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The Alarm — The Stand
Album: Declaration
Avg rating:
5.6

Your rating:
Total ratings: 579









Released: 1984
Length: 4:41
Plays (last 30 days): 0
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Oh I have been out searching with the black book in my hand
And I've looked between the lines that lie on the pages that I tread
I met the walking dude,religious, in his wom down cowboy boots
He walked liked no man on earth
I swear he had no name (had no name)
I swear he had no name

Come on down and meet your maker
Come on down and make the stand
Come on down, come on down,
Come on down and make the stand.

As I crawled beneath the searchlights
Looking through the floorboards of this life
I met Doctor Strangelove's cousin
He bore the marks of time
"Hey! Trashcan where you going boy
Your eyes are feet apart
Is that the end you're carrying Shall I play the funeral march" (play the march)
"Play the funeral march"

Come on down and meet your maker
Come on down and make the stand
Come on down, come on down,
Come on down and we'll make the stand.

Come on down and meet your maker
Come on down and make the stand
Come on down, come on down,
Come on down, we'll make the stand.

When I looked out the window
On the hardship that had struck I saw the seven phials open
The plague claimed man and son
Four men at a grave in silence With hats bowed down in grace
A simple wooden cross,
It had no epitaph engraved (it had no)
It had no epitaph engraved.

Come on down and meet your maker
Come on down and make the stand
Come on down, come on down,
Come on and make the stand

Come on down and meet your maker
Come on down and make the stand
Come on down, come on down,
Come on down, and we'll make the stand.
Comments (53)add comment
Nice touch playing this on St David's Day. :-) 
Posted 2 years ago by graemea    [ Reply ]
 martymoose15 wrote:

I never want to hurt my ears again listening to this song ...


Turn your volume down a bit...you have it on too loud if it hurts your ears.  I know it's a great song and all but hearing loss is permanent, friend.  Cheers.
Posted 3 years ago by sfoster66    [ Reply ]
"Well, Ramona likes her malt liquor
And a band from Wales that's called The Alarm
She said she cried when they broke up
She still plays their records at the snake farm"

Ray Wylie Hubbard, 'Snake Farm'
c.
Posted 3 years ago by cc_rider    [ Reply ]
 Baby_M wrote:
When it grows up, it wants to be a Clash song.
 
There's worse things a song could become! 
I don't think it wants to become anything else than a cool, lively tune, which it already is imho. 
I'll take a stand with them anytime 
Posted 3 years ago by Egctheow    [ Reply ]
 Baby_M wrote:
When it grows up, it wants to be a Clash song.
 
Exactly!  A Christian-Punk Clash?
Posted 4 years ago by joelbb    [ Reply ]
Sounds more like Midnight Oil than Rain in the Summertime Alarm.
Posted 4 years ago by LeonD    [ Reply ]
Sounds like a rerelease to my ears- have the LP somewhere and dont remember it sounding like this. Still enjoying it a lot - 8
-------------
Found it - version I have - this song is just over 1 min long and is voice / guitar / harmonica only! Maybe they expanded it and released a single or put it on a later CD version

Listening to rest of lp right now - pd good 
Posted 4 years ago by rtrt    [ Reply ]
A stanza missing from the posted lyrics, from right before the final chorus':


Come roll out the red carpet come bugler sound the horn
The hero is returning gotta welcome him to his home
Don't say I didn't warn you, this prophecy's coming true
The cavalry is thundering riding over the hill
Riding over the hill

Posted 4 years ago by haretic    [ Reply ]
@ ger-man:
 Clash-Kopie, aber gut.
 
Joa, aber Ende der 80er zusammen mit New Model Army eine feste Indie-Größe.
Posted 4 years ago by prickelpit96    [ Reply ]
 Proclivities wrote:

Yeah, back then their music was often criticized for sounding too much like The Clash and/or U2, especially by the UK press.
 

I remember The Alarm taking a lot of heat for supposedly imitating U2. That take becomes clearer when you hear/remember the band's song "Rain in the Summertime"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
Posted 4 years ago by kcar    [ Reply ]
Clash-Kopie, aber gut.

Greetings from Bavaria to all the listerners outside. Stay safe.
Posted 4 years ago by ger-man    [ Reply ]
Only just realised this is about the Stephen King novel. Blow me.

It's still shit though.
Posted 4 years ago by be4con    [ Reply ]
Love it. Something about this song moves me; sorry, not sorry!!
Posted 4 years ago by keenevision    [ Reply ]
I never want to hurt my ears again listening to this song ...
Posted 5 years ago by martymoose15    [ Reply ]
 Proclivities wrote:

Yeah, back then their music was often criticized for sounding too much like The Clash and/or U2, especially by the UK press.
 
I actually thought this was Midnight Oil. Sounds just like 'em.


Posted 5 years ago by Laptopdog    [ Reply ]
Like retarded Joe Strummer
Posted 5 years ago by Noni163    [ Reply ]
You rarely hear the Alarm on UK stations nowadays - with the exception of the very occasional airing of '68 Guns' of course - so thanks RP for this! Loved the album when it came out (I was 19, gulp!), and hearing this brings back some happy memories
Posted 5 years ago by SpinyNorma    [ Reply ]
 Baby_M wrote:
When it grows up, it wants to be a Clash song.
 
