Fringe members of The Elephant 6 Recording Company, and the only band to of… Read Full Bio ↴Fringe members of The Elephant 6 Recording Company, and the only band to officially release a full-length on the label, Beulah originally formed in San Francisco in 1996 when mail-room colleagues Miles Kurosky (main songwriter, lead vocals, guitar), and Bill Swan (trumpet, guitar, vocals) got together to make music. Together they recorded a 7", A Small Cattle Drive in a Snow Storm, released in 1997. The same year, Anne Mellinger joined the band and their debut LP, Handsome Western States was released on Elephant 6.

The three were subsequently joined by Steve LaFolette (bass & vocals), Pat Noel (keyboards & guitar), Steve St. Cin (drums), and Ana Pitchon, who toured as Beulah in 1998, before recording When Your Heartstrings Break. Bill Evans (keyboards) then joined the band to play live. Steve St. Cin left the band to be replaced by Danny Sullivan, before The Coast is Never Clear was released in 2000. Bill Evans and Steve LaFolette then left, to be replaced by Pat Abernathy and Eli Crews respectively. Beulah went on to record 2003's Yoko, then toured North America and Europe before a goodbye show on August 5th 2004, in New York.

A DVD, A Good Band is Easy to Kill was released in 2005 and features documentary footage from Beulah's 2003 tour.

Gravity's Bringing Us Down
Beulah Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I never saw you up there
Cause you never made a sound
If I knew what you up to
I would have shot you down

Hey! Whatdya say?
I'm on the rebound
Watch me fall at the speed of sound

You train your fingers, cocked(?) and I'm feeling weak
Open wide, I'm paralyzed

You were workin' on the inside
Disconnecting the alarm
Always messing up your signals
Tryin' to turn me off

Hey! Whatdya say?
I'm on the rebound
Watch me fall at the speed of sound
You train your fingers, cocked(?) and I'm feeling weak
Open wide, I'm paralyzed

Over the hills
The frequency is breaking down
Don't want to guess but I think it's time we turned around

I'm soft, but I'll be alright
Soft, but I'll be alright
Soft, yea I'll be alright
Soooooft

Hey! Whatdya say?
I'm on the rebound
Watch me fall at the speed of sound
You train your fingers, cocked(?) and I'm feeling weak
Open wide, I'm paralyzed

We're getting high
But we're still feeling down
Gravity has a way of pinning us to the ground

I'm soft, but I'll be alright
Soft, but I'll be alright
Soft, yea I'll be alright
Soooooft

Lonely, I'm just
Lonely, I'm just

Lonely, I'm just
Lonely,

Overall Meaning

The song "Gravity's Bringing Us Down" by Beulah is about the internal struggles of a failing relationship. The lyrics suggest that the singer's partner was working against them from the inside, disconnecting the alarm and trying to turn them off. The singer feels powerless and paralyzed, falling at the speed of sound as their partner trains their fingers on them. The frequency between them is breaking down, and the singer suggests it's time to turn around.

The chorus repeats "Whatdya say? I'm on the rebound. Watch me fall at the speed of sound." This suggests that perhaps the singer is rebounding from a previous failed relationship and is falling quickly into this new one. However, the repeated phrase "I'm soft, but I'll be alright" shows that the singer is not as tough as they may seem and is vulnerable in this relationship.

The lyrics also touch on the theme of gravity, which is a force that always pulls us down; the singer says "Gravity has a way of pinning us to the ground." This could be seen as a metaphor for the struggles in the relationship and how the force of their issues is always bringing them back down.

Line by Line Meaning

I never saw you up there
I was unaware of your presence earlier.

Cause you never made a sound
You were silently present, without making any noise.

If I knew what you up to
Had I been aware of your intentions and plans.

I would have shot you down
I would have put an end to your schemes.

Hey! Whatdya say?
What are you trying to convey?

I'm on the rebound
I am recovering from my previous misfortunes.

Watch me fall at the speed of sound
Observe how fast I plummet down.

You train your fingers, cocked(?) and I'm feeling weak
You are prepared and I am vulnerable.

Open wide, I'm paralyzed
I am motionless, unable to move.

You were workin' on the inside
You were operating surreptitiously.

Disconnecting the alarm
Deactivating the protection mechanisms.