What Goes On
Bryan Ferry Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I think that I am falling down
What goes on in your mind?
I think that I am upside down
Baby, be good, do what you should
You know it will work alright
Baby, be good, do what you should
You know it will be alright
I'm going up, and I'm going down
I'm going fly from side to side
There are problems in this town
There is a nightmare all night
Baby, be good, do what you should
You know it will be alright
Baby, be good, do what you should
You know it will work alright
Here are we go again, make me fool again
Here are we go again, after the hurricane
One minute up, one minute down
How many up and how many down
What goes on in your mind?
I think that I am upside down
Baby, be good, do what you should
You know it will be alright
Baby, be good, do what you should
You know it will work alright
Here are we go again, what happen to you, my friend
Here are we go again, what happen to all my friend
How does it feel to be in love
How does it feel to be in love
How does it feel to be in love
How does it feel to be in love
In this song, the singer (presumably Bryan Ferry) is asking his partner or lover about what’s going on in their mind. He is feeling lost and confused and is looking for reassurance from his partner that everything will be alright. The lyrics describe his feelings of disorientation - he feels like he is falling down and constantly going up and down, flying from side to side. He acknowledges that there are problems in their town and that there is a sense of a never-ending nightmare.
The chorus of the song is a message to his partner. He asks them to do what they should, to be good, and assures them that everything will be alright. This message is repeated twice in the song.
The second half of the song is a repetition of the first half, where the singer repeats his questions about what’s happening to him and his partner, and how it feels to be in love. The lyrics suggest that love is a rollercoaster ride, with unpredictable ups and downs.
Overall, the song expresses a sense of confusion and disorientation, but also a hope that things will work out in the end. It is a message of reassurance to a lover and a plea for them to stay true to their values and do what’s right.
Line by Line Meaning
What goes on in your mind?
What is happening in your mind?
I think that I am falling down
I feel like I'm losing control
I think that I am upside down
I feel disoriented
Baby, be good, do what you should
Behave and do the right thing
You know it will work alright
Things will turn out okay if you do so
I'm going up, and I'm going down
I'm experiencing highs and lows
I'm going fly from side to side
My emotions are fluctuating
There are problems in this town
There are issues that need to be addressed here
There is a nightmare all night
I feel like I'm living a never-ending bad dream
Here are we go again, make me fool again
I feel like I'm being taken for a ride
After the hurricane
After a difficult time
How many up and how many down
How many times have I been happy and how many times have I been sad
Here we go again, what happen to you, my friend
What happened to you, my friend?
What happen to all my friend
What happened to all of my friends?
How does it feel to be in love
What is it like to be in love?
How does it feel to be in love
What is it like to be in love?
How does it feel to be in love
What is it like to be in love?
How does it feel to be in love
What is it like to be in love?
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Lou Reed
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@OLDGOLDDREAMER
We had plenty of choices in those heady days of continual epic song after song coming out week after week
YOUTUBE PLAYLISTS BETTER WITH A AD BLOCKER ON YT or Copy & Pasta these links into what I’ve put below 😊
All the playlists below you can view on the YT App Obviously … the links I’ve put below will open up pre … YouTube App , so in facebooks /messengers , X( Twitter) , a text to yourself even .. viewer .. which is BETTER …as you can freely move through them all without all the annoying adverts you’ll get on the YT app .. Doing it this way it says the odd time some videos are deleted,private or missing in the playlist list !! BUT they are not missing ,I’ve double checked against viewing on YT app & everything all there , I don’t know why it does that !! ….. these are Top 50 chart yrs playlist & later in 78’ it went to Top75 so I’ve added all those too.They are all in true weekly order of entries wasn’t sure whether to do the Top 30 chart entries playlists only , has outside the Top 30 Charts throughout the 70’s there’s lots of music ppl won’t remember or even have heard !! … anyway I’ve added them as we all bought our favourite stuff that didn’t make it onto TOTP’s or into the Top 30 chart run down ( 70’s ) .. plus there’s plenty of gems in em ppl will have bought & loved .. they all count 🤓!
Use these ⬅️➡️ under the videos to move through them ( much easier ) 🤓 I’ve painstakingly searched out the very best video I can find .. that resembles it best sonically, the priority is that firstly & hopefully footage of the very time too .. if not available il ad a generic sound only video placer till someone uploads a descent video version or better combination vid comes along .
