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.
You're Gonna Miss Me
13th Floor Elevators Lyrics
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Ah
You're gonna wake up one morning as the sun greets the dawn
You're gonna wake up one morning as the sun greets the dawn
You're gonna look around in your mind, girl, you're gonna find that
I'm gone
You didn't realize
You didn't realize
You didn't realize
You didn't realize
Oh, you're gonna miss me, baby
Oh, you're gonna miss me, baby
Oh, you're gonna miss me, child, yeah, yeah
I gave you the warning
But you never heeded it
How can you say you miss my lovin'
When you never needed it?
Yeah, yeah, ow
You're gonna wake up wonderin'
Find yourself all alone
But what's gonna stop me, baby?
I'm not comin' home
I'm not comin' home
I'm not comin' home
Oh, oh, oh, yeah
Oh, oh, oh, yeah
The 13th Floor Elevators' "You're Gonna Miss Me" is a song about regret, loss, and a warning to a lover who didn't appreciate and took the relationship for granted. The singer warns his lover that she's going to wake up one morning and realize that he's gone. He emphasizes that she never heeded his warning, and she never needed his love, but now, she's going to miss him. The line "You're gonna look around in your mind, girl, you're gonna find that I'm gone" suggests that the singer was deeply involved with his lover, and she didn't realize that the relationship was valuable. He struggled to make her see the importance of the relationship, and now it's too late to regret.
The repetition of "You didn't realize" in the song shows the bitterness and harsh reality of the situation. The singer is upset because he warned his lover that she was going to miss him, but she didn't take him seriously. Now, he's sure that she's going to regret her actions as she'll wake up alone and realize how much she misses him. The line, "But what's gonna stop me, baby? I'm not comin' home," suggests that the singer isn't going to give in to her regrets and come back. He's moving on for good.
In summary, the 13th Floor Elevators' "You're Gonna Miss Me" is a song about a dysfunctional relationship, unappreciated love, and belated regrets. The singer warns his lover that she's going to miss him but it's too late to fix anything. The song is a classic example of a bitter breakup song that highlights the idea of "you don't know what you've got till it's gone."
Line by Line Meaning
You're gonna wake up one morning as the sun greets the dawn
One day you will wake up while the sun shines in and ushers in the new day
You're gonna look around in your mind, girl, you're gonna find that I'm gone
You will soon realize that I have left you and moved on from whatever we shared
You didn't realize
You were too naive to see things as they really were
Oh, you're gonna miss me, baby
You will come to realize that you want me back
I gave you the warning, but you never heeded it
I did try to warn you, but you chose not to listen to me
How can you say you miss my lovin' when you never needed it?
It's surprising that you claim to miss the love I gave when you never really cared for it in the first place
You're gonna wake up wonderin', find yourself all alone
You will wake up feeling alone and abandoned
But what's gonna stop me, baby? I'm not comin' home
Unfortunately for you, I am not coming back home anytime soon
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: SAM HOPKINS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind