by John Mayer
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| Source |
Lyrics:
Gravity is working
against me
And gravity wants to bring me down
And gravity wants to bring me down
Oh gravity, stay the
hell away from me
And gravity has taken better men than me (now how can that be?)
Just keep me where the light is
And gravity has taken better men than me (now how can that be?)
Just keep me where the light is
This has to be one of my favorite John Mayer songs. Every
time I hear it, I need to restart it; I just think it has a very distinct sound.
The beginning of the song puts me in another place, it kicks starts your
imagination, it’s almost like you are alone in a room full of instruments,
playing for your ears only.
The slow steady drum dances with the electric guitar as they
compliment each other. And then John Mayer’s voice chimes in and his slightly
raspy tone blends with an almost church like chorus humming as background vocals.
This combination brings the song to another level. Of course it wouldn’t be a
John Mayer song without a little guitar solo! The song creates a whole package;
I could definitely see him singing this is an old jazz club.
The song’s message to me appears pretty simple. I feel as
though it’s a testament to the hardships of life. Gravity is what brings you down, literally, it is what keeps us
from floating about. So this song is describing that inner issue, that personal
struggle with trying to keep from falling apart. That fight to stay positive,
to hold onto hope for a better day tomorrow. This Gravity he speaks of could be made up of whatever you are
personally going through and I think because of that, the song can reach almost
anyone who listens to it. And the ending lyric “Keep me where the light is,” in
a way displays that fragment of hope.
John explained his feelings on this particular song in a
studio session at Abbey Road Studios saying that:
“Gravity is one of the most important songs I’ve ever written, and it’s an experiment for me in not explaining everything in a song. And that keeps it open for me, so I can address whatever I’m thinking about, at any day that I’m playing Gravity and I can really sing to it. Because no matter what happens in your life Gravity is a universal theme about not falling from whatever rung of grace you’re on for the moment, not losing the happiness, not losing the success. Temptation, the darkness all that’s just a human struggle… It’s kind of soulful, thick and simple in a way…”
Guess I wasn’t too far off! Check out
the interview and his studio performance of Gravity
HERE
"The beginning of the song puts me in another place, it kicks starts your imagination, it’s almost like you are alone in a room full of instruments, playing for your ears only."
ReplyDeleteI feel exactly the same way. Nice words there.
Hugs from Brazil.
It's really cool how songs can speak to you different ways. I see this song much differently ... I love it as well and could just listen to it on Loop over and over again...it never gets old.
ReplyDeleteYou said "Gravity is what brings you down, literally, it is what keeps us from floating about." When I listen to it, I see Gravity as, not something that keeps us from floating...but rather the thing that prevents us from dreaming and really living life. It is a burden...a weight on us that "only wants to bring us down."
You said: "So this song is describing that inner issue, that personal struggle with trying to keep from falling apart." I totally agree...but it is the fact that a world full of distractions creates a great pull on us to "bring us down" and causes us to make stupid decisions of going with the flow rather than charting our own course.
My heart hurts when he sings the lines "Oh I'll never know what makes this man With all the love that his heart can stand Dream of ways to throw it all away." If you've ever struggled with or known someone who has struggled with addiction, you know the torment of someone who has all they need desperately trying to get more...or at least get something different than the "love" that's right there in front of them. Why would they want to throw it all away? It's the gravity of life...the weights and cares of this world that cause people to lose who they really are and cash it in for what the world has to offer. It's heavy, there world (and it's gravity) is hard to fight against. "Twice as much ain't twice as good" just reiterates that what the world has to offer is a lie. Don't believe it!
And when he says "just keep me where the light is" I think he is saying don't let Gravity bring me down... help me keep reaching for the light to break free from this hold that Gravity has on me.
Interestingly, for a rocket to get to outer space, it has to break free from earth's gravity. And it takes huge rockets with a lot of power to make that possible.
So if we have dreams to remember...and we have life we want to live... we can't let Gravity bring us down...Gravity only leads to darkness. We must keep reaching up toward the light...and stay where the light is.
I see this as a very spiritual song...a soulful but thick song like he said. For me... God is the light...and that's where I know I need to stay or else it will be Gravity that continues to bring me down.
Thanks for your blog...I love to think about songs and music...It really helps us "humans" connect on a deeper level.
Peace!
Actually i really dont understand this song ...well clarification
DeleteMattyou are absolutely spot on i first went to Genius lyrics and their interpretation of this song is not what i feel from it at all. Im glad i found someone who sees it as i do. Thank you for posting. -mark
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ReplyDeletemiraclepianist- feliz navidad
So here is what I think the song is about:
ReplyDeleteI believe it is about wanting two people at the same time. 'Twice as much ain't twice as good and can't sustain what one half could.' He's trying to stay away from it, but is torn.
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ReplyDeletemiraclepianist converter
My absolute favorite John Mayer song! I believe the words, "Keep me where the light is" are 6 of the most spiritual words written in all of todays modern music. So much love from Montana!
ReplyDelete