1) an Austral… Read Full Bio ↴There are at least nine artists with the name Paul Kelly:
1) an Australian singer-songwriter
2) an American film and TV composer
3) an American soul singer & songwriter
4) an Irish folk singer and songwriter
5) a member of British bands Birdie and East Village
6) a member of English rock band Northern Uproar
7) an English multi-instrumentalist for The Islanders
8) an American bass player
9) a member of The Martial Arts, BMX Bandits and How to Swim
1) Paul Kelly is an Australian singer-songwriter, based in Melbourne, and widely considered as an icon of Australian music. He has released music under his own name and as Paul Kelly and the Messengers, Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls, and Paul Kelly and the Stormwater Boys. His output has ranged from bluegrass to studio-oriented dub reggae, but his core output comfortably straddles folk, rock, and even some country. His lyrics, simply and laconically voiced, have managed to speak to Australian experiences and history perhaps more broadly and directly than any other artist.
2) Paul Kelly is an American composer based in New York City. He is the talent that brings music to the world of film, TV, and advertising. He has been sought after by renowned directors, like Oliver Stone, for his blockbuster films, Savages, Any Given Sunday, Comandante and Oscar-Nominated short film Everything In This Country Must. Glowing reviews that Kelly has received, can be seen in the following from Thom Jurek, Soundings in Film, who say, “His moving sound constructions are full of emotions and moods — not all of them pleasant — and his takes on funk, rock, and blues are not journeyman, but those of a musician who takes these art forms seriously and seeks to represent them accurately in his utterances. Kelly may be a sketcher, but his sketches stand on their own outside the realm of the image,” and Frank O. Gutch Jr, Evolution In Film, who give glowing context to the work of Kelly in the following, “Paul Kelly knows what music is. He knows that it can be a setup, a climax, or an anticlimax. He knows the value of music applied to other media. More than that, he knows music. Not at all unlike a classical composer or even the rock band which plays beyond the fringe, he creates music for a reason.”
Visit http://paulkelly.com for more information.
3) Paul Kelly (born Paul Laurence Dunbar Kelly in Overtown, Miami, Florida, USA on 19 June 1940) is an American Soul singer, musician and producer. He is best known for the song "Stealing in the Name of the Lord", which was a hit in 1970. And in 1974 another hit with "Hooked, Hogtied & Collared" from the album with the same title. He also wrote "Personally", which has been widely-covered, and was a hit for soul singer Jackie Moore, as well as country singers Karla Bonoff and Ronnie McDowell. Other songs have been covered by gospel artists, including The Mighty Clouds Of Joy and The Staple Singers.
4) Paul Kelly (born 1957 in Dublin) is an Irish folk singer and songwriter. He has played Irish traditional music, bluegrass and country, and is equally at home in a variety of different styles of music.
5) Paul Kelly is a British member of Birdie and East Village
6) Paul Kelly is a member of English rock band Northern Uproar
7) Paul Kelly is an English multi-instrumentalist for The Islanders
8) Paul Kelly is an American bass player
9) a member of The Martial Arts, BMX Bandits and How to Swim
Song From the Sixteenth Floor
Paul Kelly Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm leaning out my window
The sky's on fire, the street's all aglow
And somebody's singing to the radio
I would jump from the sixteenth floor if I only could get next to you
Put my head in a lion's jaw if I only could get next to you
I'm walking the floor, I'm climbing the walls
I wake up from dreaming, that's when I fall
Put my head in a lion's jaw if I only could get next to you
Take a ride on a wrecking ball
Every day I speak your name
If I had wings I'd fly 'cause you're not here to hold me
I would jump from the sixteenth floor
Put my head in a lion's jaw
I'd walk on burning coals
I'd sell my only soul
Every day I speak your name
If I had wings I'd fly 'cause you're not here to hold me
I'd walk on burning coal,
I'd sell my only soul
I would jump from the sixteenth floor,
put my head in a lion's jaw
Take a ride on Niagara Falls if I only could get next to you
In Paul Kelly's song "Song From the Sixteenth Floor", the singer sets the scene of looking out of his window on the sixteenth floor of a building, observing the chaos below. He describes the sky as being on fire, the streets illuminated, and someone singing to the radio. Despite the craziness around him, the singer is consumed with longing for someone he cannot be with. He expresses his desire to be with this person by saying he would jump from the sixteenth floor if he could only be with them, or put his head in a lion's jaw.
The lyric "I'm walking the floor, I'm climbing the walls" perfectly sums up the singer's anxiety and restlessness. He's tormented by his desire and the inability to act on it. The song portrays the physical and emotional extremes one might go to in the pursuit of love. The singer talks about walking on burning coals, selling his soul, and taking a ride on Niagara Falls, all in the hopes of being close to the object of his affection.
Line by Line Meaning
Something's frying on the floor below
There is some food getting cooked in the floor below.
I'm leaning out my window
I am positioning myself outside the window.
The sky's on fire, the street's all aglow
The sky looks like it is on fire while the street is bright and shining.
And somebody's singing to the radio
There is someone singing along with the radio.
I would jump from the sixteenth floor if I only could get next to you
If only I can be near you, I would jump even from a high place such as the sixteenth floor.
Put my head in a lion's jaw if I only could get next to you
I am willing to take the risk even if it means endangering my life just to be close to you.
I'm walking the floor, I'm climbing the walls
I am anxious and restless, and cannot keep still.
I wake up from dreaming, that's when I fall
I daydream about you which makes me fall in love with you even more.
Take a ride on a wrecking ball
I am willing to do anything to be with you, even if it's dangerous or destructive.
Every day I speak your name
I keep remembering your name, and you keep coming up in my thoughts every single day.
If I had wings I'd fly 'cause you're not here to hold me
If only I could have wings, I would fly towards you since you are not here to embrace me.
I'd walk on burning coals
I am willing to walk on fire or go through any pain if it means being with you.
I'd sell my only soul
I am willing to sacrifice anything, even sell my soul, if it means having you in my life.
I would jump from the sixteenth floor, put my head in a lion's jaw
I would take wild and unprecedented risks, even if it meant risking my life, just to be with you.
Take a ride on Niagara Falls if I only could get next to you
I am willing to take the risk of drowning, even if it's in a fall as strong as Niagara, just to be close to you.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: PAUL MAURICE KELLY, JOHN CLIFFORTH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
SummerBlitz
Best song EVER! Out of his songs, He's Australia's bloody legend!
Craig Humphries
Damn straight brother
tnucuoykcuf
This song makes me feel so much better about my unremarkable little life every time I hear it... :)
Pamela Hay
Yes, I always hear this song and feel the inbounding love the character in this song feels.... yes, he’d fly from the 16th Floor, not fall; but fly.... 💖
Elena Helen
me 2....
Bryn J
When I was a kid in the 90s, my dad made a mixtape for me and this is one of the few songs I remember 100% from that tape. Must've listened to it thousands of times growing up. And I stumbled across this song and it just smacked me right in the face. I knew every beat. Such great memories
Ken Watson
I believe Kelly is playing an Australian made acoustic Maton guitar. Strong melodic wood based sound. Superb.
Kangaroo Cafe in Hanoi
Most Aussies play on Matons if they're serious that is.
Such a wonderful instrument but I'm biased, I have 2 rippers.
LyovMyshkin
This song and Careless for me are Kelly's greatest hits. What a legend.
KW Aus
Love this song Paul. Has been an all time fav of mine.