The band rattled to the middle of the Hot 100 in 1966 with You're Gonna Miss Me, anchored by Roky Erickson's unforgettable yelping vocals, Stacy Sutherland's guitar, and Tommy Hall's electric jug runs. According to myth, Tommy's jug was tuned by the amount of marijuana stored in it.
The group pioneered some of the first garage psychedelia on its albums The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators 1966, and the followup Easter Everywhere 1967.
However, Texas at that time was an extremely conservative area that still hadn't come to terms with 50's rock 'n' roll. The authorities and the police set out to bust the entire band for pot (and—not surprisingly—succeeded).
Stacy Sutherland was jailed. To avoid a prison term, Roky pleaded insanity—a misguided ploy that landed him in Rusk State Hospital for the criminally insane for 3 years. That turn of events spelled the end of the band, although there was a posthumous 1968 LP, Bull of the Woods.
Roky Erickson was released from hospital in 1973 and embarked upon a successful solo career that resulted in a CBS album produced by Stu Cook from Creedence Clearwater Revival. During the 1980s he struggled with mental illness and withdrew from public life for many years. However, in the 2000s he has re-emerged with one of his late 70s/early 80s backing bands, The Explosives, playing regular gigs including the Austin City Limits festival in September 2005, as well as Coachella in California, the Hultsfred Festival in Sweden and Montreal World Film festival in Canada.
On May 31, 2019, Roky Erickson passed away.
Gloria
13th Floor Elevators Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You know she comes around
Just 'bout five feet four
from her head to the ground
You know she comes around here
Just about midnight
She make me feel so good, Lord
She make me feel all right
G-L-O-R-I-A GLORIA
G-L-O-R-I-A GLORIA
I'm gonna shout it all night GLORIA
I'm gonna shout it every day, GLORIA
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah.
She comes around here
Just about midnight
She make me feel so good
I wanna say she make me feel all right
Comes a-walkin' down my street
Then she comes up to my house
She knock upon my door
And then she comes to my room
Yeah an' she make me feel all right
G-L-O-R-I-A GLORIA
G-L-O-R-I-A GLORIA
I'm gonna shout it all night GLORIA
I'm gonna shout it every day GLORIA
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
Looks so good GLORIA
All right, feel so good GLORIA
All right, yeah now
The 13th Floor Elevators' song "Gloria" is a blues-inspired rock anthem about a woman named Gloria who comes around just about midnight and makes the singer feel so good. The lyrics describe her physical appearance, with her being five feet four inches tall and how she comes walking down the street and comes up to the singer's house. The singer answers the door, and she comes straight to his room, where she makes him feel all right. The chorus is a catchy repetition of her name, "G-L-O-R-I-A," which the singer shouts all night and every day.
The lyrics are relatively simple, but they capture the essence of rock and roll in the '60s. The song's arrangement and melody are seemingly part of the psychedelic movement that the 13th Floor Elevators were a part of in the '60s. Behind the catchy chorus, there's a driving bassline and electric guitars that create a sense of urgency and excitement. The singer's delivery of the lyrics is unconventional, with his tone being gruff and raspy, yet it adds to the song's overall vibe.
Line by Line Meaning
Like to tell you 'bout my baby
I would like to share with you about my beloved
You know she comes around
You already know that she visits frequently
Just 'bout five feet four from her head to the ground
Her height is approximately 5 feet 4 inches from head to the ground
You know she comes around here, just about midnight
She comes to this place every night around midnight
She make me feel so good, Lord
She brings me immense pleasure and happiness, my God
She make me feel all right
She makes me feel okay and content
And her name is G-L-O-R-I-A
Her name is spelled as G-L-O-R-I-A
G-L-O-R-I-A GLORIA
The name of my beloved is pronounced as Gloria
I'm gonna shout it all night GLORIA
I am going to shout her name Gloria all night long
I'm gonna shout it every day, GLORIA
I will shout her name Gloria every day
She make me feel so good, I wanna say she make me feel all right
She makes me feel incredibly good that I have to mention it again how alright she makes me feel
Comes a-walkin' down my street
She walks down my street
Then she comes up to my house
Then she comes to my house
She knock upon my door
She knocks on my door
And then she comes to my room
And then she comes to my room
Yeah an' she make me feel all right
She makes me feel okay
Looks so good GLORIA
Gloria looks incredibly appealing
All right, feel so good GLORIA
She makes me feel okay, Gloria
All right, yeah now
Okay, that's it for now
Contributed by Adalyn V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.