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
I Can Hear The Grass Grow
The Fall Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Sneakin’ a look at me ? ? ?
Can’t imagine that their minds
Are thinkin’ the same as me
I can hear the grass grow I can hear the grass grow
I see rainbows in the evening
Magnetic wave of sound
With streams of coloured circles
Makin’ their way around.
I can hear the grass grow I can hear the grass grow
I see rainbows in the evening
Can’t seem to cause allow the sign
My sense color my ? ? ? ?
Get a hold of yourself now baby
See I need you to help now baby
Get a hold of yourself now baby
Put your head down to the ground
And listen to your mind
If you can’t spell what you found
I know that you’re not my kind
I can hear the grass grow I can hear the grass grow
I see rainbows in the evening
Can’t seem to cause allow the sign
My sense color my ? ? ? ?
Get a hold of yourself now baby
See I need you to help now baby
Get a hold of yourself now baby
See the people all in line
Sneakin’ a look at me ? ? ?
Can’t imagine that their minds
Are thinkin’ the same as me
I can hear the grass grow I can hear the grass grow
I see rainbows in the evening
In “I Can Hear the Grass Grow,” The Fall offers a psychedelic rock-inspired song with dreamlike and ambiguous lyrics that delve into the mind’s mystifying territory. The song is often interpreted as a metaphor for the hedonic experience, as the singer seems to suggest being high and seeing things that others cannot. As the song begins, the singer claims that they can hear the grass grow, suggesting heightened senses that enable them to perceive things hidden from others. They then express the desire to further explore the magnetic waves of sound that attract their head and the streams of colored circles that make their way around while making references to rainbows in the evening.
As the song progresses, the singer seems to address a partner or a friend, urging them to get a hold of themselves and to focus on what is happening around them rather than allowing their senses to alter their perception of reality. The song ends with the same lines that it started with, reinforcing the idea that the singer is having an experience that contrasts in a fundamental way to those of other people.
Line by Line Meaning
See the people all in line
Observing the individuals queuing near me
Sneakin’ a look at me ? ? ?
Taking a furtive glance at me
Can’t imagine that their minds
Cannot envisage that their thoughts
Are thinkin’ the same as me
Are cogitating the identical to my thoughts
I can hear the grass grow I can hear the grass grow
Able to perceive the sound of plants growing
I see rainbows in the evening
Watching colorful arcs during twilight
My heads attracted to
My mind's drawn to
Magnetic wave of sound
Attractive sound waves
With streams of coloured circles
Comprising varicolored rings
Makin’ their way around.
Traversing their path
Can’t seem to cause allow the sign
Affected by an inexplicable signal
My sense color my ? ? ?
My perceptions affect something undeciphered
Get a hold of yourself now baby
Regain control of yourself, my dear
See I need you to help now baby
I require your assistance now, darling
Put your head down to the ground
Lower your head to the earth
And listen to your mind
And hear your inner conscience
If you can’t spell what you found
If you can't articulate your discovery
I know that you’re not my kind
I'm aware that we're incompatible
Contributed by Vivian V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@alienative1961
This is also the best version, by The Fall, of the best Move cover ever.
@matthewratcliffe6812
Mark e smith is a British treasure
@chuckamok12
juggernaut. best move cover ever.
@matthewratcliffe6812
Fucking love the fall
@JJONNYREPP
The Fall - I Can Hear The Grass Grow 1145am 2.8.23 fucking hate the fall... cabbages thinking the same as him.... the band of choice for karma sutra fans and tyrannies feel. adios. old slags!!!
@JJONNYREPP
The Fall - I Can Hear The Grass Grow 0934am 5.1.22 i like the peel session where the backing singer sounds like morrissey...