Way Round

Lyrics

(1)

Walked through a crystal maze you created (2)
And enter values as Vikings enter, (3)
Leathered, to 70's shoeboxes (4)
Into glass, into glass

I hit roundabout
I hit roundabout 
I hit roundabout 
I hit roundabout  (5)

I stumble into glass disco sweatboxes
And leathered
To the 70's
And still do not know it I hit roundabout
I just can't find my way
I just can't find my way
I just can't find my way 
Round

I just can't find my way
I just can't find my way
I just can't find my way
Round

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Notes

1. MES is lost in a disco, according to Julia Adamson (Julia Nagle). That seems to jibe with what's in front of me, so I will not dispute it. Musically the song is very powerful, arguably even to the point of being laid on a bit thick. But considering the way the lyrics and the music work together, it's actually pretty perfect: cheesy dance keyboards dart in on top from time to time, but Nagle's main line is bassy and menacing.

Harleyr points out: "The keyboard break is reminiscent of the Inspector Clouseau theme from the Pink Panther cartoons, perhaps suggesting that some detective work is needed to get out of the maze..." And Dan points out that a roundabout figures in a car chase scene from The Pink Panther.

Whatever led to the narrator getting lost, chemicals are surely involved, and a volume-addled listener will not not have a hard time imagining their role in the whole thing. As they bounce and sway to the dance floor simulation of the higher keyboard interludes, the Village People-esque Vikings are perhaps a humorous touch that balances out the ponderous menace that lies beneath (but see note 3 below!). 

On early setlists this was called "Glass Disco."

^

2. The Crystal Maze was a game show that aired in the UK from 1990-1995 (thanks to Joseph Mullaney). The game was a fantasy kind of scenatio, with the set divided into four "zones"--"Aztec," Industrial," "Medieval" and "Futuristic."

"Enter values" in the following line could have something to do with the game--in each zone, contestants would vie for "time crystals" which granted them time inside the "Crystal Dome" at the center of the set, which is where the final challenges went down.  Vikings could possibly have been suggested by the Medieval Zone, as it could suggest the crazy outfits people may have been wearing at the club in the song (but again see note 3 below), although I don't think there were actually Vikings in The Crystal Maze. In any case, the image of "glass disco sweatboxes" (nine lines down) is seemingly connected to that of the crystal maze and dome.

^

3. There appears to be an even chance that the word here is "Wikings," a WWII-era German Panzer division comprised of foreign volunteers from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, the Netherlands, and Belgium, and commanded by German officers (I am closely paraphrasing Wikipedia here, see the link). The division apparently committed war crimes, executing Ukrainian Jews in a (sadly) more or less typical story you can read more about in the Wikipedia article. In any case, some of the division's story suggests the wandering and confusion which form the dominant themes of this song:

"On 24 March, another Soviet attack threw the IV SS Panzer Corps back towards Vienna; all contact was lost with the neighbouring I SS Panzer Corps, and any resemblance of an organised line of defence was gone. Wiking withdrew into Czechoslovakia. The division surrendered to the American forces near Fürstenfeld, Austria on 9 May."

Martin:

Should it be "Wikings"? I say this due to this ad-lib during the gig at the Knitting Factory, Los Angeles on 14 November 2001:

"You walk into glass crystal mazes as the S.S. Viking ["Wiking?"] regiment did. Into black. Into space....You walk down into valley of kings. Out of glass. Out of space. In seventies disco lights." 

Have we been getting the word wrong? Remember, "w" in German is pronounced much the same as the English "v", so that would account for the mis-transliteration.

^

4. In British slang "leathered" means very drunk, hence the comma. However, the way he pronounces it doesn't suggest the comma, and it is possible the word was originally "tethered," and MES has substituted the less comprehensible "leathered" due to the congruence of sound (it is hard to say). 

Martin points out that "shoeboxes" could refer to shoebox cassette recorders; although the larger "box" had become the dominant medium by the time of the song's composition, believe it or not people used to occasionally walk around listening to those things in the 1970s.

