“Floating” by Mac Miller
Mac Miller’s “Floating” is a fantastical track in that the lyrics are obviously not intended to be taken literally. The song is ethereal in nature, and it finds Mac singing of a state that lies between the physical and spiritual worlds. Indeed given the overall situation, these lyrics can easily be interpreted as if they were meant to be relayed posthumously, as in the addressee being someone he cares about who has passed away. Or let’s say that who he is singing to is at least someone whom he does not readily have access to. And why? Because he states he will “come and see” this individual when ‘he can finally get away’.
And going back to the nature of the lyrics, other than saying they are spiritual, they can also be said to be based on an emotional state. In other words, from a sentimental standpoint, Miller actually feels better when he is “floating”, and he also experiences a higher sense of freedom therein. And along that same vein considering the artist at hand as well as some of the metaphors that are used (such as the title itself), he may very well be referring to being high on a particular substance, i.e. drugs.
Conclusion
So at the end of the day, the open-ended lyrical style Miller utilizes on this track is more than likely intentional. That is to say that the listener is tasked with actually deducing exactly what “floating” refers to. But either way, from an internal standpoint, it can be said to be preferable to what the artist is going through when the lyrics were written.
Writing Credits for “Floating”
This track was written and produced by Mac Miller (1992-2018), Jon Brion and Alexander Spit.
Release Date
Warner Records released “Floating” on the 19th of March, 2020. It can be found on the deluxe edition of Mac’s posthumous album “Circles”.
I think most of the “spiritual” ties to this are all wrong, mac was directly talking about drugs, and “floating” is just meaning his high. when he says in the song “there’s a room somewhere up above the trees, and when you get there you don’t ever want to leave,” he talks about his high and the addiction he struggled with. he talks about “getting away”, another high reference and that’s just all within the first minute.