I Have Been Floated

The Olivia Tremor Control

When it should learn to speak before it melts away
And thus express that each have words no one else will say

I have been floated to this thought this hour
On a series of events i cannot explain
Gather yer wits, your will, your luck, yer power
that what it would effect that will not remain

A light shines through a little hole the hole's inside somewhere
The spiracle's obedience it is true (i swear (honestly))

If one claims to know the way let fashion be his bride
And more akin to welcome in to being forced inside


Lyrics submitted by weezerific:cutlery

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I Have Been Floated song meanings
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14 Comments

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  • +4
    General Comment
    There's a passage in Ralph Waldo Emerson's "Intellect" that I just came across that sounds like this song's chorus. The song is probably about/based on ideas in the essay because they seem a little too close to be coincidental. The passage goes "I have been floated into this thought, this hour, this connection of events, by secret currents of might and mind..." The quote relates to how Emerson believes that if people use their mind and examine what goes on around them, then what happens to them won't be surprising. If one doesn't use their intellect they won't understand why things unfold the way they do and thus they "will have been floated" into their situation.
    alananaon October 31, 2007   Link
  • +2
    General Comment
    It's about causal determinism. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/… As others have referenced, the chorus is obviously a reference to an essay by Emerson, which says: "What am I? What has my will done to make me that I am? Nothing. I have been floated into this thought, this hour, this connection of events, by secret currents of might and mind, and my ingenuity and wilfulness have not thwarted, have not aided to an appreciable degree." Everyone's actions are just determined by their genes and environment. Everything that exists and happens today only does so because it was caused by something else, tracing all the way back to the beginning of the universe. We have all been "floated" to our current lives by a particular "series of events", free will is an illusion.
    wnk1111on October 12, 2012   Link
  • +1
    General Comment
    This song now gives me goosebumps. It is written so beautifully and while I do not attempt to deny it, help from Emerson be damned! When put together in paragraph form, it really is amazing how much beauty it retains while taking on a wholly different thing altogether. Beautiful songwriting and beautiful writing are different things, I believe. This song is both. And it is true. I've been floated my whole life...
    NotThereYeton February 03, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    Either this song or "I have been Floated" is the top OTC song in my book. It's on the Singles & Beyond album but I think it could have been included in Black Foliage perfectly.
    grandpaon April 18, 2004   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    Jeff Magnum is in this song around the 1:30 mark. Either this or "Fireplace" is the best OTC song, in my opinion.
    grandpaon April 18, 2004   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    Awesome.
    Rockin-Robinon January 29, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    grandpa - it sounds like it could have been included on Black Foliage perfectly cause it was on Black Foliage. lol. Great song. Love that Jeff sings on it.
    wingedfeetxcon April 22, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    Superb song. I'm guessing it's about dreams, or something along those lines (given the general theme of Black Foliege).
    Snapmanon December 22, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    i thought that sounded like jeff! this song is awsome.
    Lucanioon May 14, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    uh.... its about acid. everybody knows thaat. (and a good hint for your future otc experiences; theyre all about lsd, generally speaking)
    choke_saveon May 15, 2006   Link

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