^

5. A traffic metaphor like this is somehow apt, but what would be really crazy is if all the disco stuff was a metaphor for being stuck in traffic. Anyway, there's an "evil roundabout" in M5, but this one's scarier.

^

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More Information

Way Round: Fall Tracks A-Z

The Story of the Fall: 2000

 

Supplemental:

Martin threads his way through Islington in some live Fall lyrics, beginning with "Way Round":

 

23 March 2000 Fibbers, York:

- "...Islington roundabout...(?) one-way centre...long long days...I just can't find my way around here, I just can't find my way around here" (additional hod-ac words, combined with lyrics from Way Round, on debut performance of Two Librans, a day before the first outing for Way Round )

The Fall had played gigs in Wrexham and Doncaster on the previous two days, so there's no concrete evidence that MES had a real Islington roundabout in mind, though of course he may have been thinking of some problems in the past, or then again the word "Islington" may have suddenly popped into his mind, or simply he thought it sounded good.

By the way, Islington was to feature again in ad-libs:

2 June 2000 Witchwood, Ashton:

"What do I see? I see old Islington fucking tramps looking at me." (amended lyrics to "Ol' Gang") 

4 March 2002 FZW, Dortmund: :

`"I'm stuck at the train station in Islington, and my friend Michael and his wife has just got out of the hospital" (alternative lyrics in Ketamine Sun)

8 March 2002 Haus der Judend, Düsseldorf: :

"Michael he was his usual self, chirpy and cheerful; I look out at the sky of Islington; I look out at the sky of Islington" (alternative lyrics in Ketamine Sun

3 November 2005 Islington Academy, London: :

"As the group sit down for tea and scones in the village of Islington." (amended lyrics to "Ride Away")

Comments (34)

Martin
  • 1. Martin | 30/01/2014
I don't know if the word is used similarly in American English, but in British English "leathered" often means to be completely drunk. I'm not aware that it can mean to be affected, temporarily or otherwise, by non-alcoholic drugs.
bzfgt
  • 2. bzfgt | 15/02/2014
Thanks for that, Martin. The closest thing in American slang, I think, would be "plastered."
Joseph Mullaney
  • 3. Joseph Mullaney | 02/06/2014
`Walked through a crystal maze you created'- The Crystal Maze was a popular British TV gameshow that originally aired from 1990 to 1995.
dannyno
  • 4. dannyno | 22/07/2014
There are another two instances of

"I just can't find my way
I just can't find my way
I just can't find my way
Round"

at the end of the song.

i.e it's repeated four times, not two.
dannyno
  • 5. dannyno | 22/07/2014
Does he hit the roundabouts or hate them?

Hard to tell.
harleyr
  • 6. harleyr | 21/12/2015
The keyboard break is reminiscent of the Inspector Clouseau theme from the Pink Panther cartoons, perhaps suggesting that some detective work is needed to get out of the maze...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ul8exlVff_M
bzfgt
  • 7. bzfgt | 23/12/2015
Dan: don't know but I'm listening now.

Harley: good one!
bzfgt
  • 8. bzfgt | 23/12/2015
Dan: I can't tell for sure but it sounds more like "hit," which fits the narrative flow of the song better...
dannyno
  • 9. dannyno | 23/12/2015
Harleyr: There is of course a roundabout in one of the Pink Panther films too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rnf4v5mqHes
Martin
  • 10. Martin | 27/03/2017
23 March 2000 Fibbers, York:

- "...Islington roundabout...(?) one-way centre...long long days...I just can't find my way around here, I just can't find my way around here" (additional hod-ac words, combined with lyrics from Way Round, on debut performance of Two Librans ,a day before the first outing for Way Round )

The Fall had played gigs in Wrexham and Doncaster on the previous two days, so there's no concrete evidence that MES had a real Islington roundabout in mind, though of course he may have been thinking of some problems in the past, or then again the word "Islington" may have suddenly popped into his mind, or simply he thought it sounded good.

