Oh, how is it that I could come out to you
And be still floatin'
And never hit bottom and keep falling through
Just relaxed and paying attention?

All my two-dimensional boundaries were gone
I had lost to them badly
I saw that world crumble and thought I was dead
But I found my senses still working

And as I continued to drop through the hole
I found all surrounding
To show me that joy innocently is
Just be quiet and feel it around you

And I opened my heart to the whole universe
And I found it was loving
And I saw the great blunder my teachers had made
Scientific delirium madness

Oh, I will keep falling as long as I live
Ah, without ending
And I will remember the place that is now
That has ended before the beginning

Oh, how is it that I could come out to you
And be still floatin'
And never hit bottom and keep falling through
Just relaxed and paying attention?


Lyrics submitted by AngelDust20

5D (Fifth Dimension) Lyrics as written by Roger Mcguinn

Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing, BMG Rights Management

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

5D (Fifth Dimension) song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

10 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +2
    General Comment

    McGuinn's fascination with things spacey and sci-fi.

    rosiekzon March 16, 2011   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    To me, this song describes perfectly that wonderful, peaceful feeling you get when you're high on pot. When i'm high, and I play this song, it fills me with an indescribably beautiful peaceful wonderful emotion. You know? When everything is alright, when you can feel love and beauty in everything, when you're in such a beautiful, peacecul mindset, and the sheer beauty of the music just makes you wanna cry? That's what this song means to me. It's a beautiful song, and it's totally under-rated.

    wilkes85on July 23, 2008   Link
  • +1
    My Interpretation

    Although the LSD interpretation could be likely a meaning (could be meant to be ambiguous), I think that the song has to do with something about growing, and to do it with the conscience of being part of a new generation with a complete different mindset from the previous one (like parents, or as this song says, like "teachers"), and with the feeling of freedom and change that was iconic from that generation during the 60's.

    In any case, is my favourite Byrds song. Maybe also their most "english" song (thee baroque style organ sounds a bit like The Kinks).

    scldebruton August 11, 2014   Link
  • +1
    My Interpretation

    To me, it's about dying and going to the afterlife, and the afterlife being a 5-dimension space rather than the 4-dimensional space we currently live in (three spatial dimensions + Time).

    "I saw that world crumble and thought I was dead But I found my senses still working"

    He's still conscious after death, as his previously "two-dimensional" world crumbled around him.

    "And I will remember the place that is now That has ended before the beginning"

    This is the Fifth dimension. It transcends time itself. Thus, it "has ended before the beginning."

    Counterclockwerkon November 22, 2017   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    okay i guess i'll pop the comment cherry of one of the greatest and most underrated songs by one of the most underrated bands of the 60's. the byrds are amazing! btw the song is about lsd.

    voteformnmontrlon July 27, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I adore every second of this song.

    DCBA25on May 06, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    It isn't about LSD...check this link: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5D_%28Fifth_Dimension%29

    I can see why people might think it was, but so many of those songs in the 60s were written to mean something OTHER than drugs but they were ambiguous enough that people could apply their own 'meanings'.

    SchreibStangon February 29, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Okay people.....after being experienced I can confirm that this song is about LSD for the most part.. if not the whole song this part is: All my two-dimensional boundaries were gone I had lost to them badly I saw that world crumble and thought I was dead But I found my senses still working

    And as I continued to drop through the hole I found all surrounding To show me that joy innocently is Just be quiet and feel it around you

    And I opened my heart to the whole universe

    kylewilliamon December 11, 2014   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    To me it is about the altered state that one enters into during transcendental meditation...the lyrics "just relaxed & paying attention" is tm in a nutshell. It is my belief that various dimensions are often traveled through (or just made more aware of their existence) when one enters an altered consciousness via drugs or through meditation... (my opinion) Regardless.... I absolutely LOVE this song !!!

    dufusbugon June 10, 2020   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Becoming aware of all the falsehoods and truths that surround us.

    Loraqson May 30, 2021   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
Cajun Girl
Little Feat
Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve. The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future. Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere" The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
Album art
Holiday
Bee Gees
@[Diderik:33655] "Your a holiday!" Was a popular term used in the 50s/60s to compliment someone on their all around. For example, not only are they beautiful, but they are fun and kind too ... just an all around "holiday". I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
Album art
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988. "'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it." "There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
Album art
Blue
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
Album art
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.