The Ronnie Lane Lyric That Showed off Faces’ Tender Side

The Faces made their place in the music world with their ramshackle image, a rollicking blues-rock sound, and Rod Stewart’s soulful vocals and magnetic presence as a frontman. You usually didn’t associate them with tenderness and sensitivity. How then to account for their 1971 song “Debris”? Written and sung by bassist Ronnie Lane, it’s a subtly moving song about formative memories and the powerful bond between father and son.

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Memory Lane

The Faces formed out of the remnants of The Small Faces, a British band that earned notoriety for a smattering of hit singles and one of the earliest attempts at a concept album (Ogdens’ Nut Gone Flake). When lead singer Steve Marriott jumped ship to form Humble Pie, the remaining three members needed a new outlet.

Luckily, that trio (bassist Ronnie Lane, keyboardist Ian McLagan, and drummer Kenney Jones) corralled guitarist Ronnie Wood and singer Rod Stewart. They became Faces, and their style of music changed from psychedelic and pop-oriented to blues-based, gritty rock.

Although Stewart sang lead on most of their material, Lane occasionally grabbed a lead vocal here and there. On the album A Nod Is As Good As A Wink…To A Blind Horse, the band’s standout 1971 album, he took center stage on “Debris”.

The title refers to a type of impromptu flea market that occasionally popped up in the sections of England that were still recovering from the bombings of World War II. Lane’s family lived in poverty when he was a youth, and his father often frequented these gatherings.

Examining the Lyrics of “Debris” by Faces

“Debris” is sung by Faces’ Lane with a mixture of nostalgia and sorrow. It examines how family ties can endure even in scenarios where people struggled to get by. Lane, writing from the perspective of an established rock star, displays a great deal of understanding for the travails of his impoverished father.

Despite this privation, it’s clear that the older man earned the love of his son, who looks back with fondness. “You were sorting through the odds and ends,” Lane sings about his dad visiting the debris. “You was looking for a bargain.” It’s an indication of the lengths to which the man will go to provide for his family.

The man comes back to the house each time with a song on his lips to please his son waiting at the door. In the middle eight, Lane indicates that he lacked the ability then to understand his father’s plight. “And you, you tried to tell me,” he sings. “But I had to learn for myself.”

In the third verse, the narrator refers to the tough economic times and unemployment of the era. Lane reaches out directly to the old man in the second middle eight. “Oh you was my hero,” he sings, with Stewart offering lovely harmony. “How you was my good friend.” He also suggests that he now fully realizes what the man went through. “I’ve been there and back,” he explains. “And I know how far it is.”

“But I left you on the debris,” the son sings, implying that he had to move on from that existence. “And I wonder what you would have done,” he sings. “Without me hanging around.” With “Debris”, Ronnie Lane showed another side to Faces and paid a touching tribute to a father who did the best he could in difficult circumstances.

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