Famously described by John Peel as being "always different, always the same… Read Full Bio ↴Famously described by John Peel as being "always different, always the same", The Fall were formed in Manchester, England in 1976 during the Punk era although their style quickly evolved into something more idiosyncratic.

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

Futures and Pasts
The Fall Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I was in a sleeping dream
When a policeman brought my mother home
By the window I didn't scream
I was too old for that

I was in a drunken dream
The pubs were closed, it was three o'clock
At the bottom of the street it seemed

There was a policeman lost in the fog

I understand but I don't see it
I understand but I don't see it
I understand but I don't read it
Futures and pasts

You can cry for your lost childhood
We can cry for our lost childhoods
But remember how you hated it
And worse 'cause you couldn't state it?

I understand but I don't see it
I understand but I don't see it
I understand but I don't read it
Futures and pasts

Look at the woman of thirty-nine
Look at the man of forty-nine
You can read their lousy lives
You can see their ugly face lines

They understand but they don't see it
They understand but they don't see it
I understand but I don't read it
Futures and pasts

I understand but I don't see it
I understand but I don't see it

I understand but I don't read it
Futures and pasts

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to The Fall's song Futures and Pasts are filled with vivid imagery and cryptic messages that paint a picture of the struggles of life and the passage of time. The song begins with the singer in a "sleeping dream" where a policeman brings his mother home, and he is too old to scream. This sets the tone for the rest of the song, as it appears that the singer is numb to the world around him and the things happening in it.

The next verse takes place in a drunken dream where the pubs are closed, and a lost policeman is wandering the streets. The sense of confusion and disorientation is heightened, and it is unclear whether the singer is the drunkard or is observing the scene from afar. The chorus acts as a refrain that highlights the contrast between understanding and seeing or reading something, suggesting that just because something can be understood, it doesn't necessarily mean it can be seen or read.

The following verses reflect on lost childhoods and the passage of time, with the older generation looking back on their "lousy lives" and "ugly face lines". The theme of understanding but not seeing or reading seems to suggest that while people may understand the world around them and their place in it, they may not fully comprehend or accept it. The song ends with the final repetition of the chorus, driving home the message that futures and pasts can be understood but not fully grasped.

Line by Line Meaning

I was in a sleeping dream
I was dreaming soundly

When a policeman brought my mother home
The police officer brought my mother back

By the window I didn't scream
I didn't yell by the window

I was too old for that
I was too mature for such behavior

I was in a drunken dream
I was dreaming while under the influence

The pubs were closed, it was three o'clock
The bars were shut and it was three in the morning

At the bottom of the street it seemed
It appeared like there was a police officer lost in the fog at the end of the street

I understand but I don't see it
I comprehend but can't perceive it

I understand but I don't read it
I get it, but I can't comprehend it fully

Futures and pasts
Events that have yet to pass or have already happened

You can cry for your lost childhood
You could weep for your childhood that is gone