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The Annotated Lyrics
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- Extricate
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- Levitate
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- Are You Are Missing Winner
- The Real New Fall LP (Formerly Country on the Click)
- Fall Heads Roll
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- Imperial Wax Solvent
- Your Future Our Clutter
- Ersatz G.B.
- Re-Mit
- The Remainderer
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- Wise Ol' Man
- New Facts Emerge
- 2014
- O! ZZTRRK Man
- New Facts Emerge
- Segue
- Ponto
- Smith and Mark
- Afternoon Disco
- Reece Stick
- Home /
- The Annotated Lyrics /
- Session Musician
Session Musician
Lyrics
The singer thinks
"One day I'll be recognized
For the great prophet
That I am"
The band think
One day they'll be seen
As the geniuses they am
One day they'll get complacent
And forget something else
Leave the press and stick to equipment
Become a session musician
The band are all wino sperm (2)
And live well while they can
One day they'll turn around
And say they've been screwed by publishing
And go back to the family
And be their own man
And leave the press and stick to equipment
Become a session musician
A session musician
A session musician
A session musician
A session musician
Uhhhh ahhhhh
The people want what they know
The people want what they know
He'll vent his anger on the wolverines (3)
Say they never gave him a chance
And get a fee every night
Get a fee every night
And he'll blame his anger on the wolverines
Say he was ripped off by publishing
And he'll wish he did his own songs
And not cover versions of the Velvet Underground
And he'll [?] for the future
A session musician
A session musician
A session musician
A session musician
A good hope would be for him
A trip to Abu Dhabi
Pop music for arab geeks
Pop music for arab geeks
The people want what they know
The people want what they know
But it's not that much different
It's just ten years out of synch
All new bands just pretend to think
They're still into equipment
And session musician
They'll be session musicians
A session musician
A session musician
A session musician
A session musician
A session...
The people want what they know
The people want what they know
The people want what they know
The people want what they know
They want a kilt-ah
They want some old tartan
They want a video each
They want
I know it's pretty maudlin
I know it's pretty maudlin
I know it's miserable and maudlin
But if you want a session musician
You better hand your money over soon
A session musician
A session musician
A session musician
A session musician
Jingles, cabaret, mersey beat
Jingles, cabaret, mersey beat
Jingles, cabaret, mersey beat and doobie (4)
Jingles, cabaret, mersey beat and doobie
Jingles, cabaret, mersey beat
Jingles, cabaret, mersey beat
One day some try to play for anybody
But all they want to talk about
But all they want to talk about
All they'll talk about is equipment
Jingles, cabaret, mersey beat, do me
Synthesizer
Do me
Jingles, cabaret
Synthesizer
Cabaret
Do me
Mersey beat
1993 cabaret
1993 cabaret
Jingles
One day they'll play for anybody
Notes
1. This is very straightforward; MES has often expressed his contempt for professional musicians, saying he won't allow "musicians" in his band and the like. This is, consciously or not, a thematic cousin of to the Kinks' "Session Man."
2. "Wino sperm" also shows up in "Who Makes the Nazis?"
3. This is the beginning of a sparse but persistent 30-year series of references to wolverines; here it seems to mean greedy music business types. See "Service" and "Bury 1+3," "Clasp Hands," "Cary Grant's Wedding," and check "Arid Al's Dream" for a note on wolverines.
4. "Doobie" is a bit cryptic here. It could refer to the Doobie Brothers, but that would be kind of odd as the rest of the items are genres, and "music in the style of the Doobie Brothers" is presumably not a very important genre, if it even is one. Kurious speculates that the reference is to weed, to wit:
"To a session musician its just a job. They ask, "What do you want me to play? Jingles, Cabaret, Merseybeat? OK, I can do that, but get me some weed to smoke, cuz I'll need to get my prima-donna ass stoned for having to play that muck."
This seems as likely as anything. It's also possible that he means doo-wop, or something that employs scatting...
Comments (22)
Alter Banhof, Germany, 22 May 1981: Live From the Vaults; Fall Box Set
Jimmy's, New Orleans, 23 June 1981 - A Part of America Therein
Bierkeller, Leeds, 5 November 1981: Hex Enduction Hour (2005)
I think I would take the first outing as canonical for these purposes, especially as it appears twice on official recordings. And one is the Box Set.
