Jim Jim Falls

Life_Is_A_Pigsty

Gear Changer
Who do we think Jim Jim Falls is about? I initially thought this was about what Rob Gretton once supposedly said to Morrissey about him not having the guts to kill himself but then I stumbled upon the first track on an old Fall LP – Jim’s The Fall. Now I know Jim Jim Falls is an actual place but this tenuous connection got me thinking this could easily have been something Mark E Smith once said to Morrissey too.
 
Jimmy Krankie:
If you're gonna kill yourself
Then to save face
Get on with it
 
Who do we think Jim Jim Falls is about? I initially thought this was about what Rob Gretton once supposedly said to Morrissey about him not having the guts to kill himself but then I stumbled upon the first track on an old Fall LP – Jim’s The Fall. Now I know Jim Jim Falls is an actual place but this tenuous connection got me thinking this could easily have been something Mark E Smith once said to Morrissey too.

Bob Dylan - 11 Outlined Epitaphs

Jim Jim
where is our party?
where all member’s held equal
an’ vow t’ infiltrate that thought
among the people it hopes t’ serve
an’ sets a respected road
for all of those like me
who cry
“I am ragin’ly against absolutely
everything that wants t’ force nature
t’ be unnatural (be it human or otherwise)
an’ I am violently for absolutely
everything that will fight those
forces (be them human or otherwise)”
oh what is the name of this gallant group?
lead me t’ the ballot box
what man do we run?
how many votes will it take
for a new set of teeth
in the congress mouths?
how many hands have t’ be raised
before hair will grow back
on the white house head?
a Boston tea party don’t mean the
same thing . . . as it did in the newborn
years before. even the
meanin’ of the word
has changed. ha
ha . . . t’ say the least
yes that party is truly gone
but where is the party t’ dump the feelings
of the fiery cross burners
an’ flamin’ match carriers?
if there was such a party
they would’ve been dumped
long before this . . . who is supposed
t’ dump ’em now?
when all can see their threads hang weak
but still hold strong
loyal but dyin’
fightin’ for breath
who then will kill its misery?
what sea shall we pollute?
when told t’ learn
what others know
in order for a soothin’ life
an’ t’ conquer many a brainwashed dream
I was set forth the forces on records an’ books
from the forces that were sold t’ me
an’ could be found in hung-up style
wanderin’ through crowded valleys
searchin’ for what others knew
with the eagles’ shadows
silent
hungry
watchin’ waitin’
from high mountains
an’ me just walkin’
butterflies in my head
an’ bitter by now
(here! take this kid an’ learn it well
but why sir? my arms’re so heavy
I said take it. it’ll do yuh good
but I ain’t learned last night’s lesson yet.
am I gonna have t’ get mad with you?
no no gimme gimme just stick it on top
a the rest a the stuff
here! if yuh learn it well yuh’ll
get an A . . . an’ don’t do anything
I wouldn’t do)
and with each new brightnin’ phrase
more messy
till I found myself almost swallowed
deep in burden
spinnin’
walkin’ slower
heavier heavier
glassy-eyed
but at last I heard
the eagle drool
as I zombie strolled
up past the foothills
thunderstruck
an’ I stopped cold
an’ bellowed
“I don’t wanna learn no more
I had enough”
an’ I took a deep breath
turned around
an’ ran for my life
shoutin’ shoutin’
back t’ the highway
away from the mountain
not carin’ no more
what people knew about things
but rather how they felt about things
runnin’ down another road
through time an’ dignity
an’ I have never taken off my boots
no matter how the miles have burnt
my feet . . .
an’ I’m still on that road, Jim
I’m still sleepin’ at night by its side
an’ eatin’ where it’ll lead me t’ food
where state lines don’t stand
an’ knowledge don’t count
when feelings are hurt
an’ I am on the side a them hurt feelings
plunged on by unsensitive hammers
an’ made t’ bleed by rusty nails
an’ I look t’ you, Jim
where is the party for those kind of feelings?
how’re the gamblers that wheel an’ deal an’
shuffle ’em around gonna be got outa the game?
from here in
beyond this
an’ from now on

 
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One influence to consider perhaps:
Billy Fury - Don't Jump.
Also cited as an influence on Shakespeare's Sister, but it's almost the complete opposite of Jim Jim and a song he's known to like.

"I was standing on the edge of the cliff top high above
I was looking right down below
I was thinking all about the women I had
About the women that I love so
But it's a long, long way to fall
And then I heard a soft voice call

(BIILY, BILLY)

Don't jump Billy boy don't jump
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Don't jump Billy boy don't jump
Wow, wow, wow, wow
Don't jump Billy boy don't jump
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Don't jump Billy boy don't jump
No woman's worth the trouble
Tell me why, why, why
You can always find another
I don't believe you brother wow, wow
Wow Billy wow, wow Billy boy wow

As the sea rushes in upon the rugged rocks
It's a long long way to fall
Then I'm gonna bet I wanna bet I will and I wont
Cause it a long long way to fall

Don't jump Billy boy don't jump
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Don't jump Billy boy don't jump
I wanna die
Don't jump Billy boy don't jump
Don't wanna cry
Don't jump Billy boy don't jump
No woman's worth the trouble
Tell me why, why, why
You can always find another
I don't believe you brother wow, wow
Wow Billy wow, wow Billy boy wow

I guess ill sit here a while and think about the time that girl was mine and we were gonna be so happy
Then her parents stood in and said that I was small time
And that's a long long way to fall

Don't jump Billy boy don't jump
Wow, wow, wow, wow
Don't jump Billy boy don't jump
Oh keepa talking
Don't jump Billy boy don't jump
Mmmm you're getting through now
Don't jump Billy boy don't jump
No woman's worth the trouble
Tell me why, why, why
You can always find another
I believe ya brother wow, wow

Thank you Billy
I feel alright right now
Don't jump Billy
Aint gonna jump right now
No woman's worth the trouble
Tell me why, why, why
You can always find another
That's the way brother

Wow Billy
So long goodbye right now
Goodbye Billy
Goodbye so long now"



Regards,
FWD.
 
Jim Jim Falls is my favourite track on the album. To me it's more a song about making a decision at a precipice. When faced with the choice and having someone yell at you from down below "If you're gonna jump then jump" may trigger a desire to do the exact opposite and walk away from the precipice to start a new life. I think it's just a great metaphor to sing about the act of doing and not just talking about it. A great song!
 
Clearly nothing to do with suicide or dying anyway.

If I were you I’d stick to your own canoe
 
its about martin riggs in lethal weapon and the way he handles the guy that's ready to jump,if your going to jump then lets go.
 
Maybe it's an answer song to Van Halen "Jump."
You've misheard Van Halen's clunky vocals all these years, the song is actually called "Dump"...celebrating the "Royal Dump" when you've baked a poo for three days and there comes a point when a man's gotta do what a man's gotta poo!!!
 
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