In my humble opinion, The Alarm never received the critical or commercial respect they were due. That’s too bad because they recorded some great albums like Declaration, Eye of the Hurricane, and my personal favorite, Change.
If Change is my favorite album by The Alarm, one of the lesser known tunes from the album, “How the Mighty Fall,” is my favorite track.
And why, you ask?
Simple. The song is a chilling and eloquent promissory note to all the tyrants and oppressors of history: some day you will be brought to justice. Some day the world will be set to rights. Or as Mike Peters sang:
Once you held your finger on the trigger
Now the gun is pointing at your head
Once you reigned supreme
Over all that you could see
Now you walk on the other side of the street
Why would Jesus sing this? Because turning the tables on the princes and potentates, the emperors and oppressors, the bullies and bosses, was at the heart of his message. In the Beatitudes (Matthew 5: 3-12) he blessed the weak, marginalized, and oppressed. In Luke 14 Jesus warns against those who seek the best place for themselves: “For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” He then tells the Parable of the Great Banquet in which the invitation is redirected from the rich and powerful to those on the roads and country lanes (Luke 14:15-24).
In the Parable of Lazarus and the rich man, the poor and forgotten Lazarus is comforted, but the rich man is consigned to alienation and torment (Luke 16:19-31). If you didn’t quite get the message, Jesus hammers home the point: it’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God (Matthew 19:24).
It should be no surprise then, that the coming Day of the Lord (1 Col 1:8 ; cf. 2 Col 1:14) will be the day when Jesus brings low those who have oppressed the poor, the weak, the marginalized and the forgotten (Matthew 25:31-46).
Because God never forgets. The weak will be raised up. And the mighty will fall.
How the mighty fall
I’ve seen it all before
From the highest heights
To the lowest of lows
How the mighty fall
Once your words were the first and last on the subject
Now they hang like a noose around your neck
Once you held the light
That could be seen from near and far
Now you fall and stumble in the dark
How the mighty fall
I’ve seen it all before
From the highest heights
To the lowest of lows
How the mighty fall
Once you held the secrets of the world within your hands
Now you’re just another grain of sand
Once you were the first
Revered to the last
Now they talk about your fall from grace
How the mighty fall
I’ve seen it all before
From the highest heights
To the lowest of lows
How the mighty fall
If you’re interested, I’ve included the track below for listening. If you like it, please support the artists and purchase the song.
