Grammer started as a busker on the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica and later performed in the Viper Room, the Roxy Theatre (West Hollywood) and the House of Blues. Grammer perfected his writing skills as an artist whilst performing on the streets and according to the Keep Your Head Up Songfacts he wrote the song to raise his own spirits after a particularly long day.
His debut video for "Keep Your Head Up" (starring Rainn Wilson) was an iTunes video of the week in 2010, and the version on the artist's site uses an interactive interface that allows the viewer to "send the singer into goofy scenarios". He performed the song on The Rachael Ray Show on November 17, 2010. He is currently opening for Plain White T's for the second leg of their "Wonders of the Younger" tour.
In January 2011, he was named an "Artist to Watch" by Billboard magazine.
He performed at SXSW 2011, playing BMI's Acoustic Brunch, where he was one of the artists contributing to a recording produced by Hanson to benefit the victims of the 2011 Japan earthquake.
His "Keep Your Head Up" video was nominated for MTV's O Music Award for Most Innovative Music Video in April 2011
Biggest Man in Los Angeles
Andy Grammer Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
With the monkey next to me he'll
Shake your hand for a dollar,
If you're nice kiss your cheek
To my left I can see
Chinese flipping bowls on their heads from their feet
Yo
Strolling on the scene
Break-dancers take your crowd, your girl, your money
Balloon man's telling me to turn down please
And the psychic agrees
I begin to see that
Oh I'm home, I'm right where I belong
And there's no where else that I'd rather be
Because those moments on the street
When crowd would rock with me
I felt like the biggest man, the biggest man in Los Angeles
All I really need
Are some ears to hear me dream
I feel like the biggest man, the biggest man in Los Angeles
Standing on the street,
Just standing on the street
Trombone cuts deep through the crowd doing Motown moves
With his hat tucked down
A belly dancer passes the tip jar around
And the men are confused, slightly aroused
Muslims, Christians preaching, wishing
I would shut up so the people could listen
Supposed to cut through all this noise
With my little voice, I begin to see that
Oh I'm home, I'm right where I belong
And there's no where else that I'd rather be
Because those moments on the street
When crowd would rock with me
I felt like the biggest man, the biggest man in Los Angeles
All I really need
Are some ears to hear me dream
I feel like the biggest man, the biggest man in Los Angeles
Standing on the street,
Just standing on the street
And the day goes dark
I pack my car
Stare out at the ocean
Take some time
A quiet smile
Let it all just soak in
'Cause those moments on the street
When crowd would rock with me
I felt like the biggest man, the biggest man in Los Angeles
You see all I really need for my life to feel complete
Are some ears ears to hear me dream some ears to hear me dream
Yes those moments on the street
When crowd would rock with me
I felt like the biggest man, the biggest man in Los Angeles
All I really need
Are some ears to hear me dream
I feel like the biggest man, the biggest man in Los Angeles
Standing on the street yeah
Just standing on the street oh
Just standing on the street
Just standing on the street
In "Biggest Man in Los Angeles," Andy Grammer reminisces about his early days of performing on the streets of Los Angeles. The song describes a typical day as a street performer, with various characters vying for attention and money. Grammer sings about feeling like the "biggest man" when the crowd would rock with him, indicating the importance of his audience's support to his sense of self-worth. The song is about the joy of performing for a captive audience and the personal fulfillment derived from these moments.
Throughout the song, Grammer references the eclectic mix of performers that populate the streets of Los Angeles, from breakdancers to belly dancers to religious preachers. He sings about the monkey next to him who will shake your hand for a dollar and the Chinese performers flipping bowls on their heads from their feet. The lyrics paint a vivid picture of the lively and diverse mix of performers that can be seen on the streets of LA.
In the end, the song is about finding joy and fulfillment through performance, even in the face of diverse and often chaotic surroundings. For Grammer, the moments on the street when the crowd rocks with him are what make him feel like the biggest man in Los Angeles.
Line by Line Meaning
I got my start on the street
Andy Grammer began his career on the street performing music.
With the monkey next to me he'll
Andy Grammer had a monkey with him that would shake hands with people for a dollar.
Shake your hand for a dollar,
The monkey would shake hands with people for a dollar.
If you're nice kiss your cheek
The monkey would also kiss people's cheeks if they were nice.
To my left I can see
Andy Grammer looked to his left and saw Chinese performers doing impressive tricks.