I’m about half way through adding the tracks into the yr 1978 so when completed you’ve a complete Top 50 / 75 Chart decade of the 70’s with the very best sound & vision video tracks combo all in every single week after week chart entry order 🤓… so basically a complete 70’s library at your fingertips …. … Enjoy 🤓🎶👌🏻
1970 CHART HITS (All In Weekly Chart Entry Order)
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbO1DMzDZcphv7Bsr4moeVzlB_vKmFq5j
1971 CHART HITS (All In Weekly Chart Entry Order)
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbO1DMzDZcpi9qNJbKbDmY0Sbze6lwQqu
1972 CHART HITS (All In Weekly Chart Entry Order)
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbO1DMzDZcpji_ftPX_vuFMCmnAfSh4rR
1973 CHART HITS (All In Weekly Chart Entry Order)
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbO1DMzDZcpiOv78ntVws-hceYHK11hTU
1974 CHART HITS (All In Weekly Chart Entry Order)
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbO1DMzDZcphuqH7QYq76bta1-Qcynn_-
1975 CHART HITS (All In Weekly Chart Entry Order)
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbO1DMzDZcphrbPyiOhDbBXMvnVHWHny9
1976 CHART HITS ( All In Weekly Chart Entry Order )
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbO1DMzDZcpj3riek7_6jeobh8-8rPLe4&feature=shared
1977 CHART HITS ( All In WeeklyChart Entry Order) https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbO1DMzDZcpjIz9L-Iu3f7dKL1AhYs3R8&feature=shared
1978 CHART HITS
👉🏻( halfway through so far ) 👈🏻
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbO1DMzDZcpgAF5b_f7oq0HWeO-AZhq99&feature=shared
1979 CHART HITS (All In Weekly Chart Entry Order)
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbO1DMzDZcpgFJC8P6awEQ3zPR1k07esz
1980 CHART HITS (All In Weekly Chart Entry Order) 👉🏻 got up to up to May 👈🏻
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbO1DMzDZcphfjcVulJ5jsP3oHslGjCuc
70’s GLAM ROCK
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbO1DMzDZcpiA8pJS3T4DFh70PUZZrcvT
1976 SUMMER HEATWAVE
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbO1DMzDZcpipwJR4uGBgWMERVBvJ8x9p
NEW ROMANTIC MUSIC ( 79’80’81’)
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbO1DMzDZcpj03NHpKG7HwOQo-0cVKqgk
DISCO GREATEST HITS ( 250 )
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbO1DMzDZcpj7-6cdgtg5oZ19HLtlHINA
POST DISCO & DISCO ( MAJORITY FROM 1980 )
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbO1DMzDZcpjPQ1XOreWRk8EJgi0mPwZz
YACHT ROCK
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbO1DMzDZcpj25v-sjmbqDMeHFtDRJZxg
70’s NUMBER ONE CHART HITS ( IN RELEASE ORDER )
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbO1DMzDZcphLKAJrLRdeONXjJhADydQ3
@banbrotam
Clearly about Jerry Hall (they split up earlier that year as she left him for Mick Jagger).
He might be using someone else's lyrics, but he subtly changes some crucial lines;
"Here we go playing the fool again"
'Here we go, acting hard the gain"
i.e. the now single Bryan is having to get himself back out into the cattle market
Then there's the killer line repeated twice
"Here we go again. I thought you were my friend"
He even asks Jerry, at the end, "How does it feel to be loved"
Oh poor Bryan. He was clearly wounded.
This is average Ferry - but it's still sensational
What a god!!
@dwarfninja74
I think this video just knocked me up.
@PenelopeRoberts9212
ROFL: Brilliant but please push off, he's mine. :-)
@sirenenmann1299
An angry, energetic Bryan Ferry.
I like this expression on him very much.
@Mrariesdave
Those high contrast snapshot photos of Bryan at the end are brilliant, smiling, slow-strobe, pulsing, leering, vulnerable, earnest, orgasmic, rare exposures...perhaps Jerry Hall will have the honesty to regret her stupid choice...
@kurtvanderbogarde8402
She did because Jagger shaggered around with anyone he could afterwards.
@skwertball2274
Holy hell -- Bryan with a beard! I've been a fan since 1977, but have never seen this! Heard him perform the song...never seen his Faust/ Mephistopheles impression. Thank you so much for posting this!
@kurtvanderbogarde8402
He had it before this for Sign Of The Times
@SaucyTreasures
HOT, ain't it. Thought I was seeing things. Dayum 💥
@alanashore9570
Must be lovely to be truly loved. Never had that ❤
@BoudicaJ
Beardy Bryan...what a dream <3