A deep dive analysis of “Levitation,” one of my all-time favorite songs by Beach House
Author: Amanda Taylor
Depression Cherry’s Dramatic Intro
To begin the band’s 5th studio album, Depression Cherry, is a melancholic, eerie, and dramatic song, “Levitation.” The song maintains a few repetitive synth cords that echo throughout the song. Sometimes I find that repetition in songs can be a huge deterrent for me, but in “Levitation,” I feel it helps illuminate the lyrics and provides a deeper meaning to the song.
Youthful Love
The first verse begins with, “You and me with our gold hair on the wall.” Right off the bat, I interpreted this as referencing a connection about a lover. I think the use of the word gold to describe their hair symbolizes how fragile, yet simple, she and her lover are. Beach House’s lyrics are known to have such metaphors, especially in their use of color and movement language to give a deeper meaning to their lyrics. The next line follows with, “After midnight we could feel it all.” When you’re young, a desire to be reckless overpowers you. Everything feels better after midnight; music, late-night pizza, kissing. In this line, I think the lyric represents a sort of reflection on the feelings she felt during her time with her young lover. She and her lover felt it all after midnight, their love was elevated and amplified. She lowers her voice to a more intimate tone singing, “I’d go anywhere you want me to.” This is one of my favorite lines in the entire song. Lead singer Victoria Legrand’s vocals execute the unmatched longing you feel for your lover. How desperate you are to remain by their side that you would go anywhere with them.
What Does The Train Mean?
The song’s pre-chorus begins with, “When the train comes I will hold you.” I interpret this line in two very different ways, both of which alter the song’s meaning entirely. On one hand, this metaphorical train could represent togetherness. When the train arrives, when the timing works out and the stars align, we will then be together, then I will hold you. As Beach House is well known for its metaphors and lyrical symbolism, this train could represent the lovers reuniting in one way or another. Alternatively, when the train arrives, I will hold you before you depart. Another interpretation could be that the train is a sign of departing, that she and her lover are separating. As the train approaches, she will hold her lover tightly before they separate. I also love the next line, “cause you blow my mind,” which Legrand sings rawly. You can feel the passion and love in her vocals with this line.
Where Are We Levitating?
The chorus and song title, “on the bridge levitating ‘cause we want to.” The love shared between her and her lover takes them to another place, a place where they are so high, levitating. Young and in love they don’t know any better, they are levitating because loving one another feels good. The following line, “when the unknown will surround you,” furthers the idea that the lovers are in their own world with their love. Although they are surrounded by the unknown, they are not afraid, as they are in the company of one another’s love. I think of how blindly young people (and people, in general), can fall in love with so many variables that are unknown. To love is to take a risk and these young lovers in “Levitation” jumped bravely into the unknown.
Another Dramatic Shift…
Just before the 6-minute track’s halfway mark, a shift in tone takes place. Legrand vocalizes “there is no right time” twice as a conclusion of the chorus. Obviously, this could mean multiple things: there is no right time to fall in love, there is no right time to break up, and there is no right time to take the risk. The repetitive synths heard within the first half of the song alter to a lower and more dramatic-sounding tone. “The branches of the trees, they will hang lower now.” I have grappled with understanding this line for months, honestly months. I began to understand the line when I went home from college for the first time as I noticed the tree in my front yard looked darker and hung lower than I remembered. I instantly thought of this line and realized that’s exactly what it meant, that the person isn’t the only thing that has changed, so has the world around them. Just like me, the tree grew and got a little older. I think describing the branches as “hang[ing] lower now” represents the same sort of feeling. The world around you got older, too. Regardless of the thought process and lyrical analysis, I have concluded that this line symbolizes growing up and the realization that you’re not the only thing growing older. Furthering my lyrical theory is the next line, “you will grow too quick then get over it.” A feeling of acceptance that aging is inevitable is something I believe people of all ages work to grapple with.
The Finale
The song’s final two minutes begin to include an electric guitar and dramatic “ah’s.” that are added to a multilayered track of Legrand signing previously heard lines, “there’s a place I want to take you, where the unknown will surround you.” As the end begins to echo louder than previously heard, I think of this as s chaotic yet essential part of the young lover’s story. “When the unknown will surround you, take my hand, as our bodies lift up lowly.” Fitting for the title of the song. Once again, I think this line symbolizes union, trust, and all-around love while being in the world as a young person. Their youthful love is so powerful that as the world rests beneath them, all they know is one another as they levitate together.
Stream “Levitation” below
Amanda Taylor | Arguably Beach House’s Biggest Fan | KXSU Music & Arts Reporter