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Gravity plays favorites I know it 'cause I saw
Honest to God, officer it's awful
Down at work I'm getting too familiar with the floor
Showing off my talents by the mouthful
Hate to break it to you but its out of my control
Forces go to work while we are sleeping
If I could attack with a more sensible approach
Obviously that's what I'd be doing
Now, necks are cracking sideways
Hit me from the back side
I am on the white side
You are on the black side
Cut a piece that's bite size
Shoot me from my good side
If you got a straight line
This would be a good time
Gravity works slowly if you notice it at all
Some of us are getting mighty lucky
If you had to live with this you'd rather lie than fall
You think I can't fly well you just watch me
Now, necks are cracking sideways
Hit me from the back side
I am on the thin side
You are on the fat side
Cut a piece that's bite size
Shoot me from my bad side
If you got a straight line
This would be a good time
The sky is always falling down on me
So officer forgive me please
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I'd sort-of agree with those who say it's somewhat about control, but that it comes with a few layers of other themes loaded on top. For me it sounds like the central theme is societal pressures - buy that house, marry that man, get this done by yesterday for the boss. She relates these pressures to an inviolable and fundamental force in nature.
The "Now, Necks are cracking sideways..." section is a more visceral abstraction of being pulled this way then that by various people in her life giving her words of advice on what she "should" be doing. This disjointedness is represented in the (non-lyrical) music of this section, also. It leads into "Shoot me from my good/bad side", which is a more specific stressor of entertainers (such as The Dresden Dolls) to always look good in the public eye, only to have their image later ruined by random paparazzi shots of them at their worst. (Though, I like to think Amanda is above such vanity).
"Some of us are getting mighty lucky" - some people profiteer from these pressures - e.g. bosses placing high demands, or marketers feeding us a sense of duty to buy their products.
She tries to break out of this mindless loop of mediocrity, or in Amanda's case perhaps it is an attempt to break away from shamefully exploitative recording-label offers that might box her in - "You think I can't fly well you just watch me".
To be honest, not sure where the officer comes into all this. Perhaps through all this pressure she exploded, and is trying to justify the reason - this inexorable, gravity-like force - for her recent stress-driven, violent crime. Perhaps?
On a side-note, I thought "Honest to God, officer, it's awful." sounds a lot like "Honest to God, officer, it's all fall." as in, it's all always an uphill struggle! She probably intentionally (clever girl, that Amanda Palmer) did that.
Expecially when she says "You think I can't fly? Well, you just watch me." It feels like the person who is jumping is saying this.
Then: "Someone tell her, someone get her off!" sounds like someone is watching from below is yelling this.
"You can do it! Good girl! Right foot, Left Foot! Just the way we showed you." Sounds like they are trying to ease her down.
And then "Poke her or something and see if she's moving, okay? I think we've lost her!" sounds like she jumped anyway and everyone's trying to see if she's still alive.
Plus, the whole song sounds kind of urgent and hyped-up like it would be if someone was jumping off of a building in real life.
"Honest to God, officer, it's awful."
sounded like
"Honest to God, officer, it's all foul."
"Necks are cracking sideways, Hit me from the backside" - Accident has happened
"I am on the white side, you are on the black side" - She is the innocent one in the accident
"I am on the thin side you are on the fat side" She is the pedestrian, the other one's in the car.
"Cut a piece thats bite size, Shoot me from my good/bad side" - Evidence taking at the scene
"If you got a straight line, this would be a good time" - Drink-driving test for the person that killed her.
The bits inbetween she recites the alphabet as you would in a drink-driving test, the whole posture left foot, right foot sounds like it could be her trying to walk in a straight line, and other things she says suggest a car accident. Then 2nd verse she seems on the verge of killing herself out of guilt.
When I hear the song I think it's about a prostitute that starts killing people like in the movie Monster? And then she gets caught?
"Gravity plays favorites--I know it 'cause I saw
Honest to God, officer, it's awful.
Down at work I'm getting too familiar with the floor
Showing off my talents by the mouthful"
There's where I got the prostitution thing...
