Hurricane Edward

(taped narrative):
Awake at 5am
Mr Hughes was right in retrospect
He knew the climate
I was a farm hand in Ross County
Then he came
The Hurricane (1)

(MES):
This cleanliness won't take your brass
Mr. Hughes was right in retrospect (2)
He knew this climate
I'm not an ordinary guy,
Am I?
I held yellow thick ropes
So died before him (3)
I was a farm hand
Then came
Hurricane
Then came
Hurricane
Asleep at twelve thirty
In cosy cots
I get up early
I plough the land
Then came
Hurricane
My ears are rushed
My ears are rushed
There are characters in my brain
Hurricane rushed
Come at will
(jeers)

(Tommy):
I was always awake from 5 am
Mr Hughes was right in retrospect
He knew this climate
Ross County town
Bank is closed
Then come
Hurricane

1. This sounds like a recording from a movie or television program, but it's apparently just a part of the lyrics. According to Julia Nagle, the narrator at the beginning and end of the song is Seb Lewsley, a sound tech at West Heath Studios. According to The Story of the Fall, "It starts with a clip from a TV/radio show or something delivered by 'a farm hand in Ross County.'" But there's no evidence that Lewsley's narration is based on a TV or radio show and, unless it is from something so obscure as to leave no traces on the internet, this can be dismissed. 

There is a Ross County in Ohio and one in Scotland (County of Ross or Ross-shire); the latter is probably intended, or at least Lewsley's accent seems, to my untrained ear, more likely to be Scotch than Midwestern. 

Reformation speculates that the lyrics have something to do with Crooks' band Farmhand Organisation (possibly "Organization"), but no reason is given and I'm not sure why this would be the case. Note that the tinfoil-masked (or -headed?) individual on the cover seems to be a recurring character from guitarist Tommy Crooks's art called "The Farmhand" (thanks to Antoine).

The track "Interferance" [sic] is largely put together from a tape of this song.

Zack reminds us that MES's middle name is "Edward." The name doesn't appear in the lyrics.

Martin points out that in 1996, a Hurricane called "Edouard" began in Africa in mid-August and crossed the Atlantic, grazing New England in early September.

"4 1/2 Inch," also on Levitate, makes reference to a "depressive gale." From a NASA web site: "A tropical depression forms when a low pressure area is accompanied by thunderstorms that produce a circular wind flow with maximum sustained winds below 39 mph. An upgrade to a tropical storm occurs when cyclonic circulation becomes more organized and maximum sustained winds gust between 39 mph and 73 mph."

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2. According to the Lyrics Parade, it is "Mr. Greaves" who was right in this verse, but MES very clearly says "Mr. Hughes" here, and there is no Greaves mentioned on the recording. 

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3. "Him" is probably the aforementioned Hughes, whose acuity availed him nought. The narrator was presumably trying to secure something on the farm, and narrates the song from beyond the grave.

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Hurricane Edward: Fall Tracks A-Z

The Story of the Fall: 1997