hair down, and sighed.
She told them all at work, about her day.
How is it no one came? Woe, woe.
Took the invitations to her friends;
They were too busy, doing other things.
Told them all at work, about her day.
She took the decorations from the wall.
It was the ladder loose, that made her fall.
She told them all at work, about her day.
How is it no one came? Woe, woe.
The lyrics to The Fall's song "Birthday" seem to be telling the story of a woman who has just had a birthday and is disappointed in how it turned out. She took off her glasses and let her hair down, perhaps hoping to feel more glamorous and special on her big day. But despite telling everyone at work about it and inviting her friends, she was left alone and forgotten. The repetition of "Woe, woe" emphasizes her sense of despair.
The woman's disappointment is underscored by the fact that she even took the time to decorate for her own birthday, only to end up taking the decorations down in sadness after no one showed up. The final lines of the song suggest that her fall from the ladder while taking the decorations down may have been a physical manifestation of her emotional state. Overall, "Birthday" captures the sense of disappointment and isolation that can accompany a special day that doesn't quite live up to expectations.
Line by Line Meaning
Had a birthday yesterday, she cried.
She recently celebrated her birthday and is now upset about something.
Took off her glasses, let her hair down, and sighed.
She tried to relax and let loose after a long day.
She told them all at work, about her day.
She shared her personal life with her coworkers.
How is it no one came? Woe, woe.
She is disappointed that no one showed up to her birthday celebration.
Took the invitations to her friends;
She personally invited friends to her birthday party.
They were too busy, doing other things.
Her friends had other commitments and couldn't attend her celebration.
She took the decorations from the wall.
She removed the party decorations after realizing no one was coming.
It was the ladder loose, that made her fall.
She fell off a ladder while taking down decorations.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: JEFF LYNNE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind