“Levitation” by Let’s Eat Grandma is appropriately named — the track will have you feeling like you’re floating around the room. It’s the kind of song that puts you in an inspired, elevated state of mind. It gives me old-school disco pop vibes, like something I would hear at the roller rink.
I originally thought the song was about partying, but it’s really about letting go and looking deeply into yourself for encouragement when life starts to challenge you. What I thought to be partying was actually a metaphor for the chaos that happens inside our heads.
Let’s Eat Grandma’s Rosa Walton had this to say about the song’s intended meaning: “It’s about feeling all over the place, escaping to your imagination and being in a disorientating and surreal mental state, which can be both scary and elevating somehow—everything feels more creative and things look brighter. You’re with someone you’re close to, trying to reach out and connect to them, and even though you’re both struggling, you’re able to find comfort in one another, and have an absurdly funny yet meaningful time together. You begin to see some hope in your future again after a time when you’d started to lose sight of that.”
“I see a piece of something glittering inside the drain / I feel it rising as the sun beats through the glass”
This is where we see the hope she speaks of. Early on, the duo sets the tone for having hope in the midst of chaos. The “something glittering” is a symbol of all the positive possibilities that exist for you if you push through the hard times and keep going. Even when everything around you is screaming otherwise, there’s always a glint of something better to come on the horizon. The glass is the barrier we put up around ourselves, the way we block our own potential with worry and doubt. However, if you can get past that there is literal sunshine on the other side.
“And though I’ve had a catastrophic Saturday / I’m dressing up to look a million dollars anyway”
“Levitation” is full of powerful moments of optimism. This song is just the confidence boost you need when life is getting you down. In both verses, Let’s Eat Grandma cancels out her negative statements with positive statements. This might not seem like a big deal, but it’s actually very similar to the kind of thinking we should all adapt to be happier. “I had a bad day but I’m still going to get cute.” In an earlier line the duo suggests they are picking their pieces off of the floor, but they believe better days are coming. Later, they continue to say they can’t reach the floor but they are still waiting for better days. It’s all just very encouraging to someone who might be losing motivation.
“Shooting stars in your direction / As I’m losing grip on my reflection”
Sometimes it may feel like we’re losing ourselves while we fight life’s daily battles, but you can’t become the person we are supposed to be by continuing to be the person you are. That being said, I don’t think losing grip on your reflection is intended to be a bad thing here. Life is always going to hit us with new challenges, and I think Let’s Eat Grandma wants us to let go of ourselves and allow ourselves to change, to grow, to levitate to the next level.