Yeah, back then their music was often criticized for sounding too much like The Clash and/or U2, especially by the UK press.
Posted 5 years ago by Proclivities    [ Reply ]
Likely the most popular song from the band who was cut from opening the Under A Blood Red Sky show due to weather. The substitute was Bono personally serving hot tea to a miserably wet audience.
Posted 6 years ago by TotalHip    [ Reply ]
Randall Flagg aka walkin dude  makes his first appearance in King's 1978 apocalyptic novel, The Stand.
And Trashcan Man arrives with a nuclear warhead.
Posted 9 years ago by twoplain2sea    [ Reply ]
For what it is, it is not bad; it's just that there are are others who excelled.
Posted 9 years ago by TerryS    [ Reply ]
 whomhow wrote:
the Clash for poor? {#Eh} 4.

 

I thought "levellers" but not as good. 3.
Posted 9 years ago by Huey    [ Reply ]
the Clash for poor? {#Eh} 4.
Posted 9 years ago by whomhow    [ Reply ]
Thanks for playing this! I saw their free concert at UCLA, back in 86. The large crowd was full of energy and crushing those in the front row. For you fans, check out the videos on Youtube. A great moment for me at age 17. Sure, I don’t listen to their music much anymore, but they had their moment. 
Posted 9 years ago by Citizen225    [ Reply ]
When it grows up, it wants to be a Clash song.
Posted 9 years ago by Baby_M    [ Reply ]
"A" for effort and energy.  I guess the overall aesthetics aren't great, but I still like it.   
Posted 9 years ago by jsed    [ Reply ]
Hadn't heard this since Ronald Reagan ruled (1st term).
Posted 9 years ago by treatment_bound    [ Reply ]
StrongBad beat on your Alarm...
Posted 21 years ago by micman2b    [ Reply ]
a Pox on you all, somehow this is a good follow up to DP, haven't heard it in ages
Posted 21 years ago by Monkeysdad    [ Reply ]
i'd prefer some real joe strummer to this poor-man's excuse for same. could we hear something from the mescaleros next, please?
Posted 21 years ago by rah    [ Reply ]
Just hooked my friend up to show them how great this service is. What a downer to start with this song.
Posted 21 years ago by CastelloKid    [ Reply ]
Buzz killer. :-&
Posted 21 years ago by Ames    [ Reply ]
A while ago Depeche Mode and now this, well, this THING.
Posted 21 years ago by shevek    [ Reply ]
Originally Posted by OiZo: It sounds indeed like The Clash.
Hmmm... my first thought was Midnight Oil.
Posted 21 years ago by tawanda    [ Reply ]
This is the worst song I\'ve heard on this station. I think I\'d rather hear the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack than this; in fact I know I would. Worse than disco, what else can I say?
Posted 21 years ago by redezra    [ Reply ]
Originally Posted by OiZo: It sounds indeed like The Clash.
Yep. And not a very good imitation. A mediocre tune from a mediocre (at best) album. :(
Posted 21 years ago by keelo    [ Reply ]
Originally Posted by utopiapark: Wow I can't believe you're playing this Bill. I love these guys. They're like U2 if U2 had punk roots, .
The Alarm does have punk roots, inasmuch as they got together (like a thousand other bands) after getting a look at the Clash. I saw Mike Peters solo at the Guinness Fleadh a few years back and that was not good. Ah well.
Posted 22 years ago by ScottFromWyoming    [ Reply ]
How alarming. Dot puts on his black shirt and shuffles off to the shelter for cheap beer in little plastic cups. Dot
Posted 22 years ago by Dotman    [ Reply ]
Another wonderful stroll down memory lane. Thanks!
Posted 22 years ago by appst89    [ Reply ]
Great song! Based on the Stephen King novel! Mike Peters is still out there, touring under the name \"The Alarm 2000\", with the blessing of the other guys. I saw the 20th Anniv. show he did at TT the Bears in Boston- just him, a laptop full of pictures from \"back then\" and his guitar. Very cool!
Posted 22 years ago by Cavedragon    [ Reply ]
Wow I can't believe you're playing this Bill. I love these guys. They're like U2 if U2 had punk roots, they grew on me after a boss of mine played them at work every day for a while. :) I love a song of theirs called Unsafe Building it's from the same album that The Stand and Sixty Eight Guns is on. IMHO they also do a good version of Happy Christmas (War is Over) . Thanks Bill. You always surprise me.
Posted 22 years ago by utopiapark    [ Reply ]
There is a better version of this song on Declaration. Above average 80\'s band in my opinion , they got left in the dust by U2 as did alot of other bands
Posted 22 years ago by paymerich    [ Reply ]
The only song of theirs I can remember is Sixty Eight Guns. I was never really impressed by what they did. A girl I once dated was a fan, 'cause she was a little bit of a punk (and they were sort of a punkband). Another thing I remember was they played on acoustic guitars, with distortion added. They left quite an impression after all, reading all this! (must be that -more or less- girlfriend).
Posted 22 years ago by Johray63    [ Reply ]
bill, could you please play rain in the summertime, that is the best alarm song. thx. jeff
Posted 22 years ago by miamizsun    [ Reply ]
The Alarm did an all acoustic version of this .... can\'t remember which album ... but its MUCH much better than this version.
Posted 22 years ago by TreborG2    [ Reply ]
yeah. it IS better than most Alarm songs, but it is still a pretty bad Clash song.
Posted 22 years ago by Platypus    [ Reply ]
pretty good Clash imitation ...
Posted 22 years ago by beachedge_bill    [ Reply ]