Just one listen to Adam Green & Binki Shapiro is enough to become enchanted… Read Full Bio ↴Just one listen to Adam Green & Binki Shapiro is enough to become enchanted. With deceptively pretty arrangements that echo filigreed late-sixties folk-pop and an easygoing rapport between singers, this duets collaboration may seem like the perfect accompaniment to a sunny summer’s day, Southern-California style. But it works even better as a comforting soundtrack at the end of a dark, lonely night in the big city. The atmosphere the pair conjures up with strummed guitars and discreet layers of synths indeed suggests romantic possibility, but the lyrics are more sweetly melancholic, gently but candidly addressing betrayal, incipient heartbreak, and conjugal discord. It’s an approach that makes for compelling repeated listening, as the intimate dramas reveal themselves, and it’s one that surprised even Green and Shapiro as their debut album together began to take shape.

On their own, Green and Shapiro have long been notable figures among indie-pop fans, cherished for their off-kilter sensibility (him) and elegantly quirky style (her). As part of New York City’s “anti-folk” scene at the end of the nineties, Adam Green first came to prominence as one-half of Moldy Peaches, his duo with Kimya Dawson that enjoyed belated mainstream success via the Grammy-winning soundtrack of the 2007 indie film Juno.

Getting Led
Adam Green & Binki Shapiro Lyrics

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I was a nation
Bound to my station

Getting Led x3

You saw beyond me
Pounding down on me

Getting led x3

A man fills his quotient
It changed his notions
Now you see of glimpse of liberty
But fame could be gerish
It ends his marriage
To all that you could want for him to be
We leave tomorrow just human cargo

Getting Led x3

Wise to protect us
No one is precious

Getting Led x3

Life was a monster
I'm glad we lost her
Don't you let some priest go to your head
Nice to be nervous
That's your purpose
It's awful and it finds us getting led

Oh, we're getting led x7

Overall Meaning

The song "Getting Led" by Adam Green and Binki Shapiro is a commentary on the pitfalls of fame and the illusion of personal freedom. The chorus, "Getting Led," is repeated throughout the song, emphasizing the theme of being led by outside forces. The first verse speaks of being bound to one's station, suggesting a lack of control and autonomy. However, the second verse brings hope, with the idea of glimpsing liberty. But the subsequent lines reveal the potential dangers of chasing fame, as it ends the man's marriage and strips him of what he once wanted.

The line "We leave tomorrow just human cargo" is a poignant reminder of how we are all vulnerable to the whims of society and outside influences. The idea of being led is further emphasized in the lines "Wise to protect us, no one is precious," suggesting that even those in power are not immune to being led by others.

The final verse speaks to the anxiety and uncertainty that come with trying to navigate life's challenges. It also serves as a warning not to let others dictate what we should think or do. The line "It's awful and it finds us getting led" suggests that we must remain vigilant and aware of the ways in which we may be led astray.

Line by Line Meaning

I was a nation
I was confined in my own limitations.

Bound to my station
I was fixed in my designated role.

You saw beyond me
You recognized my true potential.

Pounding down on me
I felt overwhelmed by life's challenges.

A man fills his quotient
A person reaches their maximum capacity.

It changed his notions
It altered his perceptions.

Now you see of glimpse of liberty
You catch a glimmer of freedom.

But fame could be gerish
But popularity can be dangerous.

It ends his marriage
It ruins his relationship.

To all that you could want for him to be
To everything you could hope for someone.

We leave tomorrow just human cargo
We depart as nothing more than cargo.