"The Fallen" is a song by Scottish
indie rock
Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...
band
Franz Ferdinand
Archduke Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria, (18 December 1863 – 28 June 1914) was the heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary. His assassination in Sarajevo was the most immediate cause of World War I.
F ...
. It was released as the third single from their second studio album, ''
You Could Have It So Much Better
''You Could Have It So Much Better'' is the second studio album by Scottish indie rock band Franz Ferdinand. It was first released on 28 September 2005 in Japan, and later on 3 October in the UK, through the Domino Recording Company. Recorded i ...
'' (2005), on 20 February 2006 in Australia and on 3 April 2006 in the United Kingdom as a
double A-side
The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...
with new song "L. Wells". The single peaked at number four on the
Scottish Singles Chart
The Scottish Albums Chart is a chart compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC) which is based on how physical and digital sales towards the UK Albums Chart fare in Scotland. The official singles chart for Scotland, the Scottish Singles Chart, ...
and number 14 on the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
.
Composition
The lyrics for "The Fallen" borrow heavily from
New Testament
The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...
miracles; with references to the
feeding of the five-thousand, the
Virgin Mary
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...
,
Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to crucifixion of Jesus, his cru ...
and the turning of water into wine. Biblical references can also be seen in the song "Auf Achse", from Franz Ferdinand's
first album, which references crucifixion; this interest in the Bible and
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
appear to stem from Kapranos' brief study of
theology
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
at the
University of Aberdeen
The University of Aberdeen ( sco, University o' 'Aiberdeen; abbreviated as ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; gd, Oilthigh Obar Dheathain) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Sc ...
before he dropped out.
Track listings
All tracks were written by
Alex Kapranos
Alexander Paul Kapranos Huntley (born 20 March 1972) is a Scottish musician, singer, songwriter, record producer and author. He is best known as the lead singer and guitarist of Scottish rock band Franz Ferdinand. He has also been a part of the ...
and
Nick McCarthy
Nicholas John McCarthy (born 13 December 1974 in Blackpool, England) is an English-German musician. His main focus is on songwriting and song production. He is also a guitarist, singer and keyboard player.
McCarthy was the guitarist, backing/ ...
except where noted.
* 7-inch 1
# "The Fallen" (album version) – 3:42
# "L. Wells" (Alex Kapranos) – 3:31
* 7-inch 2
# "The Fallen" (Remixed by
Justice
Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...
) – 3:55
# "L. Wells" (Alex Kapranos) – 3:31
# "Brown Onions" (Franz Ferdinand) – 3:02
#* Instrumental
* CD
# "The Fallen" (radio edit) – 2:49
# "The Fallen" (Remixed by
Justice
Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...
) – 3:55
# "L. Wells" (Alex Kapranos) – 3:31
# "
Jeremy Fraser
"The Fallen" is a song by Scottish indie rock band Franz Ferdinand. It was released as the third single from their second studio album, '' You Could Have It So Much Better'' (2005), on 20 February 2006 in Australia and on 3 April 2006 in the Uni ...
" (Nick McCarthy) – 3:57
#* Vocals performed by Nick McCarthy.
# "The Fallen" (video) – 2:49
* 12-inch
# "The Fallen" (Remixed by
Justice
Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...
) – 3:55
# "The Fallen" (album version) – 3:42
# "Do You Want To" (
Max Tundra
Ben Jacobs (born 7 June 1974), more commonly known by the stage name Max Tundra, is an English multi-instrumental musician, singer and music producer. His work is noted for its maximalist approach, which is predominantly electronic music but inc ...
remix) – 4:35
# "Do You Want To" (Max Tundra remix – instrumental) – 4:22
* Australian CD
# "The Fallen" (album version) – 3:42
# "Sexy Boy" (
Jean-Benoît Dunckel
Jean-Benoît Dunckel (born 7 September 1969) is a French musician best known for being one half of the French music duo Air, along with Nicolas Godin.
In the 1980s, he formed the band Orange with Alex Gopher, Xavier Jamaux and Jean de Reydellet ...
,
Nicolas Godin
Nicolas Godin (born 25 December 1969) is a French musician best known for being half of the music duo Air.
Early life
Godin was born in Paris, Île-de-France, France, and studied architecture at the École Nationale Supérieure d'Architecture d ...
) – 3:40
#*
Air
The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing f ...
cover, released in the UK on the "
Walk Away" single.
# "The Fallen" (acoustic version) – 2:44
# "Do You Want To" (Erol Alkan remix) – 7:41
#* Errors in the liner notes stating that all tracks were written by Franz Ferdinand and omitting that track number three is an acoustic version.
Charts
Release history
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fallen, The
Franz Ferdinand (band) songs
2006 singles
Song recordings produced by Rich Costey
Songs written by Alex Kapranos
Songs written by Nick McCarthy