A gifted multi-instrumentalist, La Grand plays guitar, dobro, lap steel, banjo and percussion. La Grand's former band, Bunkbed Nights, shared bills with - among others - Broken Social Scene and Crooked Fingers. Backed by his extensive studio experience, La Grand was a founding member of Dynamite Sound Project in Grand Rapids (MI), working on a number of recordings there. Currently based in Vancouver, B.C., La Grand will spend the next year playing concerts throughout the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia in support of his album. He is currently based and performs in Vancouver, B.C.
Falling Down in Place
Peter La Grand Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You cannot afford to stay
It's heavy this load of all you should have done
And you cannot bear the weight
Is anything for the voices to stop
Whether in blessing or in blame
Don't you listen anymore
You know already what they have to say
You've heard them whispering your name
To fall down where the waters rise
Is no way to be baptized
The first verse of Peter La Grand's "Falling Down in Place" is a dark meditation on the weight of regret and the desire to escape it. The singer is weighed down by the burden of "all you should have done," and the weight of that burden is too much to bear. Thus, the singer seeks anything to make the "voices" stop, including "in blessing or in blame." The second verse subverts the common religious phrase "to be baptized," reminding us that to "fall down where the waters rise" is not a cleansing, but a drowning.
The song seems to be a reflection on the human condition and the difficulty we all have in living up to the ideal versions of ourselves that we hold in our minds. The singer is tormented by the weight of their own expectations, and by the knowledge that they have failed to live up to them. The voices they hear may be the critical voices in their own head, or they may represent the judgment of others. Regardless, the singer seems resigned to their fate, aware that there can be no escape from the consequences of their actions.
Line by Line Meaning
Whether or not you can escape
Regardless of your desire to flee
You cannot afford to stay
You cannot remain where you are
It's heavy this load of all you should have done
The burden of unfulfilled obligations weighs you down
And you cannot bear the weight
The pressure is too great to handle on your own
So you say that all you want
You express a yearning for relief
Is anything for the voices to stop
You desire an end to the internal strife
Whether in blessing or in blame
Regardless of the perceived outcome
Don't you listen anymore
You are tired of heeding external opinions
You know already what they have to say
You are aware of their judgments
You've heard them whispering your name
You are familiar with their criticisms
To fall down where the waters rise
Drowning in your struggles
Is no way to be baptized
This is not a means to find inner peace or redemption
Contributed by Eli J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Keyana Whitely
For once, Peter didn't cuss while falling down on the stairs
Josh Erickson
He didn't swear when he fell down the stairs during the intro once.
Keyana Whitely
@Josh Erickson Right I remember that episode
Adrian Haire
I'm surprised too , usually he has a big potty mouth , and is it me or does it seem he was falling down the stairs a couple seconds longer ? Because I remember Lois replacing the stairs and Peter falling down
Brissa DLR
Good thing too
C.M. Cameraman
I'm actually proud Peter hung out with a good influence for a change. 😂
Shannon Roberts
For once
Eliot Moon
Specimen 2 A better dad than peter griffin atleast.
Shannon Roberts
@Eliot Moon good pilot
Justin Counts
The only time I can laugh at a Caillou reference