By the way, Islington was to feature again in ad-libs:

2 June 2000 Witchwood, Ashton:

"What do I see? I see old Islington fucking tramps looking at me." (amended lyrics to "Ol' Gang")

4 March 2002 FZW, Dortmund: :

`"I'm stuck at the train station in Islington, and my friend Michael and his wife has just got out of the hospital" (alternative lyrics in Ketamine Sun)

8 March 2002 Haus der Judend, Düsseldorf: :

"Michael he was his usual self, chirpy and cheerful; I look out at the sky of Islington; I look out at the sky of Islington" (alternative lyrics in Ketamine Sun)

3 November 2005 Islington Academy, London: :

"As the group sit down for tea and scones in the village of Islington." (amended lyrics to "Ride Away")
Martin
  • 11. Martin | 27/03/2017
So much for Islington. Now for the "Vikings", or should it be "Wikings"? I say this due to this ad-lib during the gig at the Knitting Factory, Los Angeles on 14 November 2001:

"You walk into glass crystal mazes as the S.S. Viking ["Wiking?"] regiment did. Into black. Into space. Into (...). You walk down into valley of kings. Out of glass. Out of space. In seventies disco lights." (amended lyrics to "Way Round")

Have we been getting the word wrong? Remember, "w" in German is pronounced much the same as the English "v", so that would account for the mis-transliteration.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5th_SS_Panzer_Division_Wiking
Martin
  • 14. Martin | 05/04/2017
I'm thinking, "leathered to 70s shoeboxes" makes little sense. If it were "tethered to"...but it isn't.

Maybe the line break should be after the word "leathered" (if this does indeed mean to be drunk)?

Whatever way, I'm still slightly confused. Can anyone help?
bzfgt
  • 15. bzfgt (link) | 29/04/2017
Martin, the Unutterable version is clearly Vikings, but the live deviation is notable in any case!
bzfgt
  • 16. bzfgt (link) | 29/04/2017
"Leathered"/"tethered": the Unutterable version clearly sounds like "Leathered", but MES I think sometimes substitutes a different word that is phonetically similar for the original or expected word, so again this is notable...
bzfgt
  • 17. bzfgt (link) | 29/04/2017
Sorry Martin, of course you're right, it would be pronounced with a 'V' sound either way. I'm catching on, be patient with me!
bzfgt
  • 18. bzfgt (link) | 29/04/2017
Excellent stuff, Martin, thank you.
dannyno
  • 19. dannyno | 10/12/2017
The song was titled "Glass Disco" on early setlists, eg, Cornerhouse, Middlesbrough, 14 June 2000:

http://thefall.org/gigography/gig00.html

http://thefall.org/gigography/image/00jun14_setlist.jpg
Definitive Article
  • 20. Definitive Article | 06/02/2018
Smith mentions a traffic circle in the Von Sudenfed track That Sound Wiped too, which of course is a deliberate botch of the correct word roundabout. Hanley's book doesn't make it clear whether Smith could drive, but suggests he can, although he preferred Brix/whoever to have driven him instead.

