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the walls came down


composers
Michael Been


publisher
© BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group


background
The Call's second album Modern Romans, released in 1983, was noted for its political comment. Songwriter Michael Been, when recalling the song The Walls Came Down, noted that "There was a great deal happening politically: Grenada, Lebanon, or the government saying the Russians are evil and the Russian government probably saying the same about us. That kind of thinking inspired me to write the last lines of 'Walls Came Down'."

Simple Minds picked the song as both the cover and new track for their BBC Piano Room apperance on the 22nd February 2022. It was picked as the band wanted to give its meaning a new twist, a hopeful plea for normality to return after the Covid pandemic had shut down most of the world for the past two years. Jim explained the choice to Ken Bruce:

KB: What's the last song going to be for us today?
JK: It's a song called The Walls Came Down. And it also ties into what we're saying - that walls are coming down, and hopefully we're all going to get on with life as we once knew it. It's a cover of a band called The Call, an American band, and we used to tour with them a lot. And they were one of many opening bands who used to blow us off stage [laughs] and still do. But it's a great, great song and sadly Michael passed away a few years ago and we still love to keep his spirit alive. And keep the music alive.
JK: This is the first time we've played this in public. So this is a genuine debut.
This new orchestral version kept close to The Call's studio version, but Jim didn't sing the last verse:

I don't think there are any Russians,
And there ain't no Yanks.
Just corporate criminals,
Playin' with tanks.

Perhaps the mention of Russians and Yanks was a little too 'cold war' and Jim wanted to skip those references. Yet, even as the song was being performed, tensions in Europe were running high after the build up of Russian troops on the borders of Ukraine - and the Russian army invaded two days later. The song, and the timing of its performance, took on an unexpected, unintentional new relevance.




lyrics
Well they blew the horns,
And the walls came down.
They'd all been warned,
And the walls came down.
They stood there laughing,
They're not laughing anymore.
The walls came down

Sanctuary fades.
Congregation splits.
Nightly military raids.
The congregation splits.
It's a song of assassins,
Ringin' in your ears.
We got terrorist thinking,
Playing on fears.

Well they blew the horns,
And the walls came down.
They'd all been warned,
But the walls came down.
They stood there laughing,
They're not laughing anymore.
The walls came down.






sessions
The Piano Room, BBC Radio Two: (3:55): 22nd February 2022 (Orchestral version)