The Fallen / L. Wells

"The Fallen" / "L. Wells"
Single by Franz Ferdinand
from the album You Could Have It So Much Better
B-side	"Jeremy Fraser" "Brown Onions"
Released	3 April 2006
Format	CD 7" 12"
Recorded	2005
Genre	Post-punk revival indie rock
Length	3:42 (album version) 2:49 (radio edit) 3:31 ("L. Wells")
Label	Domino
Writer(s)	Alex Kapranos Nick McCarthy
Producer(s)	Rich Costey
Franz Ferdinand singles chronology
"Walk Away" (2005) "The Fallen"/"L. Wells" (2006) "Eleanor Put Your Boots On" (2006)
Music sample "The Fallen" noicon

"The Fallen" and "L. Wells" are songs by Scottish Post-punk revival band Franz Ferdinand. "The Fallen" is taken from their second album You Could Have It So Much Better, while "L. Wells" was, at the time, a newly recorded track by the band. They were released as a double A-side for the third single from that album in the UK on 3 April 2006 peaking at #14 in the UK Singles Chart, hence marking their third UK Top 20 single from You Could Have It So Much Better and their sixth UK Top 20 single overall. However, it dropped out of the top 40 altogether the next week (see 2006 in British music). The single also hit #1 on the UK Indie Chart.

Songs

L. Wells

"L. Wells" is a song about Liverpudlian Lynsey Wells, an acquaintance of Alex Kapranos, describing her beauty, goodness, and innocence. The song references the football anthem "You'll Never Walk Alone" in the second verse because Lynsey, a Liverpool supporter, would frequently play the Gerry & The Pacemakers version in her apartment.

Airplay

"The Fallen" gained significant airplay in the United States in February 2006, where it was added to the playlists of 30 modern rock stations. These include the Sirius Satellite Radio stations S021 and S026, WFNX and WBCN of Boston, Massachusetts, as well as KXRK (Salt Lake City, Utah), WHTG-FM (Monmouth / Ocean), WWCD (Columbus), and KWOD (Sacramento).

The song managed to enter the top 50 modern rock songs in the US in February, 2006, even cracking the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart at #39. However, its success was short-lived, as its airplay was decreasing by March 2006.

On 6 March 2006, "L. Wells" had its worldwide radio debut during Steve Lamacq's show, Lamacq Live, on BBC Radio 1.

Music videos

The single featured three videos for "The Fallen", "L. Wells", and "Jeremy Fraser".

The video for "The Fallen" has been criticized by some fans for being too simple and not as entertaining as some of the band's previous videos. However others have praised the effects used in the video, such as the lyrics appearing as they are sung (this effect was also used in Franz Ferdinand's videos, Take Me Out and This Fire.) The video for "L. Wells", directed by Blair Young, is in black and white, and features many venues in Glasgow, Scotland, including The Château, where Franz Ferdinand played many songs in their early days. It follows a woman going around Glasgow. However, this woman is not the Lynsey Wells about whom the song was written. Lynsey, originally from Maghull, Liverpool, was actually on holiday assisting in an orphanage and church in Africa when Franz Ferdinand decided to release the track. The video is inspired by Rita Tushingham in A Taste of Honey and, particularly, Julie Christie in Billy Liar. Lynsey is played by Saskia Pomeroy, a student at Glasgow School Of Art. None of the members of the band appear in the video. The video premiered on MTV's UK website on 24 March 2006.

The video for "Jeremy Fraser" premiered on the "The Fallen"/"L. Wells" minisite. It depicts Jeremy Fraser as a medieval man on a pantomime horse. He 'dies of a lance of silver', and is dragged by masked children into the 'old schoolyard', where his captors morbidly dance around him, and form a star around his neck with wooden swords. Jeremy's eyes remain open and he even stands up after the lance strikes him. As with L. Wells, none of the band members would supposedly appear in this song's video. However, lead guitarist Nick McCarthy revealed in a webcam interview that the band members were in the video, along with several hidden easter eggs.

Themes

The lyrics for "The Fallen" borrow heavily from New Testament miracles; with references to the feeding of the five-thousand, the Virgin Mary, Mary Magdalene 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 appear to stem from Kapranos' brief study of theology at the University of Aberdeen before he dropped out.

Track listings

All tracks written by Alex Kapranos and Nick McCarthy, except where noted.

In the UK

• 7" RUG219

1. "The Fallen" (album version) - 3:42
2. "L. Wells" (Alex Kapranos) - 3:31

• 7" RUG219X

1. "The Fallen" (Remixed by Justice) - 3:55
2. "L. Wells" (Alex Kapranos) - 3:31
3. "Brown Onions" (Franz Ferdinand) - 3:02
   • Instrumental

• CD RUG219CD

1. "The Fallen" (radio edit) - 2:49
2. "The Fallen" (Remixed by Justice) - 3:55
3. "L. Wells" (Alex Kapranos) - 3:31
4. "Jeremy Fraser" (Nick McCarthy) - 3:57
   • Vocals performed by Nick McCarthy.
5. "The Fallen" (video) - 2:49

• 12" RUG219T2, (released 8 May 2006)

1. "The Fallen" (Remixed by Justice) - 3:55
2. "The Fallen" (album version) - 3:42
3. "Do You Want To" (Max Tundra remix) - 4:35
4. "Do You Want To" (Max Tundra remix - instrumental) - 4:22

In Australia

• Released 20 February 2006 by Sony BMG/Epic Australia
• CD 82876788592

1. "The Fallen" (album version) - 3:42
2. "Sexy Boy" (Jean-Benoît Dunckel, Nicolas Godin) - 3:40
   • Air cover, released in the UK on the "Walk Away" single.
3. "The Fallen" (acoustic version) - 2:44

Errors in the liner notes stating that ALL tracks were written by Franz Ferdinand and omitting that Cut 3 is an acoustic version.

External links

• Review at Virgin.net
• "The Fallen" Video at Yahoo! Music
• Unofficial Discography webpage
• "The Fallen"/"L. Wells" minisite
• "L. Wells" Video at MTV
• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics