George was featured on Season 6 of Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry on HBO. He was the 2006 Youth Speaks Grand Slam Poetry Champion, 2006 Brave New Voices International Poetry Slam Champion, and performed in a record six consecutive Youth Speaks Grand Slam Finals. The last three of those audiences, all topping out at over 3,000, were the largest ever for poetry slams anywhere in the world. In 2009 Watsky was one of three poets who performed live on FOX at the NAACP Image Awards in honor of Russell Simmons’ lifetime achievement award.
George has made strides to bring his poetic sensibilities to the theater world. His one-man show So Many Levels has been presented in Boston, San Francisco, Vermont, and at the Hip Hop Theater Festival Critical Breaks series in New York City. He has also been featured at the San Francisco and Washington, DC arms of the Hip Hop Theater Festival. He played the title character and co-wrote a 2004 adaptation of Dante’s Divine Comedy for the Living Word Festival and his stage play Harold’s Fall or King Will is the recipient of the 2009 Rod Parker Playwriting Fellowship.
Theories
Watsky Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Couldn't weigh a hundred forty pounds
And the rope snapped yeah the rope snapped
And then Arthur found himself looking up from the ground
Looking up, looking up, found things looking up
Looking up, looking not so down, no not so down
No knots don't have to stay that way
No, not so tightly wound
What a lovely thing it is to fail
To release those grasping fingernails
Arthur thought the end was near
Then Arthur played for fifty years
And then my father walked down 8th and 57th street to
Carnegie Hall, yeah it was Carnegie Hill
The show was past sold out for weeks
But they said "if you don't mind, if you don't mind sitting on stage
Sometimes we release a couple seats"
Twenty feet, twenty feet, yeah my dad's twenty three
Tweet feet from the hands on the keys
Yeah, the hands on the keys of a man with the hands that almost didn't exist
That almost didn't exist to see
Back in 97 when Dad was my chauffeur
He'd play radio and I'd try to guess the composer
Chopin sprinkled over the hum of the motor
When I was young never I'd doubt my composure
Everything's kosher, man I was so sure
I'd say that I'm good
Don't want no adulthood
I never understood
Couldn't get how anyone would ever want to end to their life
Until the day that I could
I've heard it said we're alone in the ether
That we're the only intelligent creatures
So you don't need to adjust your receivers
If they were out there they'd be texting us, hitting our beepers
Invading us on some alien Julius Caesar
Or begging "take me to your leader"
But I got a theory it's neither
That there's a billion brilliant alien planets at leisure
Smoking alien reefer
The evolution of the mind's not the hunger to conquer
Or to want or to seek or to wander
Or even wonder, but to simply to be
Until we cease to be any longer
There's nothing wrong with heavy eyelids
I hope you enjoyed my twenties as much as I did
You'll never know how much that all of you provided
And I'm gonna try to do the same for
"Theories" is a song by Watsky that explores themes of life, death, failure, and hope. The first verse tells the story of Arthur, who attempted suicide by hanging himself but the rope broke, leading him to live a long life playing music. The singer then talks about his own childhood and how he used to listen to classical music while riding in the car with his father who would play the radio. The chorus of the song revolves around the idea that failure can sometimes lead to unexpected opportunities and growth. The song then takes a turn and talks about the possibility of extraterrestrial life and the purpose of human existence.
Line by Line Meaning
Arthur stepped off, yeah he stepped offa the chair
Arthur committed suicide by stepping off a chair
Couldn't weigh a hundred forty pounds
Arthur was very light
And the rope snapped yeah the rope snapped
The rope couldn't hold Arthur's weight and snapped
And then Arthur found himself looking up from the ground
Arthur survived the fall and was lying on the ground looking up
Looking up, looking up, found things looking up
Arthur realized that things were starting to look better for him
Looking up, looking not so down, no not so down
Arthur was feeling less depressed and hopeless
No knots don't have to stay that way
Arthur realized that his problems and struggles didn't have to last forever
No, not so tightly wound
Arthur felt less tense and stressed
What a lovely thing it is to fail
Failing can be a good thing and can lead to personal growth
To release those grasping fingernails
Letting go of the things that one is holding onto too tightly can be liberating
Arthur thought the end was near
Arthur believed that he was close to death
Then Arthur played for fifty years
Arthur went on to live for fifty more years after his suicide attempt
And then my father walked down 8th and 57th street to Carnegie Hall, yeah it was Carnegie Hill
The singer's father went to Carnegie Hall in New York City
The show was past sold out for weeks
The show had been sold out for several weeks
But they said "if you don't mind, if you don't mind sitting on stage Sometimes we release a couple seats"
The staff at Carnegie Hall offered the singer's father some extra seats on stage
Twenty feet, twenty feet, yeah my dad's twenty three Tweet feet
from the hands on the keys
The artist's father was sitting twenty-three feet away from the pianist's hands
Yeah, the hands on the keys of a man with the hands that almost didn't exist That almost didn't exist to see
The pianist had almost lost his hands, but he was still able to play
Back in 97 when Dad was my chauffeur He'd play radio and I'd try to guess the composer Chopin sprinkled over the hum of the motor When I was young never I'd doubt my composure
The singer's father used to play classical music while he was driving the singer around
Everything's kosher, man I was so sure I'd say that I'm good Don't want no adulthood I never understood Couldn't get how anyone would ever want to end to their life Until the day that I could
The singer used to be confident and optimistic, but eventually began to struggle with depression and suicidal thoughts
I've heard it said we're alone in the ether That we're the only intelligent creatures So you don't need to adjust your receivers If they were out there they'd be texting us, hitting our beepers Invading us on some alien Julius Caesar Or begging "take me to your leader" But I got a theory it's neither That there's a billion brilliant alien planets at leisure Smoking alien reefer
The artist doesn't believe that humans are alone in the universe, but also doesn't believe that aliens are actively trying to communicate with us
The evolution of the mind's not the hunger to conquer Or to want or to seek or to wander Or even wonder, but to simply to be Until we cease to be any longer
The purpose of the human mind is not just to seek out new things or experiences, but to simply exist
There's nothing wrong with heavy eyelids I hope you enjoyed my twenties as much as I did You'll never know how much that all of you provided And I'm gonna try to do the same for
There's nothing wrong with being tired and wanting to rest. The artist is grateful for the experiences he had in his twenties and wants to provide those experiences for others
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: GEORGE WATSKY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind