Asked you a question
I didn't need you to reply
Is it gettin' heavy?
But they'll realize
Is it gettin' heavy?
Well I thought it was already as heavy
As can be

Is it overwhelming
To use a crane to crush a fly?
It's a good time for Superman
To lift the sun into the sky

'Cause it's gettin' heavy
Well I thought it was already as heavy
As can be

Tell everybody
Waitin' for Superman
That they should try to hold on
Best they can
He hasn't dropped them
Forgot them
Or anything
It's just too heavy for Superman to lift

Is it gettin' heavy?
Well I thought it was already as heavy as can be.

Tell everybody
Waitin' for Superman
That they should try to hold on
Best they can
He hasn't dropped them
Forgot them
Or anything
It's just too heavy for Superman to lift



Lyrics submitted by toadtws

Track duration: 04:21

"Waitin' for a Superman" as written by Michael Ivins, Wayne Coyne, Steven Drozd

Lyrics © EMI Music Publishing

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Waitin' for a Superman song meanings
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31 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment:I don't think this song is meant to be about anything specific, but just about being at the end of your rope in general. It's a song telling people not to give up on everything when it gets too hard because things will get better even when things are getting worse and worse.

    This song always makes me (personally) think about poverty and how easy it is for people to assume there's no one looking out for them and they never have a chance. I find a lot of people in these situations have an idea that something special will come save them from their situation and that hope is really all they have left to cling onto. Letting go of it is the worst thing they can do.
    Flag penny-laneon August 07, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Wayne Coyne recently explained in an interview that at his father's funeral, he and his brother were pallbearers. At the funeral before they were to carry the casket away, he asked his brother, "Is it heavy (to carry the casket)? I thought it was heavy before (his father's body was in it)..."
    Kind of pertinent.
    Flag blahblah4242on July 22, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:it has to do with the bass players addiction to heroine. he is featured in the music video as the man who is being comforted by Wayne's nephew.
    Flag omni5on July 17, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:When I heard this song it rang true with what happened to me:

    I was finding life harder taking on more responsibilities; marriage, baby, moving house, promotion, another baby At one point I was feeling like superman and then it got harder and harder and I began to break. I became depressed despite the wonderful things happening around me, I felt I was failing everyone.

    Somewhere I knew I hadn't dropped my family, friends or responsibilities, nor had I forgot them or anything, it was just getting too heavy for me to lift.
    When I broke down I was just telling everybody to wait for me.

    I am doing better now. And my sons love Superman.
    Flag j0ndon December 16, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I think 'Superman' is a metaphor for all the figures that people expect to fix everything. Politicans, doctors... God. Just because they don't have the magic fix doesn't mean they don't care, so people have to hold on.
    Flag cropcircledesigneron April 03, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I think the song is talking about real life supermen. Anyone who helps others, whether its policemen, nurses, firefighters, military, parents, a good friend, whatever. Because it pretty much says "Although I'm Superman, I'm NOT Superman." It says that although there are people out there with superhuman love, their abilities, though possibly extraordinary, are still human. So we as people who may end up in a position where we would need a superman, must realize that the hero is coming, though it may not happen as perfectly as it does in the comics/cartoon/movies.
    Flag jst06002on February 04, 2010   Link
  • +1
    My Opinion:Listening to this song in 2009 -- it really reminds me of Obama. When he got elected, he was heralded as the end-all to all problems -- practically the USS's Superman. But right now the economy is still horrible and the general national sentiment is still "heavy." Some people are providing a violent backlash -- why can't you fix everything, Obama? You don't care about us! You're abandoning us! But maybe the problems are just too big for "Superman" to take care of. It doesn't mean people should give up. People should still hold on, but realize that not one person is going to solve everything.
    Flag hallospacegirlon October 14, 2009   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:we're all waiting for something to take our troubles away... but in the end all we can do is cope with them.
    the iron & wine cover of this is beautiful. ♥
    Flag noiamnotwhereibelongon October 03, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:i think Superman is God.

    when he asks "is it overwhelming to use a crane to crush a fly" i think he is angry at God for allowing this person (who is most likely dead or dying) to suffer so much pain and to die in such a way.

    "its a good time for Superman to lift the sun into the sky" i think this means it's a good time for God to bring some new hope or happiness into his life.

    and "it's just too heavy for a Superman to lift" i think this is an answer to the "can God create a rock so big he cannot lift it?" question. the writer feels like yes, God can and has done this with the person who is suffering. I think this song is about losing hope and faith in God, and losing a deeply loved one.
    Flag truthforasongon August 17, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Tell everybody waiting for Superman
    That they should try to hold on best they can
    **He hasn't dropped them, forgot them or anything**
    It's just too heavy for Superman to lift


    Superman can't stop Death. It's too heavy for Superman to lift.
    Flag soggybottomboyon February 07, 2009   Link

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