Lyrics for Levitate Me as interpreted by numb

Levitate Me Lyrics
Give me help
Give me help
You can... levitate me

Then take off them rings
Off them hose
Levitate me

Higher place
Levitate me

Elevator lady (4x)
Lady levitate me

If all in all is true (3x)
If all is true
Won't you please fawn over me (4x)

Shaky shake... Shakey
Levitate me

Come on Pilgrim
You know he loves you
Levitate me

Higer place
Levitate me

He kicked a baby
Elevator lady (3x)
Lady
Elevator Lady
Lady. Lady. Levitate me

If all in all is true (3x)
If all is true
Won't you please run over me (5x)
Me, me, me, me, ...

Interaction
Mail to a friend Send Lyrics to a Friend
Share on Facebook

Stumble It
Add to Del.icio.us Add to Del.icio.us




  • 18 Comments
  • Printer Friendly Lyrics
oldest first     Expand All
ravinglilies
10-11-2002

Rated 0 
Hmm . . . could it be . . . sex?

Log in to reply
kyasarin
06-17-2003

Rated 0 
well, it seems like half of the pixies's songs are in some part, so it's definitely a possibility.

Log in to reply
drippykid
06-09-2004

Rated 0 
im pretty sure the lyrics are

"give me help, give me hell"

"take off them rings, off them holes"

"higher please"

i don't think this song is so much about sex as it is about religeon. I think frank is mocking a christian of some sort by challanging him to prove that heaven and hell, and all that are real "if all and all is true..won't you please run over me" and he wants to be sent to heaven if it infact exists

another religeous thing would be the shaky shake part, which i think refers to the "shaker", who are a small religeous group much like the menonites.

Log in to reply
asknoquestions
10-06-2004

Rated 0 
this song reminds me of eraserhead, which was a big influence on black francis and myself. henry, the main character, has an unseen cry for help because he is in his own hell. he seeks refuge in the lady in the radiator, the necrophiliac next door (elevator lady), and the hope that someday he'll descend into heaven. "He kicked a baby" may refer to the part where henry kills his baby.
this is just an idea and if you saw the movie you'll know what i'm talking about.
ps get eraserhead, it's the best movie ever
and get the pixies dvd, this is on it

Log in to reply
Hyperbole
11-21-2004

Rated 0 
"Come on Pilgrim
You know he loves you"
This bit of the song says more to me than anything. Like addressing the serious mopey protestants to buckt he fuck up.
Actually, I think drippy's got this one, about the Shakers, and stuff.

Come on Pilgrim,
You know he loves you.

If that's not a pseudo-intellectual's way of saying have hope, I don't know what is.

Log in to reply
Levitator89
12-29-2004

Rated 0 
The first pixies album i bought was wave of mutilation, their greatest hit compelation. which unfortunately doesn't have levitate me. i bought their dvd next and heard it and loved it. i hate live music generally but it sounded so good. i finally bought come on pilgrim the day after christamas and the first song i put on was leviate me. i was so unhappy to here it. the live version from the town and country club is sooo much better. it sounds ok on come on pilgrim but on the dvd frank sings it in a slower pace and it sounds so great.

Log in to reply
opivy7898
01-25-2005

Rated 0 
To start off, the lyrics for this song are wrong. They've been kind of pieced together so far.
But anyways....to me this song is about Religion AND sex.
Clues:
"Take off them rings" -Take off a marriage ring...its not needed.
:Off them holes" - Maybe an obscure reference to the holes in Jesus's hands from the cross....as in saying to take off religion.
"Elevator Lady, Levitate Me" -This seems to be someone controlling the proverbial elevator between heaven and hell.
"Shakey shake...hey shakey!" - This seems to be reference to a religious group, known as the shakers.
"Come on pilgrim, you know he loves you." This can be taken two ways...a strictly religious way, or a religion and sex way. The completely religious way would talk about "he" being jesus. saying "come on pilgrim, you know jesus loves you." this would be taken then as sarcasm. The religion and sex way would be someone saying "come on pilgrim, you know he loves you." as in come on, he loves you so have sex with him. I may be wrong, but I think the pilgrims came over for religious freedom, so i think they both could go hand in hand.

Log in to reply
eshtaryus
04-18-2005

Rated 0 
the starting drums and guitar makes me shiver every time
of excitement that is

Log in to reply
thequeenisdead
08-18-2005

Rated 0 
"Come on Pilgrim, you know He loves you" is the catchphrase of Christian folksinger Larry Norman (I believe that was his name), the "He" being God or Jesus or whoever. He's clearly saying it in a mocking tone, like "you're all suckers for believing this shit."

Log in to reply
thequeenisdead
08-18-2005

Rated 0 
EDIT: FRANK BLACK is clearly saying it in a mocking tone (just thought I'd clarify).

