Gibbus Gibson

Lyrics

(1)

Talks to
The tattooed militia

He goes: "ssss."
He rolls his eyes.

Gibbus Gibson strikes again
Gibbus Gibson strikes again
Gibbus Gibson strikes again

His sputum...
Makes his appointment
For his neck prescription
For his ointment

Gibbus Gibbon strikes again
Gibbus Gibson strikes again

In the park
He buys it
And another
Rolls his eyes
I'm sorry

He covers
(Gibson)
Gibbus Gibbon Strikes again
(Gibson)
Gibbus Gibbon Strikes again

I'm busy
I've been in jail

 

Notes

1. MES uses the word "gibbous" in both "Van Plague" and "Hittite Man." 

In an interview in Vulture from around the time of Re-Mit, he discusses "Hittite Man": 

I like that you use the word gibbous in the song; it’s such a chic way of saying hunchbacked.
Lovecraft made up a lot of words, didn’t he? I might well have gotten that from him.

Despite what MES says, 1. I am unaware of any words that Lovecraft actually made up, aside from proper names, and 2. "gibbous" is not made up. The primary meaning of "gibbous" is, according to the OED, "Convex, rounded, protuberant," although it is almost always used to refer to the moon when it is midway between halfway full and full (without regard to whether it is waxing or waning). MES himself used the word in this sense in "Van Plague" ("a body's waste 'neath a gibbous moon"), which suggests that he would have known then that the word isn't made up.

Steve confirms that Lovecraft uses the word not once but twice in the story "Dagon."

Dan: "The head of Action Records - a shop and a record label which has done a lot of work with The Fall - is Gordon Gibson. There may be a connection."

^

Comments (23)

Antoine
  • 1. Antoine | 24/08/2017
His sputum misses appointment
Tries make prescription for his ointment =

His sputum misses appointment
For his neck prescription
For his ointment, gibbus gibbon
dannyno
  • 2. dannyno | 30/08/2017
The head of Action Records - a shop and a record label which has done a lot of work with The Fall - is Gordon Gibson. There may be a connection.
bzfgt
  • 3. bzfgt (link) | 28/09/2017
Yes, I believe so, Antoine. Thanks, edited.
Steve
  • 4. Steve | 17/11/2018
Lovecraft uses the word "gibbous" (twice) in the story 'Dagon'.
dannyno
  • 5. dannyno | 18/05/2019
"He goes: "ssss.""

I'm not hearing this "ssss" sound at that point?
dannyno
  • 6. dannyno | 18/05/2019
"I'm busy
I've been in jail"

Not hearing that either. But it does all get difficult at the end there.
bzfgt
  • 7. bzfgt (link) | 07/06/2019
You really don't hear "ssss"? it's pretty loud and clear. It might be "He goesssss" but space or not, it's there.
bzfgt
  • 8. bzfgt (link) | 07/06/2019
I hear something like "I'm busy, I been in jail" starting at 2:18
Rik
  • 9. Rik | 07/06/2019
The opening line does not sound like " seniors"....I'm hearing a partial " insidious" instead of seniors
bzfgt
  • 10. bzfgt (link) | 07/06/2019
You mean Venice With the Girls?
Rik
  • 11. Rik | 10/06/2019
Yes... sorry will add comment over there
joincey
  • 12. joincey | 23/10/2019
it's DEFINITELY 'NECK prescription'
bzfgt
  • 13. bzfgt (link) | 09/11/2019
Of this I am now convinced also
Fritz Maitland
  • 14. Fritz Maitland | 24/09/2020
Mr Smith mentioning H P Lovecraft makingup a lot of words probably refers to the names of The Elder gods such as Cthulu or Nyarlathotep. There are many more
bzfgt
  • 15. bzfgt (link) | 27/09/2020
True he doesn't directly say HPL made that one up, although it seems to be implied, doesn't it?
dannyno
  • 16. dannyno | 04/10/2020
I don't think by "words" MES means names of fictional gods. I think he means words. He just happens to be wrong, in that Lovecraft didn't in fact make up lots of words, and certainly he didn't make up the word "gibbous".

As I point out in comment #3 on the Hittite Man page, Lovecraft gets the earliest citations for the words "meep" and "vigintillion" in the Oxford English Dictionary, but otherwise his usages like "gibbous" are just kind of obscure or archaic. Mind you, getting a couple of coinages in the OED is better than most post people manage (assuming earliest citations indicate a coinage, which may not be the case, but still).
bzfgt
  • 17. bzfgt (link) | 16/01/2021
Hmm, he does not seem to have coined "vigintillion":

https://www.worldwidewords.org/weirdwords/ww-vin2.htm#:~:text=It's%20rather%20rare%20but%20vigintillion,its%20meaning%20has%20been%20disputed.&text=It%20was%20one%20of%20Pike's,may%20be%20continued%20without%20end.
bzfgt
  • 18. bzfgt (link) | 16/01/2021
bzfgt
  • 19. bzfgt (link) | 16/01/2021
What the hell, why doesn't that work? If you copy the first one it works
dannyno
  • 20. dannyno | 09/07/2023
On the Fall Online Forum, user CapedHector has pointed out that a bus in the opening sequence of the dreadful 1973 comedy movie Holiday on the Buses, features the legend, "Gibbus Gib-". It's evidently not "Gibson", but still.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071613/mediaviewer/rm2753691393/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/F0lRVWQX0AAi2pH?format=webp&name=900x900
dannyno
  • 21. dannyno | 09/07/2023
The opening sequence:

dannyno
  • 22. dannyno | 09/07/2023
So the advert turns out to be for Gibbus Gibbs pale ale:

https://www.priory-antiques.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/CASTELLA_5.jpg
Thop
  • 23. Thop | 24/01/2024
'Yours sincerely, mister Reg Varney.'
- From the MES Guide to Writing Guide, quoted via cassette playback during 'Garden'.

If there's a connection, it would seem more likely to come from the pale ale than Holiday on the Buses (just not really imagining MES as much of an On the Buses type), but just to note here the established Fall connection to 'On the Buses'.

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