This is the only track, to date, that I have written on a ukulele. It was a borrowed instrument, from Cavan, and I was using it to practise a song for our 2016 Phoenix Theatre show – “Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head”, as I recall. I’d had the optimistic phrase “I’ve fallen on my feet” running through my head for about a year previously so the line may have been influenced by the Burt Bacharach title or that may just be coincidence. (Incidentally, I’m astonished that no one else seems to have written a song with this title.)
It wasn’t long before the title phrase dragged along the rest of the song in its wake and I used one of my favourite chord sequences for the “They say that every cloud has a silver lining” section. I had used this same sequence in an earlier song “Seize the Day”, which I wrote for my daughter Rebecca’s wedding in 2007. I had borrowed the chord sequence from George Harrison’s “Something” (the “I don’t wanna leave her now” line) and it’s a sequence that works well on a ukulele. When Paul McCartney plays George’s “Something” these days he always begins it with a ukulele introduction as a tribute to his fellow Beatle. However, I was afraid of overdoing this chord sequence (you can have too much of a good thing, you know) so I changed it to another, related sequence for the “But don’t you know that just a little while ago” line to give more harmonic variety.
I made an initial demo of the song using ukulele in the style of Bruno Mars but it didn’t seem to work. After briefly considering a Tamla Motown approach to the song, I settled on a style which was more within my comfort zone: the Beatles in their Sergeant Pepper and Magical Mystery Tour periods. “With a Little Help from my friends”, “Getting Better” and “Your Mother Should Know” all feature a repeated four-in-a-bar chord pattern on piano and guitar and I can remember being blown away by Paul McCartney’s bass lines when first I heard them – especially on “With a Little Help”. They were revolutionary in their day and still sound very impressive. It is that melodic bass style which I have tried to reproduce in “Fallen on my Feet”.
The lyrics to “Fallen” are more optimistic and upbeat than many of my other songs. I can remember friends being surprised that I had used the Americanism “Sweeter than the candy from a soda-pop store” but this was quite intentional. I wanted to recapture that American small-town homeliness which pervades my favourite Christmas movie “It’s a Wonderful Life”. The scene with the young George Bailey, Mary and Violet in the soda store has always struck a chord with me – I have no idea why!
For the video to “Fallen on my Feet”, which is available on YouTube, I chose an earlier American movie theme – that of Harold Lloyd and Buster Keaton, who were constantly getting themselves in and out of catastrophic scrapes in spectacular fashion. And I couldn’t resist using the famous falling building sequence for the opening of the video. As I write this, the song has had over 800 views on YouTube and seems to be my most popular video.
Instrumentation: All instruments played or programmed by Brian Parks:
Programmed upright piano, Variax guitar simulating a Gretsch semi-acoustic, programmed Rickenbacker 4001 bass guitar, programmed 1970s Premier drumkit recorded at Abbey Road, lead vocals, backing and harmony vocals.
Lyrics
I’ve fallen on my feet and I don’t need to be discreet ‘cos life currently is sweet
It’s sweeter than the sugar that I stir in my tea. Sweeter that the nectar from a honey-bee.
Life’s sweet. So neat. Since I’ve fallen on my feet.
They say that every cloud has a silver lining
Well just right now I think the sun must be shining for me. And I think you will agree.
But it didn’t used to be. No no.
Well don’t you know that just a little while ago I was beaten down so low
That I thought I would never find a place where I could go
But with a little bit of help from a lot of those I know
It was just a little while till I was ready to grow my wings and fly way up there into the sky.
‘Cos I’ve fallen on my feet and I’m feeling quite upbeat ‘cos life currently is sweet
It’s sweeter than the roses growing round your front door
Sweeter than the candy from a soda pop store
Life’s sweet. So neat. Since I’ve fallen on my feet.
They say the darkest hour is just before the dawn
Well take a look at me now and you would think that I was born to tread this way.
But I think I’d have to say that I nearly went astray. Yeah yeah.
Well don’t you know that if it hadn’t been for you I don’t know what I would do.
I would probably have ended up in something of a stew
But with a little bit of love from the people that I knew
It was just a little while until I grew those big white wings to fly way up there into the sky.
I’ve fallen on my feet and I don’t need to be discreet ‘cos life currently is sweet
It’s sweeter than the sugar that I stir in my tea. Sweeter that the nectar from a honey-bee.
Life’s sweet. So neat. Since I’ve fallen on my feet. It’s sweet since I’ve fallen on my feet.
I’ve fallen on my feet