Fall on Me

Fall on Me

Infobox Single
Name = Fall On Me


Caption =
Artist = R.E.M.
from Album = Lifes Rich Pageant
A-side =
B-side =
Released = August 1986
Format = 7" Vinyl
Recorded = 1986
Genre = College rock
Length = 2:50
Label = I.R.S. Records
Writer =
Producer = Don Gehman
Certification =
Last single = "Wendell Gee" (1985)
This single = "Fall on Me" (1986)
Next single = "Superman" (1986)
Misc = Audiosample
Upper caption = Audio sample
Audio file = R.E.M. Fall On Me 24 second OGG.ogg|title="Fall on Me" |description=Sample of "Fall on Me" from "Lifes Rich Pageant" (1986). | format=Ogg

"Fall On Me" is a song by R.E.M. from their fourth album, 1986's "Lifes Rich Pageant". It was the first of two singles released from that LP. It peaked at #94 on the Billboard Hot 100, but it never charted on the UK Singles Charts.

Though Stipe described the song once as "pretty much a song about oppression," the song is about acid rain and its effects on the environment, hence the first line of the chorus, "Don't fall on me." Black, Johnny (2004). "Reveal: The Story of R.E.M." Backbeat Books. ISBN 0-87930-776-5.]

In audience patter prior to a performance of the song on VH1 "Storytellers" in 1998, Stipe mentioned the apocryphal tale of Galileo Galilei dropping feathers and lead weights off the Leaning Tower of Pisa (to test the laws of gravity) as partial inspiration for the first verse:

“I was reading an article in Boston when I was on tour with the Golden Palominos, and Chris Stamey showed me this article about this guy that did an experiment from the Leaning Tower of Pisa, whereby he dropped a pound of feathers and a pound of iron to prove that there was... a difference in the... ["struggling"] ... density. What did he prove? I don’t even know. ["A man shouts out from the audience"] "What?" asked Stipe. "They fall just as fast," repeated the disembodied voice. “They fall just as fast," echoed Stipe. "Thank you very much. Gentleman on the balcony there! And so there it is... and uhhh. ["Officially lost for words, cue laughter"] I’ll just shut up and sing it.”

The song was accompanied by a different melody when it started life in 1985, but it had been entirely rewritten by the time of its recording. The counter-melody in the second verse is actually the song's original tune. Black, Johnny (2004). "Reveal: The Story of R.E.M." Backbeat Books. ISBN 0-87930-776-5.]

The song is something of a duet between Stipe and Mike Mills, with the two of them sharing vocals prominently during the bridge and chorus. Mills takes lead vocals for the bridge.

The B-side to this single is an instrumental entitled "Rotary Ten", a song which has been described by guitarist Peter Buck as "a movie theme without a movie." It would gain a sequel of sorts, "Rotary Eleven," for the "Losing My Religion" single in 1991.

Stipe directed the video for this song, in which lyrics flash over the screen, superimposed over upside-down black and white footage of a quarry filmed by Stipe himself. Take note of a spelling error: the word "foresight" is misspelled "forsight."

Track listing

All songs written by Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Michael Stipe unless otherwise indicated.

# "Fall on Me" - 2:50
# "Rotary Ten" - 1:58

UK 12"

# "Fall on Me" - 2:50
# "Rotary Ten" - 1:58
# "Toys in the Attic" (Aerosmith cover, written by Steven Tyler & Joe Perry) - 2:26

Charts

Cover versions

The folk supergroup, Cry Cry Cry (Dar Williams, Richard Shindell, and Lucy Kaplansky) used "Fall on Me" as the opening track for their eponymous album of cover songs.

References


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  • Fall — (f[add]l), v. i. [imp. {Fell} (f[e^]l); p. p. {Fallen} (f[add]l n); p. pr. & vb. n. {Falling}.] [AS. feallan; akin to D. vallen, OS. & OHG. fallan, G. fallen, Icel. Falla, Sw. falla, Dan. falde, Lith. pulti, L. fallere to deceive, Gr. sfa llein… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • fall — [fôl] vi. fell, fallen, falling [ME fallen < OE feallan, to fall, akin to Ger fallen < IE base * phol , to fall > Lith púolu, to fall] I to come down by the force of gravity; drop; descend 1. to come down because detached, pushed,… …   English World dictionary

  • Fall — bezeichnet: Absturz (Unfall), ein Sturz aus gewisser Höhe Freier Fall, die durch Gravitation bewirkte Bewegung eines Körpers Fall (Tau), in der Seemannssprache eine Leine zum Hochziehen und Herablassen von Segeln, Ruderblättern oder Schwertern… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • fall — ► VERB (past fell; past part. fallen) 1) move rapidly and without control from a higher to a lower level. 2) collapse to the ground. 3) (fall off) become detached and drop to the ground. 4) hang down. 5) (of someone s f …   English terms dictionary

  • Fall — Fall, n. 1. The act of falling; a dropping or descending be the force of gravity; descent; as, a fall from a horse, or from the yard of ship. [1913 Webster] 2. The act of dropping or tumbling from an erect posture; as, he was walking on ice, and… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Fall [1] — Fall, 1) die Bewegung, in welcher alle Körper von geringerer Masse, in Folge der Anziehungskraft der Massen gegen den Mittelpunkt größerer Körper, mit einer der größeren Masse letzterer proportionirten Schnelligkeit getrieben werden, in so fern… …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Fall — Fall, v. t. 1. To let fall; to drop. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] For every tear he falls, a Trojan bleeds. Shak. [1913 Webster] 2. To sink; to depress; as, to fall the voice. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] 3. To diminish; to lessen or lower. [Obs.] [1913… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Fall — Fall, I Will Follow Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Fall, I Will Follow Álbum de Lacrimas Profundere Publicación 2002 Género(s) Gothic Rock …   Wikipedia Español

  • fall — fall, drop, sink, slump, subside are comparable when they mean to go or to let go downward freely. They are seldom close synonyms, however, because of various specific and essential implications that tend to separate and distinguish them. Fall,… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • fall — fall·er; prat·fall; re·fall; crest·fall·en·ly; crest·fall·en·ness; pratt·fall; …   English syllables

  • fall — [n1] descent; lowering abatement, belly flop*, cut, decline, declivity, decrease, diminution, dip, dive, downgrade, downward slope, drop, dwindling, ebb, falling off, header*, incline, lapse, lessening, nose dive*, plummet, plunge, pratfall*,… …   New thesaurus

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