Dead Beat Descendant

Shout!

Here's a dance that is pure hell
Enter at your peril
Take five dead beat steps
Do a stroll
Act like you just got outta jail (1)
You must be repellant
Dance dead beat descendant (2)

Dead beat descendant
Shout!

Come back here
Come back here

Turn left shout and shout come back here
Then hot-tail it right outta there
You are now descendant
You are a now descendant

Dong
Dong
Ching 
Dong

Dead beat descendant
Shout!

Make out your head is in a bell
And you got a man on your trail
And you are descendent, of a vicious criminal

Dead beat descendants
Dong
Clang 
Chink
Dong

Dead beat descendants

1. The lyrics are in the style of the dance craze songs that were popular in the late 50s and early 60s, like "The Twist," "The Loco-Motion," "Mashed Potatoes," "The Stroll," etc. "The Aphid" is another example of MES writing in--and perhaps parodying--this style.  ^

2. The origin of this line was tracked down by damoncreed and reported on the Fall online forum:

"Received an email from [a friend] today as follows: 'The title of The Fall's Dead Beat Descendant is a Flintstones reference. From the "Long, Long, Long Weekend" episode (season 6). After Fred criticizes a novel about the future that Barney is reading, The Great Gazoo sends Fred, Barney, Betty, and Wilma into the 21st Century (Wilma and Betty will remember nothing when getting back). This happens during a four day weekend that Fred and Barney have off from work.'

So the future they go to is very Jetsons-like. Fred's company still exists and the owner looks just like Mr Slate. Fred asks some questions about the old company and it turns out the $4 Fred took as an advance has now ballooned to 23 million dollars owed. The George Slate the 8000th chases them out yelling, 'Come back here, you dead beat's descendent!' [Fred is pretending to be his own descendant]

Thus, Fall history was made."

^

Dead Beat Descendant: Fall Tracks A-Z

The Story of the Fall: 1988