Chinese flipping bowls on their heads from their feet
The Chinese performers were flipping bowls on their heads using only their feet.
Yo
This is a simple interjection to grab the listener's attention.
Strolling on the scene
Andy Grammer was casually walking around the area where he was performing.
Are my arch-enemies
Andy Grammer saw other street performers as his competition.
Break-dancers take your crowd, your girl, your money
He viewed break-dancers as the biggest threat to his success.
Balloon man's telling me to turn down please
Another performer, the balloon man, asked Andy Grammer to turn down the volume on his music.
And the psychic agrees
Even the psychic performer also wanted him to stop playing.
I begin to see that
Andy realizes that being on the street as a performer is filled with challenges.
Oh I'm home, I'm right where I belong
Despite the challenges, Andy Grammer still feels at home performing on the street.
And there's no where else that I'd rather be
He would rather be nowhere else but on the street performing his music.
Because those moments on the street
He treasures the moments he's had performing on the street.
When crowd would rock with me
He enjoyed it when the audience vibes with him.
I felt like the biggest man, the biggest man in Los Angeles
He felt like he was on top of the world when he was performing on the street.
All I really need
Andy Grammer says that he does not need much in life.
Are some ears to hear me dream
All he really needs is someone to listen and support his musical dreams.
Standing on the street,
Andy Grammer is content with just being on the street, performing his music.
Trombone cuts deep through the crowd doing Motown moves
Andy Grammer saw a performer using a trombone to make some great music, doing Motown moves.
With his hat tucked down
The performer had his hat down, and he was focused on his music.
A belly dancer passes the tip jar around
A belly dancer came by with a jar to collect tips from the crowd.
And the men are confused, slightly aroused
Some men in the crowd feel a little confused and aroused by the belly dancer's performance.
Muslims, Christians preaching, wishing
He also noticed Muslims and Christians preaching to the people on the street.
I would shut up so the people could listen
Some street performers are annoyed that Andy Grammer is making too much noise.
Supposed to cut through all this noise
As a musician, Andy Grammer is supposed to be able to stand out even with all the noise around him.
With my little voice,
Despite his modest presence, he believes his music has the power to make people listen.
And the day goes dark
As the day turns into night, Andy Grammer packs up his things to leave.
I pack my car
He packs his car with his musical equipment.
Stare out at the ocean
He takes a moment to enjoy the view of the ocean.
Take some time
Andy Grammer takes a moment to reflect on his day.
A quiet smile
He smiles quietly to himself, content with his performance on the street.
Let it all just soak in
He takes it all in and enjoys the peaceful moment.
You see all I really need for my life to feel complete
Not only does he not need much, but he also says that he doesn't need much to feel fulfilled.
Are some ears ears to hear me dream some ears to hear me dream
All Andy Grammer really needs are people who will listen to and support his music.
Just standing on the street yeah
Despite the challenges of street performing, Andy Grammer is still content with simply standing on the street with his music.
Just standing on the street oh
Andy Grammer repeats the same line to emphasize that he is truly at home on the street.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: ANDREW CHARLES GRAMMER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@ScareBear1982
His songs are very uplifting and just puts you in a good mood.
@isaiahv818
Yes they do
@4headna907
Same man. Shoutout to you and Andy
@Princessjellycow
I'm jealous of all those people who watched him preform on the street :(
@riot1man
One day, i dream of being the "Biggest Man In Los Angeles", but it's "Fine By Me" if I am not right now. "Stepping Stones" can get me there, but I rather be a "Lunatic" than to use those. Now, if you excuse me, I need to fit my ipod in "The Pocket" of my shorts so that i can listen to more of Andy Grammer;s song.
@kalebgardner5472
riot1man Well played
@slybee2619
Genius.
@cursed6368
nice lol
@carmenherrera4697
andy grammer is one of those people who makes music beautiful in any way! he knows how to express it in the positve feelings that he gives in his songs!!! andy grammer is my inspration and everyone else need to listen to him hell change you an make your life so much better through his music :) i love youuuu!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! your my life ahhhhhhhhhhh lol not in a creepy way <3
@leebruno77
ANDY GRAMMER is my fav singer hes music is so great i love listing 2 hes songs it puts a big smile on my face every day and i wanted 2 say keep up the good work i think your the best singer so far that i ever herd your music makes my day everyday