Log in to reply
mswer
10-03-2005

Rated 0 
well, i don't think this song anything to do with religion or sex, at least it doesnt to me. i mean, certainly that is one valid interpretation and may well be the "correct" one, but i like alternate readings. i think parts of this song are just about a relationship and wanting to be involved in it but also thinking you shouldnt be - "would you please fawn over me" and then "would you please run over me." while she takes him to a higher place (levitates him), she is also going to destroy him.

Log in to reply
djcvarme
11-11-2005

Rated 0 
i`ve read or heard somewhere that frank black once went to a christian summer-camp or something like that and one of the "teachers" told him; come on pilgrim, you know he loves you.

I saw the pixies at roskilde2004, it was,,,,, aweSomE. ill never forget it, they rock sooo hard..

river euphrates and the holiday song is my favs:)
keep it real pixies fans

Log in to reply
whatcapo?
12-13-2005

Rated 0 
the religion angle is what struck me when i first heard this song, it reminded me a lot of the divine comedy. "elevator lady" could be beatrice, the pilgrim's (dante) kinda guardian angel who is responsible for his salvation and his trip through hell. "give me help, give me hell, you can levitate me." "come on pilgrim you know he loves you" the big man in the sky, supposedly. and we all know this is seriously taking the shit out of religion too, but it's still just a kickass song regardless of the depth of theological thought in it, but that also makes it kick a little more ass because black francis is a smart fella.

"nobody listens to the lyrics in rock songs anyway, right?"

the first pixies album i bought was this EP and then the next day i found a come on pilgrim/surfer rosa split in the same record store i had bought this from in the first place, for 5 friggin dollars more. that's a whole album! so yeah. that sucked.

Log in to reply
The Distorted
05-18-2006

Rated 0 
I always interpreted this as a love song (personally).
The Elevator Lady is whom the speaker desires, and wants her to "please fawn over me", and "Lady levitate me", to a higher plain of happiness and existence. He feels she could be his saviour, as he feels he is unworthy of her (deeming her the "Elevator" lady) as she exists on a higher plain (almost angelic).
The pleading in the lines, "If all in all is true" is the speaker pleading to a higher power/fate to make his wish come true, as it seems it would only serve justice to do so - 'if the world is truely a just place, then this has to be/happen'.
I think in the lines,
"Then take off them rings
Off them hose",
he is asking for her to first lower herself to his level in order to see/interact/get close(r) to him, in order to then raise him up to her own level.
The "Higher place" is where she comes from/lives on.
The lines, "Come on Pilgrim
You know he loves you" suggests to me, that in his (pretty desperate) attempt to convince her to come down to him and show him affection, he's taking on the voice of the higher power, and attempting to convince her that it is indeed fate that they be together, that the higher power would aprove, and that he is a genuine in his feelings (and therefore a person in general, and thus worthy). She is the "pilgrim": the one on a higher spiritual plain, and he is the "he".
This is all meant to be taken symbolically, of course - like poetry.

I doubt this was the intended meaning, but I just thought I'd share what my first/initial interpretation was. I still like it, and can't help but hear it (amongst others, such as ones mentioned here) most times when I listen to the song, still, even now.

PS alot of these lyrics seem wrong to me i.e. I don't hear "run" at the end, but rather "fall", myself.

Log in to reply
tef
01-01-2008

Rated 0 
whoa! the religion perspective is a good explanation i had never thought about it.
when i first listened to this song i thought it was about drugs. couldnt it be? i mean
"Give me help
Give me help
You can... levitate me" --> drugs make you feel high, you feel like they help you.

"Higher please
Levitate me"

i think this song is about a depressed person who uses drugs to feel better, to feel high.
what do you think?

Log in to reply
dawltie5
04-24-2008

Rated 0 
"Come on Pilgrim you know he loves you." is a quote from a tv evangelistic said all the time. Frank Black would watch him late at night, and he always liked how he said it with such passion. So he says it like the TV evangelist. The "he" who loves the "pilgrim" is Jesus. Now I think that "hose" is corret it makes sence that he would be telling a woman to take off her wedding ring and pantie hose. Jesus holes is just to much of an over interpretation.

Log in to reply
WaveNo.13
07-25-2008

Rated 0 
Religion was my first thought, I think it might be more.

Log in to reply
ImDrew
01-08-2010

Rated 0 
I always thought that at least during some of the "Won't you please..."s he said "Won't you please one over me", especially at the end. One over meaning to fool or lie, to put one over on someone. So it would be saying "If all is true, won't you please lie to me?"

Log in to reply




  • Add Your Comments
What does this song mean to you?

You must be logged in to post your comments.

Feel free to create an account with us, or log in with your existing account, to start adding your comments to songs.





Popular
Top:   Lyrics, Artists, Albums
Random:   Lyric, Artist, Album

Your Ad Here