State Shirt is Ethan Tufts, a songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who writ… Read Full Bio ↴State Shirt is Ethan Tufts, a songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who writes and records all of his music in a tiny bedroom studio, filled with a myriad of worn instruments and cheap electronics.

He's known for his hand-crafted, diverse, and often unpredictable indietronic style, integrating live looping in both his recordings and live performances. All of his songs are free to download and are open source, providing raw materials for hundreds of remix artists to create new works based on his source tracks.

The SongFight! website inspired him to begin recording as State Shirt in 2001. Since then, he has released one EP and five albums: New Planet in 2002, Don't Die in 2004, This is Old in 2008, Let's Get Bloody in 2011, Life is Easy in January 2015, and Lost Hills in August 2015.

All of State Shirt's music is available for free on his website.

Up Up Up Up Up
State Shirt Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

What happened to your eyes?
Plastic lenses, plastic skies
Above it all, you're standing tall.
Behind you left it all

Don't look down now

Pretend that it's over

You'll never be closer
You know where you came from

Go on and on and on and on

Blame it on the shining stars
Lost in space, you look so far

What really makes you feel so happy?
When you find out, we'll still be here.

Don't look down now

Pretend that it's over
You'll never be closer
You know where you came from
Ignore those that made you.

Go on and on and on and on

Overall Meaning

State Shirt's song Up Up Up Up Up is about empowerment and overcoming obstacles. The lyrics illustrate a person who has faced challenges and left everything behind to move forward. The opening lines, "What happened to your eyes? Plastic lenses, plastic skies," refer to a world that seems fake and artificial, and the singer questions how it has affected the person's perspective on life. However, despite the challenges and the fake facade, they "are standing tall" and "behind [them], left it all." The idea behind these lines is that the person has realized the toxicity of their past and has chosen to move on and leave everything behind for a better future.

In the chorus, the singer offers encouragement, asking the person not to look down and to pretend that it's over because they have overcome what once seemed impossible. The lines "You'll never be closer / You know where you came from / Ignore those that made you" offer an empowering perspective on the future - that the person knows where they came from and has moved past it, and that they can ignore the negative voices that held them back in the past. The bridge of the song illustrates the idea that the journey might be endless, but the person can keep going and finding happiness if they keep moving forward.

Line by Line Meaning

What happened to your eyes?
What's changed in your perspective or perception?

Plastic lenses, plastic skies
The way you view the world is artificial and manufactured.

Above it all, you're standing tall
Despite your artificial view of the world, you maintain a sense of pride and confidence.

Behind you left it all
You've left something behind, possibly a negative experience or past life.

Don't look down now
Don't focus on the past or negativity.

Pretend that it's over
Imagine that the past and negativity no longer exist.

You'll never be closer
You won't be any closer to the past or negativity than you are now, so move on.

You know where you came from
You understand your background and where you've come from.

Ignore those that made you.
Don't let those who've hurt or shaped you negatively hold you back.

Blame it on the shining stars
Use something magical or out of your control (like the stars) as an excuse or reason for your circumstances.

Lost in space, you look so far
You feel lost and distant from reality.