What does a songwriter do when they're all tapped out of lyrics? Go with a Sure Thing: something that always works.

One of those Sure Things probably started out as an innocent metaphor, snatched from a poet and put into a rock song. Now it's completely out of control. Yes, I'm talking about the phrase "fall from grace".

I hope to find out where this phrase originally came from and what it really means. I'd also like to find out how we got to where we are today: hearing this phrase in every second rock/pop song on the radio.

What is this 'grace' that people 'fall' from? It seems to refer to a sacred position with or love from God (definition 8) that people could lose by doing something that's explained in the rest of the song. But 'grace' seems to have a lot of meanings and a wide range. Are followers of God protected by grace, or is everyone and how much? That determines who can fall in the first place and 'how far', right? How does one lose the grace of God?

Even though I'm not a very religious person, that's probably why I loathe hearing it used in songs so much: it's overdramatic bordering on hyperbole. It doesn't add value to a song it just makes it more ridiculous, diluting the song's intended message. Pop songs still have messages and themes, don't they?

It's not ridiculous because of the religious connotations, far from it. In fact it's quite handy for songwriters that they are only inferring God, whereas mentioning Him specifically may seem too preachy for popular music. I don't mind the inference. It's ridiculous because songwriters often use a 'fall from grace' as a religious consequence to overdramatize a seemingly trivial situation described in the song.

I'd be interested in hearing what religious people think of this. Maybe they see popular music as equally trivial, though it's hard to argue that it's not impressionable. Maybe they are just words in a pop song that not many people pay attention to. Maybe it's just artistic license.

There's something else about the phrase "fall from grace" that makes a lot of sense for songwriters. Not just the meaning of the phrase but how well it rhymes with other words. The word 'grace' rhymes with a lot of words that end in either -ase or -ace. Couple the rhyming capabilities of the phrase with the fact that a person could apparently "fall from grace" for doing just about anything and you've got a real winner! No wonder the phrase is in so many songs.

Here's a list of some of those songs ... some of them have been pretty popular.

The "Fall From Grace" List

Here's the format, sorted by reverse date:
[artist name] - [song name]
[album title], [year]
[lyrics]
([other notes])

Our Lady Peace - Angels/Losing/Sleep
Healthy in Paranoid Times, 2005
I'll wait I'll wait I'll wait I'll wait
I'll wait I'll wait till you fall from grace
(in chorus)

Editors - Camera
The Back Room, 2005
You fall from grace
but fall with such grace

The Pogues - If I Should Fall from Grace with God
Ladder 49 Soundtrack, 2004
If I should fall from grace with God
Where no doctor can relieve me
(first line of the song)

Thornley - Beautiful
Come Again, 2004
What could be more beautiful
than you and I falling from grace?
(from Chris)

The Get Up Kids - Fall From Grace
On a Wire, 2002
I'm watching you fall from grace
Breaking a heart of gold

Starsailor - Tie Up My Hands
Love is Here, 2002
Wipe the make-up from your face
Tie your hair and gently fall from grace

Coldplay - God Put a Smile Upon Your Face
A Rush of Blood to the Head, 2002
Where do I go to fall from grace
God put a smile upon your face, yeah
(I didn't even notice this one ... sneaky)

Sara Evans - Saints and Angels
Born to Fly, 2000
We'll turn in circles, baby
We're never satisfied
We'll fall from grace

Phish - Heavy Things
Farmhouse, 2000
Stumbling as I fall from Grace
She needs my vision to replace
Her ailing sight throughout the night
Leaving two holes in my face

Live - Run to the Water
The Distance to Here, 1999
A million mile fall from grace
Thank god we missed the ground

2Pac - If My Homie Calls
2Pacalypse, 1998
Trying to shake, the crates and fakes and snakes
I gotta take my place or fall from grace

Korn - Freak on a Leash
Follow the Leader, 1998
Sometimes I cannot feel my face
You'll never see me fall from grace

Puff Daddy - Come With Me
Godzilla: The Album, 1998
Break the faith, Fall from grace
Tell me lies, Time flies
Close your eyes, Come with me

The Tea Party - Gyroscope
Transmission, 1997
Witness the fall from grace
You shed your skin

Fall From Grace (the band)
(bonus points are self explanatory)

Amanda Marshall - Fall From Grace
Amanda Marshall, 1996
And oh, when you touch my hand
I fall from grace
And oh, when you reach for me
I fall from grace

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Falling into Grace
One Hot Minute, 1995
I'm falling into grace with you
(Interesting twist for the chorus but it still counts. Is it a coincidence that this is RHCP's most desperate sounding album?)

Stevie Nicks - Fall From Grace
Trouble in Shangri-la, 2001
Because sometimes you just fall from grace

Def Leppard - Blood Runs Cold
Slang, 1996
This fall from grace I see your face
It's over

Michael Jackson - Stranger in Moscow
HIStory, 1995
I was wandering in the rain
Mask of life, feelin' insane
Swift and sudden fall from grace

Bon Jovi - Keep the Faith
Keep the Faith, 1992
There's things I've done I can't erase
Every night we fall from grace

Dire Straights - Lady Writer
Communique, 1990
And I recall my fall from grace
Another time, another place

Madonna - The Look of Love
Who's That Girl Soundtrack, 1987
Like a train you'd come, and I'd lose my place
Now I'm on this trip, I took a fall from grace

Asia - Heat of the Moment
Asia, 1982
One look from you and I would fall from grace
And that would wipe this smile right from my face

The Moody Blues - The One
Shock the world with your fall from grace
Glory days gone without a trace

If you know of any other examples, feel free to use my comments and I'll add them to the list. It'll keep you busy on those boring days at work. ;)

Interesting footnotes:

[1] Fallen angel on Wikipedia.org
[2] The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Is it possible to fall from grace?
[3] Post title inspired by this movie