The Flaming Lips: "Waitin' For a Superman"

Song: "Waitin' For a Superman"

Written by: Wayne Coyne

Performed by: The Flaming Lips

Appears on: "The Soft Bulletin" (1999)

It was six years since their commercial breakthrough, "She Don't Use Jelly", off of "Transmissions From the Satellite Heart" (1993), and The Flaming Lips were on the ropes. In 1996, lead guitarist Ronald Jones departed the band, citing the onset of severe agoraphobia; in truth Jones left because of then-drummer Steven Drozd's rapidly escalating heroin addiction. Following Jones' departure, Drozd took over as lead guitarist in-studio, but nearly lost his arm to what he said was an infected spider bite that turned out to be an abscessed hypodermic puncture. Shortly thereafter, bassist Michael Ivins was almost killed when the wheel of another car flew off and struck his windshield, causing a high-speed crash. Ivins was trapped in his car for several hours while he waited for help to arrive. To top it all off, lead singer and primary songwriter Wayne Coyne's father died after a long battle with cancer, plunging Coyne into a deep depression. In the midst of successive tragedies The Flaming Lips entered middle age. They'd been on the road for sixteen years with only one hit single and little or no money to show for it. Fans and critics alike predicted the band would crumble under their terrible burden.

But then in 1999, a breakthrough. "The Soft Bulletin" came out in June of that year to universal critical acclaim. This album marks the genesis of The Flaming Lips' mature sound. They abandoned the abrasive acid-punk of their earlier records in favor of melodic space-pop. The entire group, and Coyne in particular, spent long hours in the studio producing layer upon layer of instrumental tracks, synthetic strings, booming percussion and triumphant vocals, the end result being what some have called the "Pet Sounds" of the nineteen-ninties. Conye's lyrics won high praise for their newfound philosophical depth and sincerity. His heartfelt ruminations on the disappointments of middle age, the inevitability of death and hope for the future were to become hallmarks of the fresh Flaming Lips sound.

"Waitin' For a Superman" is arguably the prime example of Coyne's present-day lyrical focus. Backed by a spar piano line and cymbal-laden drum beat, Coyne sings in his typically off-kilter Young-esque style about fears of inadequacy and the paralysis that such fears might breed. The song's central symbol is the absence of a real world Superman there to shoulder the burdens of daily life and right wrongs beyond human control. The piece is all at once sorrowful and optimistic. On one hand, the narrator admits there is no visible safety net to guard against man's fall, yet suggests simultaneously that we all, those waiting for Superman, might find strength and resilience in one another's arms, that salvation may live in love and understanding. It is this faith in the human spirit that continues to define Coyne as a lyricist and the Lips as a band.

"Waitin' For a Superman"

Asked you a question,

I didn't need you to reply,

Is it getting heavy?

But they'll realize,

Is it getting heavy?

Well, I thought it was

already as heavy

as can be,

Is it overwhelming

to use a crane to crush a fly?

It's a good time for Superman

to lift the sun into the sky,

'Cause it's getting heavy,

Well, I thought it was

already as heavy

as can be,

Tell everybody

waiting for Superman

that they should try to

hold on the best they can,

He hasn't dropped them,

forgot them,

or anything,

It's just too heavy

for Superman to lift,

(Instrumental)

Is it getting heavy?

Well, I thought it was

already as heavy

as can be,

Tell everybody

waiting for Superman

that they should try to

hold on the best they can,

He hasn't dropped them,

forgot them,

or anything,

It's just too heavy

for Superman to lift