Heads Roll Off by Frightened Rabbit
‘Heads Roll Off’ has one of my favourite openings – a Church-like organ fills the room, before a chugging guitar and thick Scottish accent delivers a memorable opening line; “Jesus is just a Spanish boy’s name….to anybody that doesn’t have faith”.
The world lost that charming Scottish voice this week – Frightened Rabbit guitarist and vocalist Scott Hutchison was reported missing this week, near the Forth Road Bridge, before his body was found washed ashore. It’s tragically similar circumstances to the disappearance of the Manic Street Preachers’ Richie Edwards more than twenty years earlier.
This is the only song I know by Frightened Rabbit – it was one of my favourites from a mixtape I received years ago, and I’ve always meant to check out more from the group, especially the parent album Midnight Organ Fight. It’s a shame that it’s taken Hutchison’s passing to remind me how much I love this song.
[Verse 1]
Jesus is just a Spanish boy’s name
How come one man got so much fame?
To any me, it’s pointless to anybody
That doesn’t have faith
Give me the cloth and I’ll wipe my face[Chorus]
When it’s all gone, something carries on
And it’s not morbid at all
Just when natures had enough of you
When my blood stops, someone else’s will not
When my head rolls off, someone else’s will turn
And while I’m alive, I’ll make tiny changes to earth[Verse 2]
So you can burn me cause we’ll all be the same, the same way
Dirt in someone’s eyes cried down the drain
I believe in a house in the clouds
And God’s got his dead friends round
He’s painted all the walls red to remind them they’re all dead[Chorus]
And you know when it’s all gone, something carries on
And it’s not morbid at all just when natures had enough of you
When my blood stops, someone else’s will not
When my head rolls off, someone else’s will turn
You can mark my words, I’ll make tiny changes to earth
And while I’m alive, I’ll make tiny changes to earth
Aphoristical
Graham Fyfe is fascinated by pop music, and he may be the only blogger in the world to cover Neil Diamond and Ariana Grande.
You should definitely explore more of Frightened Rabbit’s catalogue. So good. Powerful and emotional and well, rockin’ stuff.
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Cool – do you like Midnight Organ Fight best, or other albums?
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They’re all really good albums. My preference is for Pedestrian Verse but it’s likely because that album was my introduction to the band.
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Cool, noted.
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I’ll throw a Vote in for Pedestrian Verse. Beautiful record. Backyard Skulls is a heck of a tune
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Cool – sounds like I need to check that one out.
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Aside from a handful of songs, I was never too familiar with Frightened Rabbit, but it’s always sad when you learn that someone who has inspired folk and brought so much light to them had been suffering. This tune is a good one… one of the few I know.
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Even in this song he sounds a bit battered and world weary – it’s very sad.
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It is, aye… tragic. I always hope these things have a different ending, but sometimes there isn’t one.
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I too only fully embraced this music after Scott was gone. I wish he was still alive making music.
Unrelated, but have you listened to any Modest Mouse and reviewed. Couldn’t find it. Particularly the early records are incredible.
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I like Modest Mouse – there’s just so much music out there that I can’t cover everything as a one-person operation.
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Understand. Good stuff on the website. Keep it up!
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