Over the weekend here at The Blast we decided to work on a little group project: analyzing the lyrics of “Trampoline” by SHAED. It’s an incredibly popular song and used often in social media content, especially on TikTok. But, what does it mean? Our writers put their thinking caps on and picked apart the song, line by line. Keep reading to see each writer’s interpretation of the song! If you’re not familiar with the song, check it out below:
“When I fully listened to the lyrics, my first thought was she could be talking about an abusive relationship where she’s deeply in love (the fire being the feeling of being in love) and jumping on the trampoline is a metaphor for the roller coaster of emotions that come with being in love with someone that causes you pain, whether emotionally or physically.
“Wait, if I’m on fire, how am I so deep in love?” questions how can I feel so pained in a relationship that also brings me love. “When I dream of dyin’, I never feel so loved,” could be the feeling of escaping the relationship and breaking a trauma bond.
I know..I went a little deep and I’m SURE that’s not what the actual lyrics were meant to be about, but trying to read between the lines a bit brought that out in me. Maybe I need to stop watching Lifetime movies, haha!”
“Listening to ‘Trampoline’ by SHAED had me have a handful of thoughts instantly run through my mind. I recall hearing it on the radio, knowing it was a hit in the making, but then I didn’t think about it anymore. But then I was asked, along with other writers here at The Blast, to listen to it again and to see how we all interpreted it.
I first made sure not to Google the song or look into any interviews SHAED may have had that talked about the song. I wanted to come into it completely blind and have it actually be my interpretation. I’m sure that with a song called ‘Trampoline’, instantly people would think of going through ups and downs in a very contained spot. Where you can go as high as you can go and achieve so many things, and you can also fall in so many different ways. That speaks volumes about how life can be, but the opening lyrics also took me away from that interpretation. Those lyrics being, “I’ve been havin’ dreams. Jumpin on a trampoline. Flippin in the air. I never land, just float there.”
That instantly made me think, this song means everything. This song means anything you need it to be. This song means exactly what you personally want it to mean. Eye of the beholder type thoughts. Now I didn’t get emotional or think morbidly about the lyrics, but I also didn’t feel elated and wanted to have a parade for myself either after listening. I started thinking that this song is going to be used both good and bad as a transition or storytelling device in future movie and television shows, especially reality shows that you’d see on Bravo or even The Bachelor.
I really see this song being commercialized and used during sporting events and when an athlete may be going through adversity to come out better and on the other side. Almost what we see during the Olympics. As they often have an abundance of video packages they produce for it, they always add songs of this nature to button it all up.
I feel that my interpretation will change the more I hear this song and I think it would be fun to come back to this a year from now and see my thoughts and everyone else’s thoughts. That is because of the mastery of the lyrics and the catchy melody. It captures you and makes you feel how you are feeling at that moment. And as we all know, that can be great and also devastating.”
“The protagonist in the story is already in a muddied situation, seemingly dealing with tumultuous relationship woes. She can’t get out of her mind. She’s in limbo. The trampoline represents her confusion, her mood swings – she can’t bring herself to a stable state of gravity and clarity. What already started as a grave mental situation just got worse when “suddenly the sky erupts.” The barely-there stability she already had completed imploded.
When she finally feels semblance of some stable relationship, she feels downtrodden again. What feels like life looking up, is really her falling down a steep slope again – “my body turns to ice, crushin’ weight of paradise.”
This song is an example of what so many people deal with. They’re in a relationship and they don’t know whether to stay or go, to deal or to start over. Their perception of the situation changes daily. What might be good one day, might be bad the next. The deep passion for both scenarios and the uncertainty that sets in keeps the “fire” swinging on the pendulum.”
“”Trampoline” has a unique melody and beat that immediately pulls you into the song and slowly guides you through this euphoric, but at the same time, scary environment the lyrics conjure up.
The first verse instantly reminds you of a dream sequence, a setting you aren’t too familiar with yet feel safe in. But then it quickly goes from fun to terrifying.
