4 1/2 Inch (with Inch)
Lyrics
The house is falling in (clou-)
Shove over
Nine to ten
(Cloud coverage)
(Cloud coverage)
The house is falling in
Ecstatic midges (2)
(Cloud coverage) (For-)
Cloud coverage (Forwards) (Force ten)
Depressive gale (Cloud)
Uh-Force ten
Depressive gale (3)
Times two
Uh-Force ten (quick) The house is falling in
(Force ten) The house is falling in-
Ecstatic midges
Cloud coverage (house is) (cloud coverage) (House is falling in)
Force ten
Ecstatic Midges (House is falling in) (cloud coverage) (is falling in)
The house is falling in (nation of)
Ecstatic midges (house is falling)
(Cloud coverage)
The house is falling in (The house is falling in) (Force ten)
Force ten
(You're on--) Ecstatic midges (Force ten)
Ecstatic midges (force ten)
Shove over!
Nation of (Shove over!)
Nosy
Idle (Shove over!)
Gossips (4)
Nine to ten
Inch
Nine to ten
Inch
(Cloud coverage)
The house is falling in (cloud cov-) (Force)
(Two) (-ch) (force)
(Cloud coverage) (force)
Times two
Ecstatic (house) [Feel so low]
Ecstatic midges (force ten)
[Feel so low]
Ecstati-
Ecstatic midges (Times two)
(you're) Force ten
(????War in quotes????)
(Ecstatic)
Nine to Ten
Nine to Ten
(cloud coverage) (Feel so low) (Inch)
(it seems too low)
(cloud coverage)
(Looks like) [I feel so low]
Times two
Ecstatic (cloud coverage)
Nine to ten
Nine to ten [Feel so low]
Inch [I feel so low]
Force ten
Depressive gale
[clou-] Sh-Shove over
[clou-] Shove over
Nine to ten (Nine to ten)
Nine to ten
Nine to ten (Shove over)
Nine to te- (Idle gossips) (shove over) (garbled)
Ecstatic midges
Nine to ten
Inch (Force ten)
[falsetto -- garbled] Force ten
(Walk to the middle)
Force ten [cloud coverage]
(Walks) (Force)
(Walks straight) {** All garbled and panned at same time}
Port-stead
Port-stead
Southwards
And it's trouble
Force two
[falsetto -- garbled]
[falsetto -- garbled]
Nine to ten
(Shove over) [I feel so] Walks right-
Nosy Idle gossips
[I feel so low]
Walks right
Nine to ten (garbled)
Nine to ten [I feel so low]
Nine to ten (garbled)
(garbled) (garbled) {** All garbled and panned at same time}
Ecstatic midges
Cloud coverage
Ecstatic midges
Nation of nosy idle gossips
[???And it's blocked like of Krautrock???] **In megaphone-like voice**
Shove over [Cloud coverage] (force ten)
Cloud coverage (House falling in)
Force ten (Ecstatic) (garbled)
Nine to ten (Ecstatic Midges) (House)
Inch (House is)
Southwards
Force ten [Quick hou-]
A nation [I feel so]
A nation
Idle gossips
Force ten
Ecstatic midges (house is falling in)
Force ten
A nation (Shove over)
A nation
Idle gossips
INCH (5)
MES: But, yeah, it's gotta go down, y'know... y'know the music's gotta go fuckin' down-uh
Keir Stewart: Yeah
MES: What you best... what best getting him to do, Kier...
KS: Yeah
MES: ...is getting him to fuckin' sit at a table and fuckin' play the fuckin' drumbeat
KS: Yeah
MES: Y'know... y'know, just like (drum noises)
KS: Yeah
MES: Y'know what I mean? Deh deh deh deh... deh deh deh deh... (6)
Force 10
Southwards
Depressive gale
Looks like a criminal
Clothes sketchy
Cloud coverage
Force 10
The house is falling in
Forces of business
(...)
Southwards
Science, sex and sexism
Shame house blasted
Force 10
The house is falling apart
Southwards and blasted
Force 10 gale
Below soft mental measures
Now equals one
Where do you get an answer
Four and a half to nine to ten inch
(...) freshism
Sickness is a right
A nation of nosy idle gossips
Inch
Times two
Looks like a criminal
Inch
Inch
Inch
Landing complete
Observation
Ecstatic midges
Somebody about
Cloud coverage
Separate
(...)
Nine to ten inch
Force ten is landing (6)
And everything is standing
They won't be coming back again
And now it's made an exit
I know it was a misprint
But look what's happening now
Notes
1. According to Simon Ford's Hip Priest, the song got its name "because it half-reminded Smith of industrial rockers, Nine-Inch Nails" (252). An earlier version is simply called "Inch," however. This is a tough one as far as the lyrics go, because the vocals are layered (it is my understanding that the version from the Lyrics Parade--which I reproduce above--is a transcription by fans rather than something that the band published). As far as interpretation goes, it's even tougher, and probably isn't meant to be explained. Rather, these lyrics are a good example of MES letting the language take over, which is often the goal of Fall lyrics, but this one just jumps right into the deep end and never looks back. The effect at times acheives what passes for poetry in the Fall universe--a pile of verbal imagery that somehow acheives sublimity without being mediated through the discipline of poetry. It's not altogether uncommon for rock lyricists to write like that (in a very general way, of course nobody else could be mistaken for MES) but I think it is not very common for this method to result in such exalted creations as we get in the very best Fall lyrics (I wouldn't put this song in that category, since you asked, but these are formal considerations and I am speaking in generalities). It's hard to imagine a phrase as ridiculous as "ecstatic midges" fitting so comfortably into the canon of a truly great lyricist other than MES, but here we have it, and that's where it fits.
