“Fallingwater” by Maggie Rogers
“Fallingwater” is basically a breakup song where the artist is reflecting on what exactly went wrong in her relationship. The unique-artistic angle utilized throughout the track is the different applications of the symbol of “water” within the boundaries of the overall story being told.
So concerning the title, Maggie states that she is like “falling water” seemingly as a metaphor to her lover’s inability to definitively grasp her, as in contain her. Meanwhile she equates her lover to “falling water” as an allusion to the impact he has when he ‘comes down on her’, which all things considered may allude to him being abusive.
Other Water Terminologies
She also uses other terminology associated with water, which seem to have the following meanings. “The current” symbolizes the flow of their relationship, as in the path it is on. “The creek” represents Maggie’s feeling that the relationship is at an impasse. And “upstream” likely refers to her desire to go against the “current running” in their relationship, as in prevent it from falling apart.
This is just a loose interpretation. But in general the story of “Fallingwater” appears to be one in which a romance is unraveling, not particularly to the delight of either of its participants. However, Maggie is apparently more cool with it since she will soon be “set free” from a partner who was “like falling water coming down on (her)”.
Trivia/Facts
- Maggie Rogers began writing this song in 2016. And it took her almost a year and-a-half to complete it with assistance from co-writer Rostam Batmanglij.
- Maggie and Rostam also produced the track.
- “Fallingwater” was officially released on 23 May 2018. On that same day, Rogers posted a handwritten note concerning the track’s history and meaning on Twitter. In it, she said, amongst other things, the song “celebrates rapid changes” in life.
Maggie Rogers on the meaning of “Fallingwater”
