Fall

Pretending that the way's through the door
I wanna see you falling
A thousand reasons why I lose my hair
I'm not your darling, darling
I wanna see you falling

You tell me that your back's to the wall
I wanna see you falling
The saviour comes and the thief takes a walk
Take a walk
The feedback is on the wall
Your feedback don't taste good at all

You help yourself but it's at my expense
I wanna see you falling
And don't touch my fair love for no-one
I'm not your darling, darling
I wanna see you fall

??????
I'm not your darling, darling
A thousand metres, they've all got his hair
We're not your darlings, darling
The saviour came and the thief took a walk

Lyrics by:
Brown

Music by:
Squire / Brown

Written:
1984

Personnel:
John Squire (lead guitar)
Ian Brown (vocals)
Andy Couzens (rhythm guitar)
Pete Garner (bass)
Alan Wren (drums)

Produced by:
Martin Hannett

Available on:
Garage Flower (2.46)

First live performance:
In 1985

Pseudonyms:
'I Wanna See You Fall', 'The Saviour'

Details:
The influence of the Bible on Ian Brown's songwriting can be first observed as early as 1984, as evidenced by a lyric from this track. "The saviour comes and the thief takes a walk" is an unmistakeable reference to one of two incidents surrounding Jesus's Passion. Jesus promised the thief on the cross that he would be with Him in Paradise. The Passover custom in Jerusalem allowed Pilate, the governor of Judaea, to commute one prisoner's death sentence by popular acclaim; the crowd were offered a choice of whether to have Barabbas ("the thief") or Christ ("the Saviour") released from Roman custody and chose the former:

Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers and the people, and said to them, "You brought me this man as one who was inciting the people to rebellion. I have examined him in your presence and have found no basis for your charges against him. Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us; as you can see, he has done nothing to deserve death. Therefore, I will punish him and then release him."

With one voice they cried out, "Away with this man ! Release Barabbas to us !" (Barabbas had been thrown into prison for an insurrection in the city, and for murder.)

Wanting to release Jesus, Pilate appealed to them again. But they kept shouting, "Crucify him ! Crucify him !"

For the third time he spoke to them: "Why ? What crime has this man committed ? I have found in him no grounds for the death penalty. Therefore I will have him punished and then release him."

But with loud shouts they insistently demanded that he be crucified, and their shouts prevailed. So Pilate decided to grant their demand. He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, the one they asked for, and surrendered Jesus to their will.
(Luke 23: 13 - 25)

From the four Gospel accounts, we learn that the crimes of Barabbas were murder and insurrection (Matthew refers to Barabbas only as a "notorious prisoner" - (Matthew 27:16)), and not stealing. The more favoured interpretation of this lyric relates to Jesus being brought to the cross and the "thief" at his side taking "a walk" in the sense of walking free (effectively) after a life of sin:

Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals - one on his right, the other on his left. Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.
The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, "He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One."
The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar and said, "If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself."
There was a written notice above him, which read: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: "Aren't you the Christ ? Save yourself and us !"
But the other criminal rebuked him. "Don't you fear God," he said, "since you are under the same sentence ? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong."
Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."
Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."
(Luke 23: 32 - 43)

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