Song · Elvis Costello & the Attractions
“I Can't Stand Up For Falling Down” by Elvis Costello & the Attractions
From the album Get Happy!! (1980)
“I Can't Stand Up For Falling Down” by Elvis Costello & the Attractions appears on 12 radio countdowns from 5 stations between 1980 and 2005. It was first released in 1980 on the album Get Happy!!. Its best result is #70 on the 91X Top 191 Songs of the 1980s (1989). In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #75 alternative song of 1980 and #1,540 alternative song of all time.
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"I Can't Stand Up for Falling Down" was a Homer Banks and Allen Jones song first cut by Sam & Dave in 1967, tucked away as a B-side, and Elvis Costello and the Attractions dragged it out and turned it inside out for Get Happy!! in 1980. The original is a slow soul ballad; this one is a sprinting Northern soul stomper built for the dance floor, with Costello bellowing heartbreak over the top.
Nick Lowe produced, and it became one of three British singles from the album. It was meant to come out on the 2 Tone label, and copies were even pressed, but contract trouble stopped it, so F-Beat issued it instead, and that was the version that charted.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 75 | KROQ Los Angeles, CA | KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1980 | 106 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | 70 | 91X | 91X Top 191 Songs of the 1980s (1989) | 191 |
| 1989 | 436 | WOXY 97X | WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1989) | 500 |
| 1999 | 613 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) | 2000 |
| 2000 | 613 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) | 2001 |
| 2001 | 613 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) | 2002 |
| 2002 | 613 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) | 2003 |
| 2002 | 1085 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) | 2002 |
| 2003 | 613 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) | 2004 |
| 2003 | 748 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) | 2044 |
| 2004 | 613 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) | 2005 |
| 2005 | 613 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) | 1994 |
Also listed as: I Can't Stand Up for Falling Down; I Can't Stand Up (For Falling Down).
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