Levitate Me

this song reminds me of eraserhead, which was a big influence on black francis and myself. henry, the main character, has an unseen cry for help because he is in his own hell. he seeks refuge in the lady in the radiator, the necrophiliac next door (elevator lady), and the hope that someday he'll descend into heaven. "He kicked a baby" may refer to the part where henry kills his baby. this is just an idea and if you saw the movie you'll know what i'm talking about. ps get eraserhead, it's the best movie ever and get the pixies dvd, this is on it

"Come on Pilgrim You know he loves you" This bit of the song says more to me than anything. Like addressing the serious mopey protestants to buckt he fuck up. Actually, I think drippy's got this one, about the Shakers, and stuff.

Come on Pilgrim, You know he loves you.

If that's not a pseudo-intellectual's way of saying have hope, I don't know what is.

To start off, the lyrics for this song are wrong. They've been kind of pieced together so far. But anyways....to me this song is about Religion AND sex. Clues: "Take off them rings" -Take off a marriage ring...its not needed. :Off them holes" - Maybe an obscure reference to the holes in Jesus's hands from the cross....as in saying to take off religion. "Elevator Lady, Levitate Me" -This seems to be someone controlling the proverbial elevator between heaven and hell. "Shakey shake...hey shakey!" - This seems to be reference to a religious group, known as the shakers. "Come on pilgrim, you know he loves you." This can be taken two ways...a strictly religious way, or a religion and sex way. The completely religious way would talk about "he" being jesus. saying "come on pilgrim, you know jesus loves you." this would be taken then as sarcasm. The religion and sex way would be someone saying "come on pilgrim, you know he loves you." as in come on, he loves you so have sex with him. I may be wrong, but I think the pilgrims came over for religious freedom, so i think they both could go hand in hand.

I always interpreted this as a love song (personally). The Elevator Lady is whom the speaker desires, and wants her to "please fawn over me", and "Lady levitate me", to a higher plain of happiness and existence. He feels she could be his saviour, as he feels he is unworthy of her (deeming her the "Elevator" lady) as she exists on a higher plain (almost angelic). The pleading in the lines, "If all in all is true" is the speaker pleading to a higher power/fate to make his wish come true, as it seems it would only serve justice to do so - 'if the world is truely a just place, then this has to be/happen'. I think in the lines, "Then take off them rings Off them hose", he is asking for her to first lower herself to his level in order to see/interact/get close(r) to him, in order to then raise him up to her own level. The "Higher place" is where she comes from/lives on. The lines, "Come on Pilgrim You know he loves you" suggests to me, that in his (pretty desperate) attempt to convince her to come down to him and show him affection, he's taking on the voice of the higher power, and attempting to convince her that it is indeed fate that they be together, that the higher power would aprove, and that he is a genuine in his feelings (and therefore a person in general, and thus worthy). She is the "pilgrim": the one on a higher spiritual plain, and he is the "he". This is all meant to be taken symbolically, of course - like poetry.

I doubt this was the intended meaning, but I just thought I'd share what my first/initial interpretation was. I still like it, and can't help but hear it (amongst others, such as ones mentioned here) most times when I listen to the song, still, even now.

PS alot of these lyrics seem wrong to me i.e. I don't hear "run" at the end, but rather "fall", myself.

im pretty sure the lyrics are

"give me help, give me hell"

"take off them rings, off them holes"

"higher please"

i don't think this song is so much about sex as it is about religeon. I think frank is mocking a christian of some sort by challanging him to prove that heaven and hell, and all that are real "if all and all is true..won't you please run over me" and he wants to be sent to heaven if it infact exists

another religeous thing would be the shaky shake part, which i think refers to the "shaker", who are a small religeous group much like the menonites.

"Come on Pilgrim, you know He loves you" is the catchphrase of Christian folksinger Larry Norman (I believe that was his name), the "He" being God or Jesus or whoever. He's clearly saying it in a mocking tone, like "you're all suckers for believing this shit."

Hmm . . . could it be . . . sex?

well, it seems like half of the pixies's songs are in some part, so it's definitely a possibility.

The first pixies album i bought was wave of mutilation, their greatest hit compelation. which unfortunately doesn't have levitate me. i bought their dvd next and heard it and loved it. i hate live music generally but it sounded so good. i finally bought come on pilgrim the day after christamas and the first song i put on was leviate me. i was so unhappy to here it. the live version from the town and country club is sooo much better. it sounds ok on come on pilgrim but on the dvd frank sings it in a slower pace and it sounds so great.

the starting drums and guitar makes me shiver every time of excitement that is