Fire Fall

"Fire Fall" (previously under working titles "Beach" and "Whole Lot of Love") is a song by The Residents, featured on their concept album Wormwood: Curious Stories from the Bible, released October 13th 1998 by East Side Digital and Euro Ralph. It also closes the first act of the Wormwood Live show.

The song depicts the events of Genesis 19 from the perspective of Lot, nephew of Abraham, who recalls the flight of his family from the Israelite God's fiery destruction of the cities Sodom and Gomorrah.

The album version of "Fire Fall" is featured in a dream sequence in The Residents' 2022 feature film Triple Trouble and its soundtrack album (although the soundtrack album features a different excerpt than the one heard in the film).

History

The song is based on Genesis 19, which tells of the destruction of the legendary cities Sodom and Gomorrah, two "cities of the plain" noted for their "wickedness". The song depicts the events retrospectively from the perspective of Lot, nephew of Abraham, who lived outside Sodom.

The cities of Sodom and Gomorrah (and their destruction) are referred to frequently throughout the Old and New Testaments as symbols of human wickedness and divine retribution; a version of the story is also featured in the Qur'an. The cities have historically been seen as metaphors for homosexuality; "Sodom" is the origin of the English words "sodomite" (a pejorative term for male homosexuals) and "sodomy" (used in a legal context to describe 'crimes against nature', ie. anal/oral sex or bestiality).

Lyrics

I'm just an old man, how could I understand
I'm just an old man, how could I understand

I remember danger when the strangers came -- they knew my name.
They seemed to know my neighbors so I gave them safety in my home.

Then there was a pounding sound, and screaming voices all around
I offered them my daughters then a light came from the strangers' skin
They said we had to go away, my wife was worried they... they... they...

I'm just an old man, how could I understand

Fire fell from the sky!
Tears fell from my eyes!
She turned to stone like a bone,
or maybe salt had hardened on her.
I was lonely for my wife;
It only happened once or twice.

I'm just an old man who just can't stand his memories

Liner notes

Lot, his wife, and his two daughters escape the Israelite God's destruction of Sodom, a town that has a reputation for being wild. YHWH kills the wife by turning her into a pillar of salt because she looked back at the city's destruction. Then the two daughters get their Dad drunk and have sex with him. The Bible paints Lot as innocent in this orgy (he was drunk, after all) but maybe Lot and family were actually just good citizens of Sodom.

Look it up: Genesis 19.

List of releases

• Wormwood: Curious Stories from the Bible (1998)
• Wormwood Live (1999)
• Roadworms (The Berlin Sessions) (2000)
• Petting Zoo (2002)
• Live! ...on the Outskirts DVD (2002)
• Kettles of Fish on the Outskirts of Town (2003)
• The Residents Play Wormwood DVD (2005)
• Wormwood Box (2022)
• Triple Trouble film (2022)
• Triple Trouble - The Original Soundtrack Recording (2022) (excerpt)

External links and references

• Wormwood at The Residents Historical
• Wormwood at RZWeb (archived via archive.org)
• Genesis 19 (King James Version) at BibleGateway
• Genesis 19 (New International Version) at BibleGateway
• Sodom and Gomorrah at Wikipedia