She Floated Away Lyrics
Her own force of will to her mother's surprise
A whole look about her that says that she may
She lifted her arms and she floated away
She lifted her arms and she floated away
She don't give a damn what the other girls say
She lifted her arms and she floated away
"go ahead honey and wear the white dress
Don't let traditions go stand in your way"
She lifted her arms and she floated away
The first one is pride and the second one is love
All understandings must come by this way
She lifted her arms and she floated away
I never thought of it as being about the girl dying, although that is one interpretation (turning into a ghost). But any interpretation has to include the third verse which is more general and isn't as odviously about the girl or her family.
It seems too cheerful to be about death.
It seems too cheerful to be about death.
Definitely a standout track... I would agree it's the tale of an unwed girl with child, who chooses a different path, despite the expectations of the day.
@madscijr [Dang it, clicked send too soon and this site doesn't let you edit your comments!] anyway, I was going to say that I wouldn't go as far as to say the girl dies, by her boyfriend's, her own, or anyone's hand. Maybe she just left? Like a lot of great art, and Grant has done this before, it's left ambiguous. We just know that she "floated away" and whatever it was she did, it was probably something her peers would not approve of.
@madscijr [Dang it, clicked send too soon and this site doesn't let you edit your comments!] anyway, I was going to say that I wouldn't go as far as to say the girl dies, by her boyfriend's, her own, or anyone's hand. Maybe she just left? Like a lot of great art, and Grant has done this before, it's left ambiguous. We just know that she "floated away" and whatever it was she did, it was probably something her peers would not approve of.
Regardless of the framing story, or how it is resolved, for me the value...
Regardless of the framing story, or how it is resolved, for me the value of this song is the universal theme of following one's convictions despite society's conventions or the opinions of others. Grant touched on this theme a little more literally in "It's not funny anymore".
I love the jazzy intro and break, with the bells chiming in. It's kind of dissonant but very cool, I feel a Coletrane sort of vibe from it. Huskers might have started out punk, but underneath it, they were pretty sophisticated musically and artistically.
Grant would go on to further explore the sing songy folkish waltzy lullaby style used here on the first Nova Mob album, which I think is as good as anything he did in Husker Du!
No comments? This is one of my favorite Hüsker Dü songs, easily. And it seems the band members used to like this song as well.
I love the harmony of the two voices in this one. I feel it is about a lady who seeks her own independence. It also seems to be about her relation with her family, and how she changed.
I LOVE this Hüsker Dü song. I know it's a long shot and I'm prolly wrong, but it's about a pregnant girl dying by her fiance's hand (or died during childbirth?).
Her mother let her wear the white wedding dress at her funeral.