Black Roof

Lyrics

(1)  

Why don't you face up to it (2)
if I was you
I'd have the deck at your rooftop
If I was you (3)

Up from the poles, drug from the hills
Into your present delectation

You simply cannot prove your fog-accenting notions
you cannot prove your ragged affectations
all of you left your pals in desperation
Easter island profile and care from old inwardly chuckling (4)
Chuckling inwardly
if I was you, I would not smile at present situations

If I was you, I'd never
If I was you, dig in the roof top
if I was you, I'd never dig at the root

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Notes

1. This seemingly began its life as "Black Door." Big difference between a roof and a door, but I guess Einstein showed that this sort of thing is all relative, as was confirmed by Sir Arthur Eddington, after Einstein himself was unable to prove his fog-accenting notions...

This was written with Tim Presley and Rob Barbato, formerly of Darker My Love and The Fall (they were the ones who came after the traitors, liars and cunts, if you recall), and the latter two are said to have played all the instruments. Presley's (one man) band is called "White Fence," and "Black Roof" or "Black Door" could be seen as playing on that.

One possible intepretation of what Damo Suzuki is singing on "Halleluwah" is "Searching for my black door..." That's what I hear him saying as often as not, but the lyrics sources online all have either "black dope" or "brother." It is entirely possible he's not saying anything in English at all, or maybe not even in any known language. But it is possible that MES hears it like I do and that inspired the name. Not necessarily likely, mind you, but possible...

Someone told me once that they had asked Holger Czukay and he said it was "black dope." 

Thanks to The BEF for transcribing this. 

^

2. I will gladly face up to it, MES--I have no idea what these lyrics are about. 

^

3. Some important trivia from Martin:

"By the way, as far as I can make out from Dannyno's concordance, MES never uses the 'if I were' variation of the conditional, preferring the slightly more colloquial (but no less correct) 'if I was' construction."

"If I were..." is in the subjunctive, which is not mandatory, according to Martin. I'm no expert but I don't have an objection to "if I was..." either...if I were William Safire, I'd be watching this page intently to determine if the language is evolving...

From Basmikel:

I always figured the black roof to be space, and the narrator an alien warning us not to explore ("dig") it further, or else...

"Up from the brook: Life on Earth began in the sea
Drug (i.e. dragged) from the hills: Urbanization 
'Fog-accenting' notions: could be either religious or scientific. Before I read it here I thought of it as 'fog-ascending' because it reminds me of the old notion of man's place in the universe being between animal and deity, striving upwards."

 

If the Black Roof is space, then when explored it becomes a Black Door (also see Hawkwind's song "Black Corridor," named after Michael Moorcock's novel, perhaps written with his then-wife Hillary Bailey).
 

^

4. There is also a reference to Easter Island in H.O.W. Note the internal rhyme with "island" and "profile and."

 

^

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More Information

Comments (27)

dannyno
  • 1. dannyno | 12/05/2015
"Easter Island profile".

The second reference to Easter island in the Fall canon, after H.O.W.
Martin
  • 2. Martin | 02/06/2015
Something makes me unsure about the word "drug".It sounds - and the context of the words before might seem to confirm this - more like a verb - "drugged" maybe, not necessarily in the sense of intoxicated in some way, but a variation of "dragged"? But this is all guesswork, and I'm probably way out.
Martin
  • 3. Martin | 02/06/2015
By the way, as far as I can make out from Dannyno's concordance, MES never uses the "if I were" variation of the conditional, preferring the slightly more colloquial (but no less correct) "if I was" construction.
police truck
  • 4. police truck | 09/06/2015
You simply cannot prove your...
bzfgt
  • 5. bzfgt | 17/07/2015
Thanks, copper, that is better. Is "fog-accenting" right? I have my doubts about it...
Zack
  • 6. Zack | 18/03/2017
It hardly fits with the sentiment of the rest of the lyrics, but I hear "I love you" at 1:29.
bzfgt
  • 7. bzfgt (link) | 23/03/2017
It sounds like "if I love(d?) you," though, which is different. Unless it's "(If) all of you" again.
Basmikel
  • 8. Basmikel | 13/06/2018
I always figured the black roof to be space, and the narrator an alien warning us not to explore ("dig") it further, or else...

