On the way down, they saw a lot they don't remember
And if you asked them how, they couldn't say how they got there
And if you want them now, you could just pull on the lever
And say, "I'm hung up on gravity"

You move your mouth and you start to talk
You close your eyes and then lose the thought
What's mine is mine and what's yours you probably got
And we all fall

On the way down, they saw a lot they don't remember
And if you asked them how, they'd say that gravity's how they got there
And if you want them now, you could just pull on the lever
And say, "I'm hung up on this decade"

They bounced themselves off schools and halls
They created pagers to collect all their calls
What's mine is mine and what's yours and we all always fall
And we fall



Lyrics submitted by numb

Track duration: 02:30


The Waydown song meanings
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15 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment:This song doesn't have to be about drugs -- half the people commenting on it sound like they are so it makes sense they would think that -- I think it applies to any situation where people are falling out of grace and you're trying to figure out how they got there. Homeless people, drug addicts, or just depressed people not doing that well. I always liked his way of expressing that inability to engage life -- like "can't do it not even if sober, can't get that engine turned over" from "Cowboy Dan" -- the chorus of this is sort of like another version of "Every time you think you're talking you're just moving your mouth." To an extent it makes the fallen people sound like sort of a club and he identifies with them in this compassionate way that makes you feel like you're in on the trick of understanding them.

    I like the one that thought it was "if you want them *out* you could just pull on the lever" it makes sense that way.
    Flag adrmacon April 23, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:It's definitely about the drug culture, but I think there are more layers to the song than just that. The theme (going down, gravity, etc.), to me, refers to coming down from a shroom trip. I went on one last September, am probably going to go on another one soon enough as well, and the lyrics of this song seem to describe just that: coming down from that trippy high you get after eating the magic mushrooms. Could be a crash-landing, could be a soft and safe landing.. really depends on the circumstances.
    Flag El_Loboon January 30, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Further into the future, we fall more into material things.
    Flag IwonderOwallon May 08, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:we're all going to die and gravity's helping us.
    Flag leewinetc.on November 28, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:possibly about being stuck in a mental k-hole i mean the way down, they don't remember how they got there i mean ket does make you almost magnetic and you can be dragged down and it has this gravitational effect, plus trying to talk on it is ridiculously hard at times. i mean some of ur comments do make a whole lot more sense than this but i suppose every song means whatever you want it to mean with modest mouse
    Flag timbo91on September 13, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:timothyreal is on point
    Flag lexicoon July 08, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I didn't catch anything about drugs in this song. I think it's obviously about the vapidity of modern existence, people caught in the grind of everyday life, wondering how they got to where they are, etc etc.
    Flag timothyrealon December 13, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:This whole cd is about liquor and speed.
    Flag ross2pon October 03, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I've thought the first part of the song is about the people being in Hell and having gravity pull them down there. Also, if you want to see the people in Hell you "pull on the lever" ie trigger of a gun and commit suicide.

    The middle with:
    "you move your mouth and you start to talk
    you close your eyes and then lose the thought"

    Reminds me of Doin' the Cockroach:
    "You move your mouth
    You shake your tongue
    You vibrate my eardrums
    You're saying words
    But you know I ain't listening"
    By that the rythem that he says it at. Kind of a simular message.

    I think the end is more about society and how everyone is out for their own good and everyone will fail becuase of it (and thus probably all end up in Hell). espcially business people with their pagers.

    I could be wrong, but thats my interpretation.
    Flag redtigeron January 24, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:At first I thought this song was about the come down of speed.

    Now I'm thinking the song is about people with bipolar disorder.
    and Isaac has bipolar disorder, so do I.

    while going through the manic cycle, one is very talkitive and rapidly thinking of new ideas. They also become very forgetful
    "you move your mouth and you start to talk
    you close your eyes and then lose the thought"

    That might be where that line comes from


    Then you go into the depressive cycle, it works like gravity, whenever you come up, you fall back down.

    you can create pagers to collect all you calls.

    ",they created pagers to collect all their calls"
    when going in the depressive stage I know I stop answering my phone, and I always get a million missed calls.

    I could make more explanations,

    But I've also been in the "drug scene" and thats why I originaly thought it was about that.
    Flag gauchekidon September 26, 2006   Link

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