Down Hours...
Lyrics — Martin
Music — Martin, Brugin
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Vocals — Martin, Brugin
Guitar — Brugin
Drums — Frier
Bass — Brugin
Piano — Brugin
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Recorded — 15 December 1969
Key: E minor
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Deep in the land of plenty (Down ours)
Suffocating cupidity (And up...)
The Empire must stay alive
What a way to make them all look down on you
And it’s a long way down
Look at the mess we’ve made
Look at the mess we’ve made
Look at the mess we’ve made
Coming up short with Caesar’s coin (Down ours)
But he ignored your first by choice (And up...)
And I think it’s telling of him
Burning embers rising up to touch the sky
As you pluck away
Look at the mess you’ve made
Look at the mess you’ve made
Look at the mess you’ve made
Let us all wait for Rome to fall (Down ours)
Hours go by, and after all (And up...)
This is one goodbye that we’ll have
Everything under the sun will have its time
Time that’s done and gone
Look at the mess I’ve made
Look at the mess I’ve made
Look at the mess I’ve made
"Down Hours..."
Review by Jonatan Sigurdsson
No.
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I refuse to believe that the band that wrote this “song” is the same one that conceived stadium rock with “Torpedo”, the same band that changed the soundscape of pop music with Honesty, or even a band serious about making music at all.
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“Down Hours…” is undoubtedly the worst song the Plutos have ever released, surpassing even Your Cup of Tea’s “Every Nose in the Nation”.
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The song is angry at the jilting woman in question, but even angrier at itself for existing. If I was this song, I would hate myself as well.
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No one’s performance is inspired. Davy’s bass playing is particularly awful. Brugin’s guitar riffs sound like a million others. At least Frier put energy into his drum bashing.
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The only redeeming quality of “Down Hours…” is that it’s the last song on Side 1. Once “Inkwell Eyes” ends, you can flip the record and skip it altogether.
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Martin simply does not have the voice for a song like this. And Gordon Waller, bless him, knew this, as he filtered the stuffing out of his "vocals". I have heard that the Plutos were behind on runtime for the record and had to scrape together a song on short notice, but surely there was something better than this? Surely? I am inclined to believe there was, and that this song is - heaven forgive me for saying it - intentionally awful. It must be.
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But why?
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The lyrics describe the downfall of the Roman Empire – an enterprise so large and prestigious, it totally exhausted its resources on self-sustenance instead of protection or expansion. Shall I dignify this song by suggesting that it is a self-aware metaphor for the tenuous state of the band during its recording?
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No.
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☆☆☆☆☆