Breaking the Rules

(1)

I was tryin' to break the rules
Life is a dream So it seems

Flash your picture in a magazine
Look who's passin' In a limousine Look who's a fallin' star

An ancient story An innocent fool He broke his mind tryin' to break the rules
I waste my time tryin' to b-b-b-b-break the rule

Build up the wall Knock it down again I don't wanna talk about it now

The central issue Overall limit I spend it in the town

I broke my mind Tryin' to break the rules
I broke my mind tryin' to break the rules

(?) Red red lips On a cappuccino dress Feasting on dead duck
Same old story Pay alimony We spent your share and give us ours

 I paid my life tryin' to break the rules

 I broke my life tryin' to break the rules

1. This began its life as a cover of, of all things, "Walk Like a Man," the 1963 #1 hit by the Four Seasons. This worked about as well as one would expect--the song was a half-baked mess with, at best, some novelty appeal, although probably a bit less of that than Divine's 1985 rendition has. The Fall kept at it, however, playing "Walk Like a Man" 23 times in 2003 and 2004. After resting the song for over a year, it reemerged in late 2005 on Fall Heads Roll with new lyrics and a different chorus; aside from these changes, it is still recognizably "Walk Like a Man." The lyrics, it turns out, are by Bec Walker, who was 17 at the time and recording in the same studio. 

"Breaking the Rules" as such was played live only once, the day after FHR was released, and then sent out to pasture. Nevertheless, it is a fine enough little number, and it probably deserved a few more airings before it went the way of all Fall flesh. Having said that, the band at the time, which is at times very capable on FHR, sounds a bit flatfooted on this one. On the album, the song is credited to "Walker," which is the only clue given as to its provenance. The lyrics to the Four Seasons original:

oo woo-oo-oo oo woo-oo-oo (Wop wop wop wop) oo woo-oo-oo oo woo-oo-ooWalk like a man
Oh how you tried To cut me down to size by telling dirty lies to my friends But my own father Said give her up, don't bother The world isn't coming to an end
He said walk like a man Talk like a man Walk like a man my son No woman's worth Crawling on the earth So walk like a man my son
oo woo-oo-oo oo woo-oo-oo (Wop wop wop wop) oo woo-oo-oo oo woo-oo-oo
Fine-eyed baby I don't mean maybe We're gonna get along somehow Soon you'll be crying On 'count of all you're lying Oh yeah, just look who's laughing now
I'm gonna walk like a man Fast as I can Walk like a man from you I'll tell the world Forget about it girl And walk like a man from you
oo woo-oo-oo oo woo-oo-oo (Wop wop wop wop) oo woo-oo-oo oo woo-oo-oo (Wop wop wop wop) oo woo-oo-oo oo woo-oo-oo (Wop wop wop wop) oo woo-oo-oo oo woo-oo-oo

^

Breaking the Rules: Fall Tracks A-Z