Gravity Lyrics and meaning.

Discuss any aspect of Soul Asylum, their music, and the band's members.
Put the Bone In
Stranger
Posts: 6
Joined: Sat Nov 09, 2013 7:56 pm

Gravity Lyrics and meaning.

Post by Put the Bone In »

Hi Friends,

I'm an Orlando, Florida based SA fan since someone turned me on to "Hang Time" back in the vinyl days.

Dave's lyrics never disappoint, and I enjoy digging into them. When I Googled the lyrics for Gravity I was dumbfounded. Every site has the same, horribly incorrect version.

Here's my transcription:

There's a little man, who can get his hands
on a plan to sell the planet
He walks the walk, and he talks the talk
and for half a front you can have it

For every answer, there are ways to shoot it down
We'll get some greenbacks, the green light,
some checks with wings to get this new thing off the ground.

But I can't stand the gravity, I can't stand it
The way you handled it, I got to hand it to you
No I can't stand the gravity, can't stand it
just like you planned it, I'm coming out of my shoes

I shined-up, and wind me up, like a toy on the first day of school
Stranded, abandoned, still waitin' in a line of fools

For every question, there are answers to spare
Stop at the convenience store, without convenience we ain't going anywhere.

No I can't stand the gravity, I can't stand it
The way you handled it, I got to hand it to you
I can't stand the gravity, I can't stand it
just like you planned it, I'm coming out of my shoes

We're so far from home
Just drifting off alone
floating away, off into space

Chime down and get a treat, go get what you need
just a trick-or-treat, someone said to me "live how you wanna live"
just like a candlelight, like a shooting star, still flickering,
still glowing, the room is still on fire

For every question, there are ways to shoot it down
you put you feet down, on the cold ground
I do believe that this time you are comin' round

I can't stand the gravity, I can't stand it
The way you handled it, I got to hand it to you
No I can't stand the gravity, I can't stand it
just like you planned it, I'm coming out of my shoes

No I can't stand the gravity, I can't stand it
The way you handled it, I got to hand it to you
No I can't stand the gravity, I can't stand it,
don't understand it, I'm coming out of my shoes

Chime down and get a treat, go get what you need
just a trick-or-treat, it's all the same to me
live how you wanna live

like a candlelight, shooting star, still flickering,
you can always take your time,

lots of rules apply, make it last awhile,

'till blowing, floating on a summer breeze,
with a warm wind, roaring....
like a dandelion starting to disintegrate


Dave changes live versions, but this should cover it.

Does anyone know the story behind this song? Sounds like a lot of promises broken (pun intended).

Peace,

GD

User avatar
AlyssaJones
Social Butterfly
Posts: 603
Joined: Tue Jul 15, 2008 9:16 am
Location: Pittsburgh

Re: Gravity Lyrics and meaning.

Post by AlyssaJones »

Hi there! Welcome to the site.

If you're looking for song lyrics or anything else related to their albums or singles, just check out the songs list or discography section. The lyrics to just about every one of their songs is posted here, including rare and unreleased songs. All of the songs posted here are pretty much guaranteed to be correct, and are by far the most-correct you'll find on the Internet. They're either copied from the liner notes of their respective albums, or were listened to carefully with music editing software to make sure they got everything exactly right.

The lyrics to Gravity as posted here match the ones in the liner notes of Delayed Reaction.

nikkip
Social Butterfly
Posts: 146
Joined: Wed Feb 20, 2013 9:04 pm

Re: Gravity Lyrics and meaning.

Post by nikkip »

This site is definitely the best place to find lyrics and really, all things Soul Asylum :)

Dave has talked about the meaning of Gravity in quite a few interviews, usually mentioning his kid was really into outer space when he wrote it.
What is the song “Gravity” about?

I think that there’s some sort of life and death situation going on, as far as everything that is holding you down, and everything that makes you want to feel some sense of weightlessness. It reminds me of The Unbearable Lightness of B.S. [laughs] The notion of gravity being a concept that you can apply to metaphor and that you can also apply to science fiction and what people think about outer space, it’s just really interesting to me. The way that sometimes you can just feel so heavy, like everything’s just weighing you down, and you want to get that off your back or off your shoulders. So I see other people that just deal with it so well, and I just don’t know how they can do it. I don’t know how they can be so up and so happy and floating around all the time when it feels like it’s just pushing me down. So it’s a thing where I’m expressing frustration, and I’m expressing admiration for people that deal with that so easily.
http://blog.thecurrent.org/2012/05/soul ... -reaction/

I know he's mentioned the song also being inspired by his kid being into outer space stuff.

Put the Bone In
Stranger
Posts: 6
Joined: Sat Nov 09, 2013 7:56 pm

Re: Gravity Lyrics and meaning.

