With the recent passing of The Fall's Mark E Smith, and all the songs, tributes and stories that have followed, it now seems only appropriate to follow up with music Smith loved by one of his major influences. It's not difficult to spot similarities – the barking voice, angry eccentricity, an iron fist over his musicians, and aggressive, humorous, and thorny surrealism of lyric. So here we have two tracks, one from his classic 1969 album Trout Mask Replica, and the other, from 1978's Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller), which came out of an earlier, problematic recording of 1976, and was released very much at a time when The Fall was finding its feet. Both albums are full of belters, and hopefully exemplify the inventiveness, melodically, rhythmically and more, of the extraordinary artist also known as Don Van Vliet
Moonlight on Vermont affected everybody
Even Mrs. Wooten well as Little Nitty
Even lifebuoy floatin’
With his lil’ pistol showin’
‘n his lil’ pistol totin’
Well that goes t’ show you what uh moon can do
No more bridge from Tuesday t’ Friday
Everybody’s gone high society
Hope lost his head ‘n got off on alligators
Somebodies leavin’ peanuts on the curbins
For uh white elephant escaped from the zoo with love
Goes t’ show you what uh moon can do
Moonlight on Vermont
Well it did it for Lifebuoy
And it did it t’ you
And it did it t’ zoo
And it can do it for me
And it can do it for you
Moonlight on Vermont
Gimme dat ole time religion
Gimme dat ole time religion
Don’t gimme no affliction
Dat ole time religion is good enough for me
Uh it’s good enough for you
Well come out t’ show dem
Come out t’ show dem (repeated)
Gimme dat ole time religion (repeated)
It’s good enough for me
Without yer new affliction
Don’t need yer new restrictions
Gimme dat ole time religion
It’s good enough for me
Moonlight on Vermont
Tropical Hot Dog Night
Like two flamingos in a fruit fight
Every colour of day
Whirlin’ around at night
I’m playin’ this music
So the young girls will come out
To meet the monster tonight
[Chorus 1]
Tropical Hot Dog Night
Like two flamingos in a fruit fight
I don’t wanna know ‘bout wrong or right
Yeah, I don’t want to know
I’m anywhere tonight
[Verse 2]
Tropical Hot Dog Night
Like two flamingos in a fruit fight
Like steppin’ out of a triangle
Into striped light
Striped light, striped light
Tropical Hot Dog Night
Everything’s wrong, at the same time it’s right
[Chorus 2]
The truth has no patterns for me tonight
I’m playing this music
So the young girls will come out
To meet the monster tonight
Meet the monster tonight
[Verse 3]
What do all you women do
When the men get Tropical Hot Dog payday?
What do you do on Tropical Hot Dog day-day?
Hey, hey
[Chorus 3]
Step out of a triangle
Into striped light
Turn around and step back
Into striped light
Tropical Hot Dog Night
[Verse 4]
I’m playin’ this song
For all the young girls
To come out to meet the monster tonight
Meet the monster tonight
How would you like to be the lucky girl
The lucky one?
To be the monster tonight
Ow, to be the monster tonight
Oh, everything’s wrong, at the same time it’s white!
[Outro]
You get to be
You get to be with me
And also to be the monster tonight
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