Up from the brook: Life on Earth began in the sea
Drug(/dragged) from the hills: Urbanization
"Fog-accenting" notions: could be either religious or scientific. Before I read it here I thought of it as "fog-ascending" because it reminds me of the old notion of man's place in the universe being between animal and deity, striving upwards.

This warning brings R Totale to mind, but I can't remember from where.
bzfgt
  • 9. bzfgt (link) | 15/07/2018
Oh, I really like the idea that the "black roof" is space! And if it becomes a "door," then it's like the "Black Corridor" of Moorcock/Hawkwind fame...

This all also brings to mind the FOFs R. Totale, vaguely...
bzfgt
  • 10. bzfgt (link) | 15/07/2018
This is listed as "Black Door" on my ipod, but Wikipedia has "roof," and my CDs are in a box somewhere...
bzfgt
  • 11. bzfgt (link) | 15/07/2018
It's kind of a mess up there right now.
dannyno
  • 12. dannyno | 18/07/2018
Note #3:

if I were William Safire, I'd be watching this page intently to determine if the language is evolving.


If you were William Safire, you'd have been dead for almost nine years.
bzfgt
  • 13. bzfgt (link) | 22/07/2018
Not if I was W. Safire...I'd had gone on a paleo diet.
junkman
  • 14. junkman | 07/11/2020
I hear "Inwardly chuckling, you're chuckling"
junkman
  • 15. junkman | 07/11/2020
No scratch that, it's "Inwardly chuckling, chuckling inwardly"
dannyno
  • 16. dannyno | 10/12/2020
Tim Presley's band is called "White Fence".

As FOF user Gaspop commented on the FOF on 26 April 2015:


Black Roof, White Fence?


Sounds like it ought to be a phrase or saying, no?

(source: https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/thefall/new-fall-album-sublingual-tablet-t39167-s481.html)
bzfgt
  • 17. bzfgt (link) | 13/02/2021
"I'd never dig in your roof top" is wrong. Sounds like "I'd have the dip at your roof top" but I don't think that's it either. I slowed it down and that's the best I can do. I'm changing it to that because it's phonetically closer but I hope this is temporary.
bzfgt
  • 18. bzfgt (link) | 13/02/2021
Yeah "Black Roof/Door" is probably a play on White Fence, good catch
bzfgt
  • 19. bzfgt (link) | 13/02/2021
It's definitely not "up from the brook," no chance. But I can't get it closer. It's closer to "dug from the poles," but I hesitate to change it to that
bzfgt
  • 20. bzfgt (link) | 13/02/2021
No more like "Dug drug the poles." You know what? I am changing it to that, because as ridiculous as it is it's closer to whatever it is than what we have
bzfgt
  • 21. bzfgt (link) | 13/02/2021
No fuck not changing it to that. What the fuck is it?
bzfgt
  • 22. bzfgt (link) | 13/02/2021
"cannot prove" maybe "can improve"
bzfgt
  • 23. bzfgt (link) | 13/02/2021
I buy junkman's 14 though
Tengard
  • 24. Tengard | 01/05/2021
Some ideas...

"all of you LEFT your pals in desperation"

"If I was you"
''(If) I would not I'' or "(if) I were not I"
''(if) I would not I'd...'' or "(if) I were not I'd..."
''I not you'' or ''I love you''

"Have a dig at the roof now" ('have a' sounds like never)

I'm not hearing "roof top" anywhere.

And the first "dig" at the beginning sounds so much like "deck" to me, probably not though.

Probably all wrong, I love this one though, had it on repeat.
bzfgt
  • 25. bzfgt (link) | 08/05/2021
I slowed it down, sounds like "I'd have the deck at your rooftop" to me too.

"Cannot prove" sounds like "Can't approve" both times.

It's definitely "left."
bzfgt
  • 26. bzfgt (link) | 08/05/2021
The "I would not I" stuff is at the end? Yeah, it's really hard to hear...
bzfgt
  • 27. bzfgt (link) | 08/05/2021
It's possible the last line is "I would have a dig at the root." Definitely "dig" that time, anyway. I think we just have "roof" due to precedent earlier in the song, I'm going to run with "root" for now, sounds like it to me.

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