2. I suppose the midges might just be (or look) happy that the house fell over, but there's something about the kinetic and elliptical geometry of a scrum of midges when it accelerates that suggests to me "ecstatic" in the more literal sense of being thrown into a passion, or standing outside of, or besides, oneself. Midges also feature prominently in "Bug Day," trivia fans.
3. On the Beaufort Wind Force Scale, Force Ten is the strongest gale force, "whole gale" (exceeded only by "violent storm" and "hurricane"). But whereas a whole gale has winds ranging between 55 and 63 MPH, a tropical depression ("depressive gale") is much weaker, with winds of 39 MPH or less. So a Force Ten storm is stronger than a depression, which seems to be suggested by "depressice gale." Of course, a storm will pass through the depression category on its way to becoming a Force Ten storm.
Note the song "Hurricane Edward," also on Levitate.
4. Is this raging storm metaphorical? Is he really talking about gossip and idle chatter and nonsense? The "nation of nosy idle gossips" thing kind of comes out of nowhere, but as usual with the Fall it's best not to try to mine any one semantic seam exclusively; it's best to realize that everything is allowed, and if a lyric sets a chain of significance in motion, let it roll, but don't fall in love with it too deeply before the rug is swept out from under it.
"Nosy idle gossips" also appears in the Peel version of "Chilinist" (aka "Chilinism," "Chiselers"--sort of--, etc.).
5. Transcribed by Mark. This is a single version of "4 1/2 Inch" that came out two years later, in 1999, and was billed as "Inch featuring Mark E Smith." Inch is a name which Keir Stewart and Simon Spencer used for their productions. According to Country Folk on the Fall Online Forum:
I believe they took this mix of the song with them and sent a cdr to John Peel who played it and it featured in his Festive 50 that year."
( The 'Inch' single was recorded in the first week of the sessions for
The Fall's new 'Levitate' LP. At this point, Mark inexplicably 'fell out'
with the producers and fired them. Allegedly the producers sent tapes of
'Inch ' to record companies with a covering letter purporting to be from
Mark E Smith, asking them to put it out.)
MES: (After long silence) We came to a compromise.
Loaded: What was that?
MES: I'm not sayin'.
6.This final section is sung to the tune of "Walk Like A Man" (aka "Breaking the Rules").
Comments (27)
2) Do you want a transposition of the "Inch" lyrics?
<begin>
MES: But, yeah, it's gotta go down, y'know... y'know the music's gotta go fuckin' down-uh
Keir Stewart: Yeah
MES: What you best... what best getting him to do, Kier...
KS: Yeah
MES: ...is getting him to fuckin' sit at a table and fuckin' play the fuckin' drumbeat
KS: Yeah
MES: Y'know... y'know, just like (drum noises)
KS: Yeah
MES: Y'know what I mean? Deh deh deh deh... deh deh deh deh... then Steve and Simon come in like (drum noises)
Force 10
Southwards
Depressive gale
Looks like a criminal
Clothes sketchy
Cloud coverage
Force 10
The house is falling in
Forces of business
(...)
Southwards
Science, sex and sexism
Shame house blasted
Force 10
The house is falling apart
Southward (...) blasted
Force 10 gale
Below soft mental measures
Now equals (...)
Where do you get an answer
Four and a half to nine to ten inch
(...) freshism
Sickness is a right
A nation of nosy idle gossips
Inch
Times two
Looks like a criminal
Inch
Inch
Inch
Landing complete
Observation
Ecstatic midges
Somebody about
Cloud coverage
Separate
(...)
Nine to ten inch
(...) is landing
And everything is standing
They won't be coming back again
And now it's made an exit
I know it was a misprint
But look what's happening now
<end>
"Maybe it's not billed as the Fall since, with the expression of Julia Nagle the musicians were no longer in the Fall when it was released? "
Expression / exception
OS: Who exactly are D.O.S.E.? Is it just yourself and Keir Stewart.. and who is Val Hooligan?
SS: D.O.S.E. is me, and Inch is me and Keir, and Val Hooligan is Keir. ( http://thefall.org/news/000912.html )
All of this can be verified by looking at the sleeves of the D.O.S.E. and Inch singles on Discogs: D.O.S.E. is Simon Spencer. Inch is Simon Spencer and Keir Stewart.
(Oddly enough, neither one received any production or performance credits in the CD liner notes for Levitate. The only mention of either is a co-writing credit on "4 1/2 Inch" for one "s spencer".)
And why does MES like moths and midges so much?
It does sound more like "depressive gale" to me, I have "Inch" on, check that one and let me know what you think..