"Hate to break it to you, but its out of my control
Forces go to work while we are sleeping
If I could attack with a more sensible approach
Obviously thats what I'd be doing"
Her explanation for what she had been doing.
Aside from the surface meaning, I get the feeling that the song is a cheeky allegory on how it's not her fault that she's reckless, and it being as uncontrollable as gravity.
And then, aside from all THAT, the point of it, or any song, is to relate to it in whatever way it describes itself to you. So that's just my opinion, and no matter what it's about, this is a great song.
And also, it sounds a lot more like a girl got caught driving drunk and is getting tested.
This song is incredibly amazing, but I doubt there is a deeper meaning of suicide, modeling, or eating disorders. Most TDD songs have one consistent theme. Dark themes, i.e. getting caught drunk driving.
Like, in my case, I watch the whores-and-what-nots get incredibly adoreable guys, "gravity plays favorites", and then the blowjob reference which was exactly! (ikr) what I thought it was. I'm glad I'm not too preverted, or atleast not more than those who thought it too. lol.
"if i could attack with the more sensible approach, obviously that's what i'd be doing," which is about not really being able to stop yourself from DOING some shittt, aha, that you might regret later.
then the chorus-y part is about the whores.
"some of us are getting mighty lucky," i think deals with the people who escape getting 'in too deep' in their relationships, so they're not left in the horrible state gravity often can leave you in. (feeling down on yourself, regretting)
"the sky is always falling down on me"--> totally about being melodramatic about love and relationships and idk, something from a nursery rhyme???
put it all together lol it works.=p
Like, in my case, I watch the whores-and-what-nots get incredibly adoreable guys, "gravity plays favorites", and then the blowjob reference which was exactly! (ikr) what I thought it was. I'm glad I'm not too preverted, or atleast not more than those who thought it too. lol.
"if i could attack with the more sensible approach, obviously that's what i'd be doing," which is about not really being able to stop yourself from DOING some shittt, aha, that you might regret later.
then the chorus-y part is about the whores.
"some of us are getting mighty lucky," i think deals with the people who escape getting 'in too deep' in their relationships, so they're not left in the horrible state gravity often can leave you in. (feeling down on yourself, regretting)
"the sky is always falling down on me"--> totally about being melodramatic about love and relationships and idk, something from a nursery rhyme???
put it all together lol it works.=p
"Gravity plays favorites--I know it 'cause I saw
Honest to God, officer, it's awful.
Down at work I'm getting too familiar with the floor
Trading in my talents by the mouthful"
:The gravity or the pressure of the fame is pushing more on these people than regular people so at work she is throwing up and/or drinking.
"Hate to break it to you, but its out of my control
Forces go to work while we are sleeping
If I could attack with a more sensible approach
Obviously thats what I'd be doing"
You can't control pressure and stress. And the ways people deal with stress are not particularly healthy.
"Now
Necks are cracking sideways
Hit me from the back side
I am on the white side
You are on the black side
Cut a piece thats bite size
Shoot me from my good side
If you got a straight line
This would be a good time"
On the red carpet, they are always taking your picture from all angles. Then deal with all the stress afterwords she controls her amout of food with her eating disorder and has some drugs.
"Gravity works slowly--if you notice it at all
Some of us are getting mighty lucky
If you had to live with this, you'd rather lie than fall
You think I can't fly? Well, you just watch me."
Some people deal with the pressure better than others. While others take it to the extreme and jump off buildings.
Someone then is told what to do in every step in the way, and cracks under pressure.
"Now
Necks are cracking sideways
Hit me from the back side
I am on the thin side
You are on the fat side
Cut a piece thats bite size
Shoot me from my bad side
If you got a straight line
This would be a good time"
More things to control your appearance and such.
"The sky is always falling down on me
So officer, forgive me please!"
The pressure is too much.
When I first heard this song I thought it had to do with Control/Eating Disorders/and Fame. But when I looked through the drinking and suicide comments I figured that everything fits under Fame and the pressure of trying to be perfect; And the unhealthy roads it leads to.