To fall in the star is to be nothingness, to escape is to be empty.

Gravity of You

Introduction

Gravity of You is the 8th track of Vessels, the album that introduced me to STARSET in 2017. I’ve never given this track much thought until today. Why? I’ve been thinking a lot about human connection for the past month. I think this song speaks a lot about human connection than we give it credit for.

Getting Sucked Into A Black Hole as A Metaphor of Love

The song is open for interpretation of course, one of them being Gravity of You as a this haunting love song written from across the galaxy. It metaphors the feeling of falling in love as getting sucked into a black hole. Take a look at the chorus:

Riding the horizon
Falling into you
Feel the vessel tighten
I feel you pull me through

The chorus paints the feeling of being overwhelmed by something until it feels like there’s no direction to go but towards the center of it. It starts with the protagonist orbiting from a safe distance, which if we stay consistent with the getting sucked into a black hole metaphor, that distance is the Event Horizon (not so safe distance then huh). However, the protagonist couldn’t control their orbit, as it’s clear that their vessel is being pulled through by some mysterious inward force.

Perhaps the most unsettling bit of this song for me is the bridge, right before the part where Dustin screams the lyrics:

To fall in the star is to be nothingness
To escape is to be empty
Fall into the star and then we won’t exist
Or escape into the nothing

I find these lines hauntingly beautiful. They evoke the feeling of losing control over yourself while being devoured by a much greater force. This is really where the protagonist hits the point of no return, falling is unevitable and escaping would be futile.

A Little Tangent

I noticed that the Genius page of this song describes the song as a post-break up song where the narrator embraces the darkness (emptiness after a break up) within. However, instead of embracing the darkness within, I interpret the song more like the narrator meeting someone new that fills the emptiness. At least the verses of the songs sound like that to me.

This is a quote from Verse 1 that encapsulates that meaning:

I feel the past that’s died there
I hear it calling me
“You can come alive here.”

I see this as the narrator lamenting the past he had with someone but heard an outside voice that made him “come alive” again. Combine that with the chorus, we can see that the narrator is then overwhelmed by the beauty (and danger) of this outside voice.

Another one from Verse 2:

I feel you here with me
When all the hope has died here

I feel like this one is self-explanatory. The narrator finally found solace with someone when he didn’t have anyone to hold on to. And the ultimate line that makes me believe this song is about loving a new partner instead of lamenting a bad breakup is the bridge:

Your sky
The beauty alone is worth it
I will risk it all to own it

That Sounds Terrifying…

So, that sounds terrifying, right? That sounds less beautiful (dare I say romantic) and more terrifying, right? To generalize the experience outside of society’s idea of romance, perhaps human connection is like getting sucked into a black hole. Perhaps, to be fully known and understood is willing to be naked and pulled out of control from the comfort of your walls. Perhaps establishing connection isn’t just about opening ports, setting up firewall rules, and sending a package. Perhaps, it’s also about losing yourself in the gravity of something much bigger than ourselves.

One then has to consider, is the journey to find meaning in connection worth the risk, if it could mean the death of me? While people argue the ‘death of me’ will be rewarded with the ‘beginning of us’, I’d argue it’s not always the case. Sometimes, life is better lived alone. Sometimes, words don’t need to be shared to the whole function. Sometimes, it’s in our best interest to steer clear from a supermassive black hole and continue our journey onwards.

I won’t go into details as to what caused me to come to this conclusion, but let’s say it’s a series of unfortunate events over and over again. I’m not necessarily talking about romatic love, although I was hinting on that earlier this month. It seems like it’ll take a long time for me to trust someone (or a group of people) that deep again. In theme with Gravity of You, I won’t let anyone ride near my Event Horizon nor will I ride near someone’s Event Horizon anymore.

I fear that’s only life.

Bonus: Annihilated Love

Considered as the classic anti-love song by fans, Annihilated Love is (coincidentally) the 8th track of Horizons. It sounds exactly like its name: a post-break up song where the protagonist felt hurt yet unable to let go of the thing that made him hurt. STARSET uses a lot of war metaphors for this song, evoking a feeling of defeat by waving a white flag across the battlefield.

The tragedy of the war we made was that I just couldn’t surrender you
The casuality was only ever me
Still I run through the flames for you

While this is more relatable to me a year ago, I don’t necessarily feel that anymore. I’m anti-love not in a sense of “Annihilated Love” but of whatever the heck is wrong with “Gravity of You”. I’m not afraid of letting go. I’m afraid of getting sucked into someone’s gravity until my own existence means nothing at all.

Conclusion

Great song. Great album. 10/10 would listen to it again.