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

Repetition
The Fall Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Right noise
We're gonna get real speedy
We're gonna wear black all the time
You're gonna make it on your own
'Cause we dig
'Cause we dig
We dig
We dig repetition

We dig repetition
We dig repetition in the music
And we're never going to lose it
All you daughters and sons
Who are sick of fancy music
We dig repetition
Repetition in the drums
And we're never going to lose it
This is the three R's
The three R's
Repetition, repetition, repetition
Oh mental hospitals
Oh mental hospitals
They put electrodes in your brain
And you're never the same
You don't dig repetition
You don't love repetition
Repetition in the music and we're never going to loose it
President carter loves repetition
Chairman mao he dug repetition
Repetition in China
Repetition in America
Repetition in West Germany
Simultaneous suicide
We dig it, we dig it
We dig it, we dig it
Repetition, repetition, repetition
There is no hesitation
This is your situation
Continue a blank generation
Blank generation
Same old blank generation
Grooving blank generation

Swinging blank generation
Repetition, repetition, repetition

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to The Fall's song Repetition appear to be a celebration of the musical technique of repetition. The song begins with the declaration that "We dig repetition" and that "we're gonna wear black all the time", suggesting a certain kind of rebelliousness and an affinity for a particular aesthetic. The lyrics describe a love for repetition in music, and assert that "we're never going to lose it".

There is then a shift in the lyrics to a critique of mental hospitals and the use of electroshock therapy on patients. The contrast between the celebration of repetition in music and the horror of being subjected to such a procedure suggests a larger criticism of institutions and their uses of power. This critique is then juxtaposed with an odd list of political figures who are said to "dig repetition", including President Carter and Chairman Mao.

The song then concludes with a call to continue being a "blank generation" and to continue grooving and swinging to the repetition in the music. The lyrics seem to be a statement of appreciation for the power of repetition in music and a call to embrace that power in building a certain kind of subculture or community.

Line by Line Meaning

Right noise
We want something that sounds good loudly

We're gonna get real speedy
We will be efficient in our delivery and performance

We're gonna wear black all the time
Our attire will be solemn, which fits our style of music

You're gonna make it on your own
Independency is encouraged to create originality

'Cause we dig
We just prefer this style of music

We dig repetition
We are fans of repeating things in our music

We dig repetition in the music
We like to utilize repetition in our musical compositions

And we're never going to lose it
We will always maintain this love for repetition in our music

All you daughters and sons
To all the younger generation

Who are sick of fancy music
Who no longer enjoy overly complex and flashy music

Repetition in the drums
We use repetition in our drum beats as well

This is the three R's
The three 'R's' stand for repetition, repetition, repetition

Oh mental hospitals
The singer is addressing those who have undergone electroconvulsive therapy

They put electrodes in your brain
The therapy includes the use of electrodes placed in the brain

And you're never the same
After undergoing the treatment, you are not the person you used to be

You don't dig repetition
You dislike the use of repetition in music

You don't love repetition
You do not have an affinity towards repeating things

Repetition in the music and we're never going to loose it
We have a fondness for repetition in music that we will never lose

President carter loves repetition
The US President at the time, Jimmy Carter, enjoys the use of repetition in music

Chairman mao he dug repetition
The Chinese leader Mao Zedong had an appreciation for the use of repetition in music

Repetition in China
The repetition style of music is also popular in China

Repetition in America
The repetition style of music is also popular in America

Repetition in West Germany
The repetition style of music is also popular in West Germany

Simultaneous suicide
The song references a hoax that Radio 1 DJ Steve Wright played during his show in 1980, where he claimed the song caused a wave of simultaneous suicides

We dig it, we dig it
We love it, we love it

There is no hesitation
We have no doubts about our love of repetition in music

This is your situation
This is the reality of things

Continue a blank generation
The artist encourages the younger generation to continue their detachment and lack of direction

Blank generation
A generation of people who lack personality, passion, and direction

Same old blank generation
Nothing much has changed, the newer generations are just like the old ones

Grooving blank generation
The younger generations are similar to the older generations who were also disaffected, bored, and discontent

Swinging blank generation
The artist characterizes the younger generations as an aimless crowd who simply enjoy dancing to the music of their time regardless of its quality

Repetition, repetition, repetition
The intentional repetition of the phrase is emphasizing the theme of the song

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ROYLAND BERNARD FOWLER, STEVIE SALAS

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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