All Fall Down
William Finn Lyrics

I was young
I was youthful and inexperienced in life.

And we had dough
And we had money.

My clothes just so
My clothes were perfectly neat and tidy.

But Daddy blew it
But my father lost all our money.

He got caught
He got caught doing something that caused him to lose his job.

His hand, you know?
His hand was caught in something illegal.

Fired so fast, Mommy fainted
He was fired from his job before we even knew what was happening, and my mother fainted in shock.

Poor at last! Plus we're tainted
We became poor, and our reputation is now tarnished because of my father's actions.

Poor Daddy
My poor father is now in a bad situation.

That fatso
My father, who was overweight.

Then he flew out the window
Then my father committed suicide by jumping out of a window.

Dirted the ground below
His body landed on the ground below and caused a mess.

I kissed the cat
I am trying to cope with my father's death by kissing our pet cat.

My daddy's dead!
My father has died.

I'm feeling fat
I am feeling unhealthy or overweight.

My mommy's thinner
My mother has lost weight because of the stress of our situation.

She said, "Daddy was a winner
My mother still thinks my father was a successful person.

But we all fall down"
But we are all vulnerable to failure.

Collage days
My college years.

My best of friends
My closest friends.

Had married men
Had married successful men.

With brains and money
Men who were intelligent and wealthy.

Brains and bonds
Men who worked in finance or investing.

And stocks and brawn
Men who were physically strong and invested in the stock market.

Then the crash, there I said it
Then the stock market crashed, and it affected everyone.

No more cash, no more credit
There was no more money left, and my friends couldn't even get credit.

On Wall Street
On the stock market.

These men stood
These men tried to tough it out.

Then they flew out the window
Then these men committed suicide by jumping out of windows.

Right on the neighborhood
Their deaths affected their communities.

My friends were poor
My friends were no longer wealthy and successful.

I dressed in brown
I chose to dress modestly, with no extravagance.

They wanted more
My friends still craved the wealth and extravagance they had before.

I dressed in yellow
I still tried to add some color or brightness to my wardrobe.

Each had wed a splendid fellow
Each of my friends married a seemingly amazing man.

But they all fall down
But they, like everyone else, were still vulnerable to failure.

And he was rich
My husband was wealthy.

He made his pitch
My husband convinced me to marry him.

And we got married
And we got hitched.

He read books
My husband was an avid reader.

And I wore furs
I used his wealth to buy expensive clothing.

First there's smoke; doom is brewing
There were early signs of trouble in our marriage.

Then we're broke. What's he doing?
Then we were poor, and my husband was not doing anything to fix it.

He's reading
My husband is still reading, despite our dire financial situation.

Jane Austin
He's reading 19th century novelist Jane Austen.

Then he flew
Then my husband left me.

Then he
Then he left me again.

Then he flew
Then my husband left me, but this time through the doorway.

Dammit he used the doorway
My husband used the normal exit, not the dramatic exit of jumping out of a window.

Left me for someone new
My husband left me and started a relationship with someone else.

We lost our car
We lost one of our possessions.

The courts could sue
We faced the possibility of legal action against us.

My heart was bleeding
I was heartbroken.

Still the bastard he just kept on reading!
He still continued reading, despite causing our financial ruin and leaving me for someone else.

My daddy;
My father;

Friends husbands;
My friends' husbands;

They at least used the window
They at least committed suicide in a dramatic fashion.

Credit where credit's due
Give credit where it is due, even if it is the act of committing suicide by jumping out a window.

I wish mine died
I wish my husband would die.

Then I'd wear black
I would wear black if he were to die.

I'd eat my pride
I would swallow my pride if he were to die.

And say I shoved him!
I would pretend to have caused his death if he were to die.

Holy Christ, I think I loved him
Despite everything, I think I still loved him.

But we all fall down
But we, as humans, are all vulnerable to failure.

Fall down
We fail and stumble, but we still get back up and try again.