If anyone remembers who did it for the LP we could ask them...
http://z1.invisionfree.com/thefall/index.php?showtopic=18443
http://z1.invisionfree.com/thefall/index.php?showtopic=4169&view=findpost&p=2201124
Apparently audience and soundboard (second hand from radio broadcast?) recordings exist.
(Merseybeat is obviously the music style, and Doobie would seem to refer to the Doobie brothers)
The singer thinks, "One day I'll be recognised for the great cool prophet that I am"
The band think one day they'll be seen as the geniuses they am
One day they'll get complacent and they'll have to take a chance
Go back to the family and become their old man
And, and leave the press and stick to equipment
Leave the press and stick to equipment
Leave the press and stick to equipment
And leave the press and [ ] stick to equipment
And leave it all, leave it all, leave it all, leave it all
[ ]
Become a session musician
A session musician
A session musician
A session musician
A session musician
The band are all wino scum and live well while they can
One day they'll turn around and say they've been screwed by the wolverines
And then they'll become a session musician
A session musician
A session musician
Become a session musician
A session musician
He'll vent his anger on the wolverines
Say they never gave him a chance
[ ]
The people want what they know
The people want what they know
The people want what they know
But it's not much different now
It's not that much different now
The new groups pretend to think
But still into equipment
And then one day they'll turn around
And wish they hadn't ripped off The Velvet Underground
Go back to their former path
And er get a cabaret job
And be a session musician
A session musician
A session musician
Their hope would be for them a trip to Abu Dhabi
Pop music for Arab geeks
Pop music for Arab geeks
Pop music for Arab geeks
Pop music for Arab geeks
their leisure time
The session musician
Session musician
A session musician
A session musician
[ ]
Jingles, cabaret, Merseybeat, Doobie
Jingles, cabaret, Merseybeat, Doobie
All they'll talk about is equipment
All they'll talk about is equipment
Jingles, cabaret, Merseybeat, and Doobie
Jingles, cabaret, Merseybeat, Doobie
Jingles, cabaret, Merseybeat, Doobie
Jingles, cabaret, Merseybeat and Doobie
Jingles, cabaret, Merseybeat and Doobie
One time they played for anybody
But now all they'll talk about is equipment
All they'll talk about is equipment
All they'll talk about is equipment
Jingles, cabaret, Merseybeat, Doobie
Synth, cabaret, Merseybeat, Doobie
Synth-rock, cabaret, jingles, cabaret
Cabaret, Merseybeat
Merseybeat, cabaret, jingles, Doobie
Merseybeat, cabaret, jingles, Doobie
because it becomes "do me" a bit later.
I seriously doubt MES would reference a shit band like the Doobie Bros... but who knows?
because to a session musician its just a job.
they ask, "What do you want me to play? Jingles, Cabaret, Merseybeat? OK I can do that."
but get me some weed to smoke, cuz I'll need to get my prima-donna ass stoned for having to play that muck.
and then some times, they are like "Do me!"
they are either resistant like Im not gonna play that muck again
or maybe this time, something turned them on and they demand some sexual favor in place of the weed
either way it's a comment on the arrogance of the session musician not being a team player
their in it for themselves and its all about them in the end
either get me the doobie or get me laid, cuz I'm a fucking session musician you maggots!
OK for what its worth.... different angle.
Session Musician is one of the greatest songs in the Fall arsenal on weaklings who can't hack the front line
- "Yoko Ono stumbles out of the ruins; save your anger for the publishing wolverines; keep it for the K- Tel marines...A new wave personality stumbles out of the ruins...a tenth rate Pole man and here he is, the man and his cronies... OK, maybe a (?) bit more bars (?). And if I have a preference for Cary Grant, slaughterer of innocents. Add on thirty years and you've got Mark E Smith."
Much speculation as to subject; some say Nicky Hopkins (who played on it) but RDD held Hopkins in great esteem, so maybe not.
I'd like to think it was about the vile Jimmy Page, who claimed to have played on lots of Kinks tracks over the years.........but didn't.
When Mick Avory asked the Davies brothers who it was about, they replied cheerfully "It's about YOU, you cunt". Charming as ever.
"A rock'n'roll or folk group star/A philharmonic orchestra/Everything comes the same to him..." sung with a fey vicious sarcastic bite.
MES knew his Kinks + would know this song.
I'll get me coat