Up & Down & Back Again

Powderfinger

come and rescue me
in the water deep
careful now don't lose your aim
the road ahead is clear again
I haven't found it yet
you drift away so slow
in the ebb and flow
so I landed on my feet
the steadiness is bittersweet
it feels the same when you're pushed
out and away and into the crush
in all the hidden pleasures you find
in what you're looking for
I hope that you remember that pride
comes before a fall
I can barely see up and down and back again
despite what you believe
I keep away from trouble
if who I am today's a sign of where I'm going
I'm ready to embrace
recreate the scene
of everywhere you've been
overcome the dreaded curse
a symptom of the universe
it feels the same when you're pushed
out and away and into the crush
in all the hidden pleasures you find
in what you're looking for
I hope that you rembember that pride
comes before a fall
I can barely see up and down and back again
despite what you believe
I keep away from trouble
if who I am today's a sign of where I'm going
I'm ready to embrace
if everybody knows just who you are
when your walk on role becomes a major part
have you ever attempted to be yourself
when everybody wants you to be someone else
if you want to see the things you've trapped set free
you better let go of what lets them be
have you ever attempted to be yourself
when everybody wants you to be someone else
up and down and back again
going up and down and back again


Lyrics submitted by dsfire

Up & Down & Back Again song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

6 Comments

sort form View by:
  • 0
    General Comment
    A song about getting lost in conformity?
    thenarratoron August 14, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    It's about losing someone you love slowly, and having to come to terms with it. The feeling of being lost "in the water deep" is helplessness.
    profmegon August 27, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    this song reminds me so much of mirrorball-era neil young. you know, the album he did with pearl jam.
    atthedrive-inon November 30, 2004   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    It means they are closet Black Sabbath fans... songmeanings.net/…
    Dressed2Depresson March 21, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    It's about being lost in an overwhelming world. And being tossed around again and again, on the sea of people and places and events, which seem to dictate who you are, and the constant pressures (of the metaphorical sea) which become almost commonplace to the person in the choppy sea, so that when steadiness is found, it's almost distasteful in that it is a change from what the person is used to. Of certainty making things uncertain, and of being unable to see for all the problems and issues you have, of looking at yourself, and feeling you might be moving ahead in a way you don't quite understand, but are willing to accept.
    PirateXxEsqueon July 25, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    Becoming famous and well-known. "When your walk on role becomes a major part". Changing into a celebrity and forgetting who you really are, and becoming what society wants you to be. "Pride comes before a fall".
    megan6000on August 28, 2008   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
Another Love
Tom Odell
I think the meaning is pretty clear. This person got really burned in a previous relationship, and because of this is unable to love and show care in his present one, even though he so badly wants to. It's lovely song, and very sad. You can really feel how defeated and frustrated he is with himself.
Album art
Indigo
Of Mice & Men
This track is about is about questioning why the sky would choose to be blue if it had the choice to be anything else, “blue also meaning sad,” states frontman Aaron Pauley. “It's about comforting a loved one in a time of loss by telling them you feel blue, too.”
Album art
Me and Johnny
Matt Paxton
Moyet later described how her song "Goodbye 70's" had been inspired by her disillusionment with how the late-1970s punk scene had turned out, saying, "'Goodbye 70's' is about punk and not caring how you were dressed, and then I discovered that so many of my friends that I'd thought it all really meant something to just saw it as another trend... That's what 'Goodbye 70's' was all about, about how sour the whole thing became."
Album art
Loved by You
Justin Bieber
The fourteenth track, "Loved By You" of the singer's latest studio album titled "Justice", was produced by Josh Gudwin, Skrillex, Jason Evigan & LeriQ. It was released on March 19, 2021.
Album art
Muffin
KIITA
This standout track comes off the artist's latest studio album titled "empathetic". The track was produced by Danny Score and released via notable digital streaming platforms such as Apple Music and Spotify on January 1, 2021.