W.M.C.--Blob 59

Right we'll go here
Where is he?
Just been to the park (1)
Not the pub, the park
Go on

We too do not recognise the M.U. 
We come with our hands open in fiendship
We can lead you to proletariat visions of posterity  (2)
W.M.C.!
The social alternative was incredibly frequent (3)

We come with our hands open in fiendship
We can lead you to proletariat visions of prosperity
We merely make cabaret
We are on Gramme Friday  (4)

1. The previous song on Grotesque is called "In the Park."

From the liner notes: "This is a very funny track. It's a pity you can't hear what's going on."

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2. Dan:

1983 - Month Unknown - Hide (?) Fanzine 'After IN THE PARK on GROTESQUE it sounds like you're in a living room
drinking and you're saying something in the back, 'it leads you to visions of
proletariat..'

M- 'hysteracy'. That's my sense of humour. It's like trying to get into a
working man's club in England which is very hard, you see you've got to be a
member. But you can always get a drink after 'time'. There's a scat on the
front, that we had a working men's club image. Being from the North of
England we're very unique in the fact that we're actually a working class
group. So, everyone answers to that, there's a lot of working class working
men's club outfits. On that thing I was trying to get into a working men's
group. It's this super poet trying to get this guy to let him into the club.
A sort of country & western song is behind it, too. I think that was one of
the most unpopular things I've ever done. People used to write and say I love
the old people on this track, is this a joke? What are you doing this sort of
thing for?'

He definitely does not, however, say "hysteracy" on the record.

^

3. W.M.C. is "Working Mens' Club," and "M.U." may be "Musicians' Union." W.M.C.'s originated in 19th century Britain; they were intended to both provide opportunities for recreation and social interaction, and also to foster education and cultural growth, among working men. Reportedly, the former functions are more commonly attended to, which may be what the last line of the stanza above is alluding to. Somewhere along the way someone (see below) has started singing what always sounds to me like a traditional spiritual in the background but may be an original song. Live renditions feature MES singing this part of the song. The lyrics to this part of the song, according to Joseph Mullaney's transcription: "The one to deny It was I/Since you became blob 59/I spent a lot of time wondering/ who and what the hell/What the crime."

And from Lee Thacker: "The Blob 59 lyrics are easier to hear on the 'Live in Glasgow' bootleg:

As to who started this in the first place,
I'm not the one to deny it was I.
Since you became blob 59 I spent a lot of time
Wondering who and what the hell was the crime."

However, I can't hear any of that on the track that appears here on Grotesque.

From "The Fall: album by album", in Uncut magazine, July 2019:
 

STEVE HANLEY: "WMC Blob 59" is Kay singing. Mark had written this supposedly really melodic song but it sounds like he recorded it in his shoe. He was off the wall like that.

From the Reformation! entry on "Lie Dream of a Casino Soul":

[From the version of the track found on the DVD release "Northern Cream" (details above). The review on the webzine issue of this website has this to say:

"About half of an early version of Lie Dream of a Casino Soul, in which the tune isn’t fully formed and we get the lyrics "to deny it was I...I spent a lot of time...wondering who or what the hell was the crime” (also uttered in Blob 59 / Prole Art Threat from 23 February 1981 in Glasgow); and then “all of Britain was a university town..." (prefiguring lyrics in CnC-S.Mithering) The track finishes with MES remarking, “That’s the experimental bit for tonight” (By the time Lie Dream makes its Peel session debut in late March, it has been considerably tweaked and sounds a very different beast.)"

From TamFrmGlsgw, "I'm fairly certain 'We come with our hands open in fiendship' is a reference to the Roman salute; that is the extended arm and open hand which symbolised friendship and peace. It is of course the same salute that was later adapted slightly for the Italian Fascist movement and subsequently Hitler's Nazi Party. I say this not least because 'hands open in fiendship' seems odd in lieu of the more expected 'arms open in friendship/fiendship,' and also because Smith has made reference to ancient Rome in other lyrics."

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4. A reference to speed, and to the next song, "Gramme Friday."

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W.M.C.-- Blob 59: Fall Tracks A-Z

The Story of the Fall: 1980