His songwriting artistry has been called "indescribably beautiful." The shivering depths of "After the Fall", the eternal anthem of love and loss "The Cost", the haunting "Dirty Little Secret", the French Carnival of darkness "Prey on the Naive", the brilliant time capture of "All Fall Down", and the epic, Bosch-like "Skeletons" only begin to touch the stories, substrata, and secrets of Lipman's music. "Beauty, intellect and depth that reaches into the soul..."
All Fall Down
X-Patriate: Alan J. Lipman Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
In the hospital hallway
Where the drone dropped through
An amazing light
Stutter steps
In the Capitol hallway
As the aides
Into the night
Beltway stream
A steaming scream
Of madness
Comes too close
To a
Traffic jam
As he
Stumbles cross the street
At the light
Mothers
Holding
His hand
And all
Hold yourself up
And all
Bring your soul
Around
And all
Drink from
The cup
And all
Fall
Down
All
Fall
Down
Castles
Rise
And fall
By the
Seaside
As
Omnipotent
Streams
Babble on
With burning
Lust
And the
Baffled
Stand by
While
He's
Making
Hay
With
Others
Lives
And
Once
Steeled
Hearts
Are
Turning
Into
Rust
Turn around
Look
At the
Sky
I
Saw
It
A
Flame
That lit
The night
For
Another
Day
There are
Ways
To get
To
The
Very
Core
Of
It
Then watch it all
Just fall out
And sail away
And all
Hold yourself up
And all
Bring your soul
Around
And all
Drink from
The cup
And all
Fall
Down
All
Fall
Down
Select
Your
Sight
There's a
New day
Dawning
Violent crowd
Voices rising
From the
Shore
You can
Find a new
Voice to
Make their
Sound
Echo
Down
Or you can
Find a way
To make something
Make something more
Sometimes
When
You sleep
You
Think
The world
Isn't
A
Dream
Until
You
See
That's
What
You
Were
Dreaming
Of
And the
Weathered
Shape
Of the
Suffering
Seems
To be
A
Fight
For the
Worst
Better
Meaning
Of
And all
Hold yourself up
And all
Bring your soul
Around
And all
Drink from
The cup
And all
Fall
Down
All
Fall
Down
And all
Hold yourself up
And all
Bring your soul
Around
And all
Drink from
The cup
And all
Fall
Down
All
Fall
Down
All
Fall
Down
All
Fall
Down
The lyrics of the song All Fall Down by Alan J. Lipman depict chaos and madness in various forms. The first verse features an image of a chaotic butterfly in a hospital hallway, while the second verse shows stuttering aides stumbling out in the Capitol hallway. The song talks about a steaming scream of madness that is too close for comfort, almost causing a traffic jam. A man stumbles across the street as his mother holds his hand, and all fall down.
The song then shifts focus to the rise and fall of castles by the seaside, and how omnipotent streams babble on with burning lust. The baffled stand by, as someone makes hay with others' lives. Steeled hearts turn into rust as the suffering becomes a fight for the worst, better meaning of life. The song concludes on a hopeful note, as it talks about finding a new voice or making something more, and reminds us to hold ourselves up, bring our souls around, drink from the cup, and fall down.
Line by Line Meaning
Chaotic butterfly
The situation is unpredictable and constantly changing, like the flight pattern of a butterfly.
In the hospital hallway
The location of the chaos.
Where the drone dropped through
A cause of the chaos, possibly related to violence or war.
An amazing light
Some sort of extraordinary event or situation.
Stutter steps
Uncertainty and hesitation.
In the Capitol hallway
The location of more chaos.
As the aides
Referring to the staff of the government.
Stumble out
They cannot handle the situation and are struggling.
Into the night
The chaos extends into the dark, unknown future.
Beltway stream
Metaphor for the circular, never-ending cycle of government.
A steaming scream
A powerful and upsetting manifestation of chaos.
Of madness
The cause of the chaos is insanity.
Comes too close
The chaos nears the singer, putting them in a dangerous position.
To a
Leading up to a situation that is particularly concerning.
Traffic jam
A metaphor for societal gridlock and disarray.
As he
The artist, now directly involved in the chaos.
Stumbles cross the street
Navigating through the chaos is difficult and confusing.
At the light
The action is taking place during a specific moment or event.
Mothers
Women who are caring for others.
Holding
Providing comfort and support.
His hand
Directly aiding the artist in the chaos.
And all
Everyone involved.
Hold yourself up
Retain your strength and composure during this trying time.
Bring your soul
Stay true to yourself and your principles.