With lyrics like, “Jumpin’ on a trampoline/flippin’ in the air/I never land just float there,” this feels very exciting. This excitement turns to terror as SHAED sings, “Suddenly the sky erupts/flames alight the trees/…now they’re right upon me.”
For me, this could be alluding to real-life situations when things go from good and exciting to bad in the blink of an eye. But when considering the chorus, SHAED doesn’t try to escape the terror they’ve been thrust into suddenly; instead, they seem to embrace and enjoy it.
The second verse also paints the same scenario as the first, where things go from good to bad, and just like in the chorus, SHAED sings about allowing and embracing the inevitable terror.
In conclusion, the song as a whole is about giving up in the face of a hopeless situation. Something one has no control over, and instead of fighting the incoming doom, you let it engulf and consume you.
I know this is a bleak meaning, but the energy and lyrics of the song make me remember those scary dreams where I’m celebrating and happy, but then all of a sudden, I’m falling into an endless pit and can’t save myself. So, I endure and embrace the plunge until I wake up.”
“”I’ve been having dreams
Jumping on a trampoline
Flipping in the air
I never land just float there”
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These lines makes me think of like a childhood, like someone is having a dream of a memory of when they jumped on a trampoline as a child but they never land because “landing” would mean waking up and returning to reality, kind of like Peter Pan.
“As I’m looking up
Suddenly the sky erupts
Flames alight the trees
Spread to falling leaves
Now they’re right upon me”
Basically these lines mean that even though you are trying to escape reality, it will always catch up to you eventually and if you don’t accept it, it will start “falling” down on top of you and potentially crush you.
“Wait if I’m on fire
How am I so deep in love?
When I dream of dying
I never feel so loved”
I think the “in love” doesn’t refer to a person. I think it refers to the state of being “on fire,” like they feel passionate about something. I think the “When I dream of dying I never feel so loved” could refer to how many people she pictures showing up to her funeral and saying all the things they appreciated about her, making her feel “so loved.”
“I’ve been having dreams
Splashing in a summer stream
Trip and I fall in
I wanted it to happen
My body turns to ice
Crushing weight of paradise
Solid block of gold
Lying in the cold
I feel right at home”
I think the first four lines echo the first lines of the beginning. It’s a dream but this time instead of the sky falling down on top of her, she submerges herself in the dream. Instead of just accepting reality, she embraces it. Even though reality is hard, she feels “at home.” Even though she’s struggling in life, she knows she will be “so loved” in death, which is repeated in the chorus and the rest of the song.”
“So for me, this song feels like an adult’s perspective about a life-changing moment. Much like the death card in the tarot, the “death” part of this song is not really about dying, but perhaps making a momentous decision. Something that really alters your entire view of life. And the singer is delving into her memories as a child, taking heart from the sheer freedom of being young.
As a child, and maybe to a certain part of your teens and your youth, fear does not really feature. A child has no fear of falling till they actually fall and get hurt. So the trampoline bit feels like a child pushing the limits by jumping as high as he/she can, much like a kid on a swing. The sheer freedom of flying through the air, as a child, with no fears is definitely euphoric. I feel this is why the song is named Trampoline as well despite the fact that it only features in the first stanza.
The rest of the song seems like the singer is trying to break free of the fears that hold her back from living her life to the fullest. It could be a fear of commitment, actual phobias, or perhaps a fear of change. She’s taking heart from the fearless days of her childhood and trying to channel it into her life now, manifesting a fearless future for her as well. It also seems like she’s trying to break free of the rut she’s stuck in, and how being in a bad place also seems comforting to her. She, much like Freddy Mercury crooned years ago, needs to break free!”
As you can see, each writer had a very unique perspective when it came to the meaning of this song. We’d love to hear from our audience as well! Feel free to chime in on our Facebook or Twitter accounts with your thoughts in the comments!
