Levy started her musical career when she began playing double bass in high school. She went on to attend the Berklee Five-Week Summer Performance Program (with Adrianne Lenker of Big Thief as a fellow student), and eventually earned a full scholarship to study jazz bass at The New School. Since graduating in 2015, Levy has been playing as Ada Lea. She released the four-song EP (Sainte Cecile) in 2016, followed by the demo album, Bored (Records DK, 2017), featuring 11 appropriately rough yet dreamy songs weaving in and out of apathy, hurling anger, and a craving for satisfaction. She's now signed to Saddle Creek Records.
Ada Lea’s current line-up includes Harris Shper (keyboard/vocals), Matt Rousseau (bass), and Evan Tighe (drums) who accompany Levy on her sometimes soft, sometimes emphatic guitar-driven songs.
Mercury
Ada Lea Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And it's eating up any life that is left
And you roam around trying to escape
The awful worm inside coursing through your veins
Nothing here to make a fuss
You've made it known that it is time
That close another door
I have always thought so it must be true
In every case I've seen even you are proof
There is always one person who does love
Just a little more than the other
Nothing here to make a fuss
You've made it known that it is time
That close another door
That someone's not enough
When you've had enough
Doo-doo-doo-do
Now you're convalescing from the injury
That happened last spring
And it drained you very quickly
And now you've had enough
The lyrics to Ada Lea's song "Mercury" are about regret, escape, and the feeling of not being enough. The opening lines question whether there's something significant that one regrets, something that's consuming the rest of their life before they even have time to live it. And while the person is surrounded by opportunities to avoid these feelings, they still feel the "awful worm" coursing through their veins.
The chorus emphasizes that despite the unease and distress, the person is not interested in making a fuss. They know that it's time to close a door and move on from someone who isn't fulfilling what they want or need. The following stanza builds on this concept and asserts that there's always someone who loves just a little more than the other, hinting at the possibility that the person left behind will also harbor regrets.
The final lines of the song deliver a bit of a twist. The person referenced earlier is now "convalescing from the injury / That happened last spring." They've had enough of being in a state of regret and are on the verge of recovery.
Overall, "Mercury" is a song about acknowledging pain and moving on from it. It encourages listeners to trust themselves and recognize when it's time to let go of something that's not working out.
Line by Line Meaning
Is there something big you regret
Do you have any major regrets in life that are causing you pain?
And it's eating up any life that is left
Are these regrets taking away from the time you have left to live?
And you roam around trying to escape
Do you try to run away from your problems?
The awful worm inside coursing through your veins
Is there something eating away at you, both physically and mentally?
Nothing here to make a fuss
You don't want to make a big deal out of it.
You've made it known that it is time
You've communicated that it's time to move on.
That close another door
It's time to shut the door on this chapter of your life.
That someone's not enough
You realize that someone or something isn't fulfilling your needs.
I have always thought so it must be true
From my observations, I believe this to be the case.
In every case I've seen even you are proof
Even your own experiences confirm this to be true.
There is always one person who does love
There is usually one person in a relationship who loves more than the other.
Just a little more than the other
But that doesn't mean the love isn't real or important.
When you've had enough
When you reach your breaking point.
Now you're convalescing from the injury
You're currently in the process of recovering from an injury.
That happened last spring
This injury occurred in the past, specifically last spring.
And it drained you very quickly
This injury took a lot out of you, both physically and emotionally.
And now you've had enough
You're at your breaking point and can't take it anymore.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Alexandra Levy
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
TheLateGreatSatan
Rare to find a song that meaningfully develops over time to flourish into something more sonically and compositionally interesting from beginning to end. Usually in indie rock the best hooks are front loaded and the rest of the song just coasts predictably. This makes me want to loop it to pay closer attention. Great work.
Andrew Albertson
This caught me by surprise. Really cool how it develops and blossoms
The Heart Of A Blackbird
How did I find this so randomly and love it so extensively?
The Heart Of A Blackbird
I'm putting this jam on all weekend.
Emma Sunstrum
Sooooo soooooooo good!
LegionFD
Good song, I love that song. ❤
ana megrelidze
okey u know what this song and this whole album deserve more
Hanna Thelion
Tres transcendent et fabulously groovy!!!
Paul Blakeslee
Keep em coming !~
Carsten Braun
Weit ab vom Mainstream! Genial!!! LP schon bestellt! Mega Sound...Glückwunsch an den Musikproduzenten.