Post by Put the Bone In »

Thanks for the replies and great info.

My transcription had mistakes!

Probably because I watched this interview with Dave:

http://youtu.be/KaJwxQtjUCY

Kinda gave me a bad feeling about the music business nowadays. When I heard Gravity, my mind was thinking maybe some promoter screwed him over.

Never stop learning,

GD

User avatar
Monolith Maniac
The Judge
Posts: 991
Joined: Tue Oct 02, 2007 10:32 pm
Location: Central Wisconsin
Contact:

Re: Gravity Lyrics and meaning.

Post by Monolith Maniac »

Put the Bone In wrote:We'll get some greenbacks, the green light,
some checks with wings to get this new thing off the ground.
I do like the "checks with wings" part you mentioned, it does actually make sense considering the line before he talks about money (greenbacks).

I did discuss that line a while back with Sara (Alyssa Jones) and how we found it weird Dave was talking about "jets with wings" (that's what the lyrics say) because a jet/plane already has wings; kinda seems like a given (unless you're referring to just the jet engine itself).
Jim Metz, Webmaster of EnterTheSoulAsylum.com

User avatar
Judgmental Patient
Social Butterfly
Posts: 140
Joined: Fri Dec 21, 2007 1:13 am
Location: BCo, Maryland
Contact:

Re: Gravity Lyrics and meaning.

Post by Judgmental Patient »

Ha yeah checks with wings is actually a better line
What happened son, you could have been someone
You could have been much more

User avatar
Yaz McBoo
Social Butterfly
Posts: 425
Joined: Sat Oct 06, 2007 11:49 pm
Location: NY
Contact:

Re: Gravity Lyrics and meaning.

Post by Yaz McBoo »

Put the Bone In wrote:
Probably because I watched this interview with Dave:

http://youtu.be/KaJwxQtjUCY

Kinda gave me a bad feeling about the music business nowadays. When I heard Gravity, my mind was thinking maybe some promoter screwed him over.
Well that interview was taped right around one of the low points in the band's history. They had just played to about 15 people in a minor league baseball stadium (ok, maybe 50 people, most of whom were family of the opening local bands) following a prolonged cross-country journey back east for those tour dates, and if the wheels weren't already in motion for Dan to leave the band by then, I'm sure the process had just started. No wonder the interview is so painful.

nikkip
Social Butterfly
Posts: 146
Joined: Wed Feb 20, 2013 9:04 pm

Re: Gravity Lyrics and meaning.

Post by nikkip »

Yaz McBoo wrote: Well that interview was taped right around one of the low points in the band's history. They had just played to about 15 people in a minor league baseball stadium (ok, maybe 50 people, most of whom were family of the opening local bands) following a prolonged cross-country journey back east for those tour dates, and if the wheels weren't already in motion for Dan to leave the band by then, I'm sure the process had just started. No wonder the interview is so painful.
I didn't know that. I figured timing wise, Dan had to be thinking about or committed to leaving by then. It's a good interview but it's sad. The title of this interview to me is The Interview Where Dave Says He Should Have Been A Welder. I seriously clicked that link thinking "I bet it's TIWDSHSHBAW" and sure enough, it was.

Put the Bone In
Stranger
Posts: 6
Joined: Sat Nov 09, 2013 7:56 pm

Re: Gravity Lyrics and meaning.

Post by Put the Bone In »

Yaz McBoo wrote: Well that interview was taped right around one of the low points in the band's history. They had just played to about 15 people in a minor league baseball stadium (ok, maybe 50 people, most of whom were family of the opening local bands) following a prolonged cross-country journey back east for those tour dates, and if the wheels weren't already in motion for Dan to leave the band by then, I'm sure the process had just started. No wonder the interview is so painful.
I'll start by saying how nice it is to join a forum and not be attacked by some lurking troll. It feels good to find some like-minded people who actually have things to contribute. Thank you.

I went to one of those painful shows (Orlando Harley Davidson). We were having a beer before the show when Dan came out of a Port-o-let and quietly walked past us (undisturbed) back into their travel trailer.

He looked done.

GD

Put the Bone In
Stranger
Posts: 6
Joined: Sat Nov 09, 2013 7:56 pm

Re: Gravity Lyrics and meaning.

Post by Put the Bone In »

nikkip wrote: I didn't know that. I figured timing wise, Dan had to be thinking about or committed to leaving by then. It's a good interview but it's sad. The title of this interview to me is The Interview Where Dave Says He Should Have Been A Welder. I seriously clicked that link thinking "I bet it's TIWDSHSHBAW" and sure enough, it was.
That was funny and sad.

I'm selfishly happy that he passed-up a respectable life of welding.

It makes you wonder how many welders never got the chance to tell the world how they feel.

GD

Post Reply