Around
Encompassing those around you, providing support.
Drink from
Take in the nurturing aspects of life.
The cup
A metaphor for life.
Fall
Experience a loss of control.
Down
Pertains to the descent in status or position.
Castles
Buildings of great importance and prominence.
Rise
Gain in importance or prominence.
And fall
Experience a decline in importance or prominence.
By the
In the vicinity of.
Seaside
Referring to the environment in which this phenomenon occurs.
As
During the time period in which the following occurs.
Omnipotent
All-powerful.
Streams
Referring to bodies of water.
Babble on
Continuously speak incoherently.
With burning
Representing the ferocity of the current situation.
Lust
Intense or uncontrolled desire.
And the
Others witnessing the situation.
Baffled
Confused, unable to understand the situation.
Stand by
Watching without acting or intervening.
While
Despite the following.
He's
The person likely causing the chaos.
Making
Being productive.
Hay
Presenting false hope or empty promises.
With
Using the lives of others to accomplish one's own goals.
Others
The victims or people being exploited in this situation.
Lives
The existence and well-being of those being used for someone else's benefit.
And
In addition to what was said before.
Once
At an earlier point in time.
Steeled
Strengthened or hardened.
Hearts
The emotional and moral center of a person.
Are
Became.
Turning
Changing.
Into
Transforming into.
Rust
A deteriorated state, conveying loss of value or integrity.
Turn around
Look back.
Look
Observe.
At the
Directing attention to the following.
Sky
The space above the ground.
I
The singer.
Saw
The act of seeing something.
It
What was previously referred to in the sentence before.
A
Indicating the following word is a singular item.
Flame
A burning piece of material.
That lit
This flame created light.
The night
The darkness of the surrounding environment.
For
On behalf of.
Another
Different than the singer or any previously mentioned subject.
Day
A period of 24 hours.
There are
A statement of the existence of something.
Ways
Methods or manners in which something can occur.
To get
To arrive or accomplish.
To
Leading up to the following.
The
Referring to a singular, specific object.
Very
Emphasizing the degree to which it is important.
Core
The center of something.
Of
A preposition indicating the following.
It
Referring back to previously mentioned subject.
Then watch it all
Observe everything that follows.
Just fall out
Disintegrate and crumble away.
And sail away
Drift off into nothingness.
Select
Choose.
Your
Belonging to the following individual.
Sight
The act of seeing something.
There's a
A statement of something's existence or prevalence.
New day
Referring to the beginning of a new period of time.
Dawning
The act of something beginning or becoming apparent.
Violent crowd
A group of people lashing out at their surroundings.
Voices rising
Becoming louder and more angry.
From the
Originating from the following.
Shore
The area of land near the water.
You can
There is a possibility of the following.
Find a new
Discover a different way to.
Voice to
A method of putting forward an idea.
Make their
The statement pertains to someone else.
Sound
A series of words conveying an idea.
Echo
The sound is carried and repeated.
Down
In a downwards direction.
Or you can
The alternative action.
Find a way
Discover a way to.
To make something
Take an idea and turn it into something tangible.
Make something more
Improve upon what already exists.
Sometimes
Occasionally or at certain times.
When
During the following situation.
You sleep
The non-wakeful state of the individual being addressed.
You
The individual being addressed.
Think
Mentally consider or ponder.
The world
The reality in which we live.
Isn't
Denoting something that is not true.
A
The following word pertains to the object being discussed.
Dream
A state of being in which vivid visions and sensations occur.
Until
The time period that the following event took place.
You
The individual being referred to.
See
The act of observing.
That's
That is.
What
Referring to the subject being discussed previously.
You
The individual currently being addressed.
Were
Describes a past occurrence pertaining to the person being addressed.
Dreaming
Experiencing the state of dreaming.
Of
The object that was perceived during the dream.
And the
The following event is affecting more than just the artist.
Weathered
A state of being worn down or damaged from long-term exposure.
Shape
The physical and visual appearance of an object.
Of the
Referring to the previously discussed subject.
Suffering
Causing pain or distress in the lives of those being referred to.
Seems
Appears to be or gives the impression of.
To be
The actual state of the previously discussed subject.
A
Referring to a singular subject.
Fight
A struggle, often with negative emotions or circumstances.
For the
Attempting to obtain or preserve the following.
Worst
The most negative and harmful.
Better
Improvement over the previously experienced situation.
Meaning
The value and significance of life.
All
Everyone.
Fall
Experience a loss of control.
Down
Pertains to the descent in status or position.
Contributed by Jason K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.