I'd be surprised if he could actually drive, given the lack of coordination also credited to him in that book and his general drunkenness excluding him from doing so. I reckon then that Smith is disorientated by roundabouts whether driver or passenger, making the lyric 'I hate roundabouts' instead, and this hate/confusion being introduced in this track before being returned to in That Sound Wiped, to the extent he pretends not to know the correct word for such traffic furniture in the later song.
Nairng
  • 21. Nairng | 11/02/2018
I've just read this page for the first time - lotsa great stuff as ever, but not what i was expecting! I have a recollection of an anecdote involving MES and someone else, Grant Showbiz perhaps, enjoying a ketamine stroll one evening and unsuccessfully attempting to cross a roundabout - hence, can't find my way round. But I'm assuming you've looked through the relevant FoF threads, and if I didn't read it there, god only knows where I got it from. Surely I didn't dream it...?
dannyno
  • 22. dannyno | 14/02/2018
Comment #21. The ketamine/roundabout story comes from here on the FoF: https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/thefall/alternative-ranking-project-t42534-s326.html. It appears to be entirely made up. Certainly there is no evidence presented in its favour.
Nairng
  • 23. Nairng | 14/02/2018
Comment#22: fair enough!
bzfgt
  • 24. bzfgt (link) | 17/02/2018
How is "That Sound Wiped" a botch of "roundabout"?
bzfgt
  • 25. bzfgt (link) | 17/02/2018
Oh, I see what you're saying. No, "traffic circle" is in fact the operative nomenclature in certain regions (although maybe not of England).
bzfgt
  • 26. bzfgt (link) | 17/02/2018
To me it clearly is "hit" rather than "hate," there are some repetitions where it sounds like he can only be saying "hit," even with his notoriously imprecise diction.
Jeff Lewis
  • 27. Jeff Lewis (link) | 23/03/2018
I always pictured this song as the lament of a driver going around and around a roundabout, not sure which road to exit on, which is an experience I've had many times when driving in the UK or Europe... roundabouts being generally pretty rare here in the USA!
The deciphering and close reading of lyrics here gives the somewhat disappointing possibility that it's just about being lost in a disco. Cool enough, but different from what I'd pictured.
In addition to the lost-in-a-disco option, there's also the information proffered above that it's about WW2 german tanks getting lost.
BUT there's a more-thrilling option that I think nobody has mentioned: the song is BOTH, because of that classic MES love of weird time-travel!
If we take the idea that the "Vikings" are in fact the "S.S. Wikings" panzer tanks of WW2 (as specified in Mark's Nov 2001 live ad-lib mentioned in another comment), tanks which apparently got lost/confused/separated in the historical battle mentioned in the other comment above, from Wikipedia on (V)Wikings: "On 24 March, another Soviet attack threw the IV SS Panzer Corps back towards Vienna; all contact was lost with the neighbouring I SS Panzer Corps..." AND we combine that with the lost-in-a-disco imagery of the "70s shoeboxes... glass disco sweatboxes... into glass... crystal maze" etc., then we have, in fact, a perfect combination of Fall elements: WW2 nazis, daft disco culture, and TIME TRAVEL!
Chilling, actually. The combination of chilling and humorous, macabre and mundane, that we love in many classic Fall tracks. WW2 Nazi panzers, in chaos of retreat, get lost in a cosmic multi-dimensional traffic roundabout and find themselves in confusing modern disco, from which they can't figure out how to get back.
"You walk down into valley of kings. Out of glass. Out of space. In seventies disco lights."
Compare to Wings, Hititte Man ("Pilgrim out of mind, out of depths...") Hotel Bloedel, etc., etc.
bzfgt
  • 28. bzfgt (link) | 31/03/2018
Jeff, I feel like it may be about both driver and disco, but I took it to be the befuddled driver as a metaphor and the lost in disco as the actual situation, maybe...who knowx. I like the time travel angle, though
joincey
  • 29. joincey | 17/02/2019
i don't think the "leathered" thing is incongruous - "i stumble, leathered [ie drunk], into the 1970s" - ?
bzfgt
  • 30. bzfgt (link) | 07/06/2019
Right, the comma...I see
bzfgt
  • 31. bzfgt (link) | 07/06/2019
OK, he does not sing it like there's a comma either time. I'm dissatisfied with the transcription and the note, but not sure how to fix it...maybe it's "leathered" as in drunk, but he rolls right into it both times like it's "leathered to the 70s"
dannyno
  • 32. dannyno | 16/12/2020
From a preview commentary on some of the album tracks by Julia Nagle:

http://thefall.org/un/unutterable.html

[Internet Archive version]


Track 7 is Way Round, (AKA 'roundabout' by Fall devotees who have heard it played live). Composed on pro tools by Adam and Nev, it has some nice sequencers gurgling through it, with M.E.S having trouble finding his way round, lost in a disco. Brill.
For the Record
  • 33. For the Record | 16/07/2023
Leathered to is led up to
This song is probably related to the 70s night collaboration with Edwyn Collins
For the Record
  • 34. For the Record | 18/07/2023
Enter values is enter valleys
Glass valleys get mentioned a lot in live versions, as do SS Viking regiments and Islington in the context of the roundabout

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