Lyrics
A plate steel object was fired
And I did not feel for my compatriots
Hated even the core of myself
Not a matter of ill health
It was fear of weakness deep in core of myself
The facts attainment was out of ...
Mountain orations 1
[ ] populations
To be humbled in Iceland
Sing of legend, sing of destruction
Witness the last of the god-men
Hear about Megas Jonsson
Cast the runes against your own soul 2
There is not much more time to go
Work fifteen hours for the good of the soul
And be humbled in Iceland
Sit in the gold room 3
Fall down flat in the cafe aisle 4
Without a glance from the clientele
Good coffee black as well
Hair blond as hell
Cast the runes against your own soul
Roll up for the underpants show
And be humbled in Iceland
And the spawn of the volcano 5
Is thick and impatient
Like the people around it
See a green goblin redhead, redhead
Make a grab for the book of prayers
Do anything for a bit of attention
Get humbled in Iceland
What the goddamn fuck is it?
That played the pipes of aluminium 6
A Memorex for the krakens
That induces this rough text
And casts the runes against the self soul
And humbles in Iceland
Commentary
< Post in progress >
Footnotes
- This line is heard to hear, and is often rendered “mounting orations”. I think it’s “mountain orations”, given this is Iceland we’re talking about. ↩︎
- “Casting The Runes” is a short story by M.R. James, first published in 1911 and widely anthologised since. It formed the basis of the film Night of the Demon (dir. Jacques Tourneur, 1957) and has also been twice adapted for British television.
The first TV adaptation was for the anthology series Mystery and Imagination (series 3, episode 1; first broadcast 22 March 1968. See Wikipedia). Mystery and Imagination was produced by ABC Weekend Television. Note that ABC had the ITV network franchise for weekend television in the midlands and Northern England from 1956 to 1968. Although it was first broadcast in some ITV regions on 22 March, that was a Friday; it was shown in the Greater Manchester area on Saturday 23 March. Most of the episode has been lost, mainly due to poor programme archiving practices at the time. The second was for the anthology series Playhouse (series 11, episode 9; first broadcast 24 April 1979, including on Granada. See Wikipedia). Playhouse was produced by Yorkshire Television for ITV.
There have also been several radio adaptations, the most salient of which in relation to The Fall is probably BBC Radio 4’s version, written by Gregory Evans and first broadcast in the “Afternoon Theatre” slot on 2 January 1981. It is possibly significant that it was retitled “The Hex”. It can currently be heard on YouTube (posted by Magpie Mysterious, 30 August 2025).
But having said all of that, I’m not seeing anything obvious in the lyrics that might have been inspired by James’ story. ↩︎ - This could be a reference to the ‘Gyllti Salurinn’ (golden hall, or gold room) of Reykjavik’s art deco Hótel Borg. ↩︎
- cafe aisle rather than Cafe Iol. ↩︎
- That would be lava, then. ↩︎
- “Pipes of aluminium” also crop up in “Masquerade“. ↩︎
Sources / Links
- The Annotated Fall: “Iceland” [Archived]
- Árnason, Jón (1864). Icelandic Legends. Translated by George E. J. Powell and Eiríkr Magnússon. London: Richard Bentley. [Available online in The Internet Archive]
- Ford, Simon (2003). Hip Priest: the story of Mark E Smith and The Fall. London: Quartet Books.
- James, M.R. (1911). “Casting the Runes.” reprinted in The Penguin Complete Ghost Stories of M.R. James. London: Penguin, 1984. pp.138-155. [Anthology first published by Edward Arnold, 1931]
- 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]
- Simpson, Jacqueline (1972). Icelandic Folktales and Legends. Berkeley/Los Angeles: University of California Press. [Available online in The Internet Archive]
- 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]
- The Track Record: “Iceland”
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