Lyrics
I took a walk down West Eleven
I had to wade through five hundred European punks
In an off-licence I rubbed up with some oiks
Who threw some change on the Asian counter
And asked polite if that covered two lagers
A hospital discharge asked me where he could crash
Have you been to the English deer park?
It's a large type artist ranch
This is where C Wilson wrote Ritual in the Dark 1
Have you been to the English deer park?
Spare a thought for the sleeping promo dept
They haven't had an idea in two years
Dollars and Deutschmarks keep the company on its feet
Say have you ever have a chance to meet
Fat Captain Beefheart imitators with zits?
Who is the King Shag Corpse?
Have you been to the English deer park?
It's a large type minstrel ranch
This is where C Wilson wrote Ritual in the Dark
Have you been to the English deer park?
The young blackies get screwed up the worst
They've gone over to the Hampstead house suss
In the English system they implicitly trust
See the A&R civil servants
They get a sex thrill out of a sixteenth of Moroccan
They get a sex thrill out of a sixteenth of Moroccan
Have you been to the English deer park?
It's a large type artist ranch
This is where C Wilson wrote Ritual in the Dark
Have you been to the English deer park?
Yes, dear chap, it hasn't changed that much
It's still a subculture art dealer jerk-off
Yes, dear chap, it hasn't changed that much
It's still a subculture art dealer jerk-off
Have you been to the English deer park?
It's a large type minstrel ranch
This is where C Wilson wrote Ritual in the Dark
Have you been to the English deer park?
Have you been to the English deer park?
It's a large type minstrel ranch
This is where loads of punks congregate in the dark
Have you been to the English deer park?
Have you been to the English deer park?
It's a large type minstrel ranch
This is where C Wilson wrote Ritual in the Dark
Have you been to the English deer park?
Hey tourist, it wasn't quite like what you thought
Hey Manchester group what wasn't what you thought
Hey Scottish group that wasn't quite like what you thought
Hey Manchester group that wasn't what you thought
Hey Scottish group that wasn't quite like what you thought
Quite like what you thought
Hey Midlands, scooped yer, how d'you ever get the job?
Hey Manchester group from it wasn't quite like what you thought
Quite like what you thought
Guess what
Guess guess guess guess guess guess guess guess
Guess guess guess guess guess guess guess guess
Guess what
Commentary
< Post in progress >
Footnotes
- The reference is to Colin Wilson, whose debut novel was Ritual in the Dark (first published in 1960). ↩︎
Sources / Links
- The Annotated Fall: “Deer Park” [Archived]
- Ford, Simon (2003). Hip Priest: the story of Mark E Smith and The Fall. London: Quartet Books.
- Mackay, Tommy (2018). 40 Odd Years of The Fall. Place of publication unknown: Greg Moodie.
- Pringle, Steve (2022). You Must Get Them All: The Fall on Record. [paperback edition]. Pontefract: Route Publishing Ltd. [Online store]
- Smith, Mark E. (1985). The Fall Lyrik & Texte Von Mark E. Smith. In Deutsch & Englisch. With Drawings by Brix. Berlin: The Lough Press. [AKA The Orange Book. Available online in The Internet Archive]
- Smith, Mark E. (2008). vII. The Lough Press & AMarquisManipulationProductions. [AKA the Blue Lyrics Book]
- Smith Start, Brix (2016). The Rise, The Fall, and The Rise. London: Faber & Faber. [Text available online in archive.org]
- The Track Record: “Deer Park”
- Wolstencroft, Simon (2014). You Can Drum But You Can’t Hide: a memoir. Trowbridge: Strata Books. (2nd edition published by Route Publishing, 2017).
Views: 10