Falling Down (London Bridge)
Alex Wilson
Description
A haunting dark pop ballad set against the backdrop of the London Bridge, 'Falling Down' uses the iconic structure as a metaphor for a crumbling relationship built on shaky foundations. The song explores themes of decay, hidden anxieties, and the inevitable weight of unfulfilled promises. Low bell tolls, distorted children's choir samples, and industrial sound design create a chilling atmosphere, while intimate vocals contrast with the explosive, siren-laden choruses.
Lyrics
Verse 1 Streetlamps paint the river brass, scaffolds leaning thin, Ghosts of engineers in glass, measuring the wind. You hold out that truss of words—“Baby, we’ll be fine,” But rivets don’t remember you; they only know the strain. Pre-Chorus Every promise is a girder, rusted underneath, We hang our weight on stories till they creak like teeth. You kiss me on the parapet, sirens in the sound— The city hums a warning: something’s coming down… Chorus Falling down, falling down, we keep running for the crown, Build it high above the water—no wonder we go under. Lay the steel, lace the stone, call it love, call it home, But the river keeps the count—pulls us down, down, down. Verse 2 Blueprints on the dashboard, coffee rings and ash, Your laugh like breaking porcelain, sweet and gonna smash. We swear we’ve learned the lesson, then gamble on the span, Painting over hairline faults with steady, shaking hands. Pre-Chorus Every touch a length of cable braided out of fear, Say a prayer to patron saints of bridges keeping near— You trace a cross on metal, whisper like a vow, The river answers plainly: I’ll be taking now. Chorus Falling down, falling down, dress it up like golden crowns, Build it high above the water—no wonder we go under. Lay the steel, lace the stone, call it love, call it home, But the river keeps the count—pulls us down, down, down. Bridge If we rebuild, start at bedrock, dive where the silt can’t lie, Measure truth in meters, not the shimmer of a sky. If it holds, we meet in daylight; if it fails, we swim— Either way the current knows the truest shape of us and them. Chorus / Tag Falling down, falling down… Build it high above the water—no wonder we go under. Outro (Fade out with layered vocal harmonies on "down" and repeating glockenspiel motif. The final sound is a single, heavily reverbed bell toll.)