Paranoid man in mid- thirties At the height of paranoia At the zenith of his powers By bed replica shooter Zenith dissolving By his bed replica shooter
Paranoid man in his early thirties, at the zenith of his powers
When girls pass, puts head down, in the street His neighbours now are listening to this Shakes in the chemist's while buying his vits Puts his head down when girls pass Puts his head down when girls pass in the street
Shakes in the chemist Paranoid man in his late thirties Thirty-two, forty-five It reaches its summit Male, mid- thirties, white, paranoia
Goes down to the dance Goes down to the dance Going down fast Goes down to the dance Going down fast Goes down to the dance Going down fast Goes down to the dance Going down fast
No heebies, creepies, or hallucinogenics It's the height of paranoia Male, white, mid- to late thirties Serial number five four one two nine Going down fast Goes down to the dance Going down fast Serial number five one two nine Leather jacket, baggy black pants
Going down to the dance Very clever
Mid- thirties paranoia man Not as good as it was at 2:30 this afternoon Nostalgia, Spangles Late, mid- thirties
Paranoia man going down to the dance Going down to the dance And drooped mental inertia Mid- thirties man in the grip of paranoia Just like I told you Prefers karaoka Cheap shit half dollar man The Sky calendar, bar, home, speculates
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Footnotes
Sources / Links
The Annotated Fall: “Paranoia Man in Cheap Sh*t Room” [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]
