Sunday Music: Pretending I’m A Superman

Great art can hit you in different ways when you experience it at different points of life. I am sure when I listened to “Superman” by Goldfinger in the late 90s, the idea of pretending to be Superman was backed by thoughts of still taking a shot at being able to do everything. Now, 20 years later, the emphasis falls on the vulnerability of pretending (for me).

The lyrics may not be grand poetry, but they’ve got some great turns of phrases. “I’m trying to keep / the ground on my feet” as opposed to keeping my feet on the ground is subtle and brilliant. “Growing older all the time / looking older all the time / feeling younger in my mind” balances the inarguable realities against the experience of life itself. Especially if we take “feeling younger” as becoming less certain or confident in so many things and learning to be OK with it.

I’m glad I was able to reconnect with this song. Holding on to who we are isn’t a game of pretending to be what we’re not, it’s an act of accepting vulnerability in our own lives. We “watch it fly,” not us with some cape. It’s not easy. It’s not always pretty. It doesn’t always look “super.” There’s a lot more here than I understood all of those years ago. Take a fresh listen to “Superman” by Goldfinger.

So here I amDoing everything I canHolding on to what I amPretending I’m a superman

I’m trying to keepThe ground on my feetIt seems the world is falling down around meThe nights are all longI’m singing this songTo try and make the answers more than maybeAnd I’m so confused about what to doSometimes I wanna throw it all away

So here I amGrowing older all the timeLooking older all the timeFeeling younger in my mindAnd here I amDoing everything I canHolding on to what I amPretending I’m a superman

I’m trying to sleepI lost count of sheepMy mind is racing faster every minuteWhat could I do moreYeah, I’m really not sureI know I’m running circles but I can’t quitAnd I’m so confused about what to doSometimes I wanna throw it all away

Controlling everything in sightFeeling weak I don’t feel rightYou’re telling me I have to changeTelling me to act my ageBut if all that I can doIs just sit and watch time goThen I’ll have to say good-byeLife’s too short to watch it flySo watch it fly

So here I amGrowing older all the timeLooking older all the timeFeeling younger in my mindAnd here I amDoing everything I canHolding on to what I amPretending I’m a superman

The 2020 quarantine version (they’ve still got it)

Ps. I’ve got a great memory of seeing them in a smallish club (300 people maybe?) around 1997 or 1998 with Save Ferris. Im guessing it was a one-off date when they were on Warped Tour or something. It was before the Tony Hawk popularity hit, but after Hang Ups came out, so still riding the “Here In Your Bedroom” wave. Full horns, tons of energy, and they played the room like it was a stadium. The show left an impression on me about what a great performance looked like.