Download "Philadelphia"
Philadelphia by alt-J
Release Date
Performed by
alt-JProduced by
Charlie AndrewWrited by
Thom Sonny Green & Gus Unger-Hamilton & Joe NewmanAbout
“Philadelphia is a story about the demise of a person. They’re so discombobulated, they don’t know that they’re dying; but, they’re sort of having flashbacks to their life before their imminent demise.”
– Joe Newman, Rolling Stone Interview, alt-J Talk About The Dream
Philadelphia Lyrics
[Verse 1]
Am I cold? I cannot tell
Have I fallen or am I falling down the stairwell?
(Philadelphia!)
Oh, the cadence of the glow
Concussive flashes of distant memories
Good God, I feel your hands on me
[Chorus]
In the dying of the light
My aggressor runs under the lamps
Morning light, they'll get to see
The crime committed on me
(Philadelphia!)
[Verse 2]
Sonny Green is feeling slow
Pepped up with a bag so righteous he sings all of Rubber Soul
(Philadelphia!)
Oh, the cadence of the glow
Percussive flashes over dimly lit country
Good God, I feel your hands on me
[Chorus]
In the dying of the light
My aggressor runs under the lamps
Morning light, they'll get to see
The crime committed on me
(Philadelphia!)
[Bridge]
Silk, dampened, unknown, over final thoughts
Where will I be in two years?
Euphoria breaks over the bow, washing up the macabre
Out to sea to my mother's arms
And I'm losing my ability to fathom
Awake and not awake
And I'm losing my ability to fathom
Awake and not awake
And I'm losing my ability to fathom
Awake and not awake
[Outro]
(Philadelphia!)
Philadelphia Q&A
Who wrote Philadelphia's ?
Philadelphia was written by Thom Sonny Green & Gus Unger-Hamilton & Joe Newman.
Who produced Philadelphia's ?
Philadelphia was produced by Charlie Andrew.
When did alt-J release Philadelphia?
alt-J released Philadelphia on Fri Feb 11 2022.
What have the artists said about the song?
When Joe showed me the first ideas, I was like, ‘It sounds quite Beatles-y.’ We thought we’d lean into that. So we hired a Höfner Violin Bass and got a friend of ours, Will Gardner, who arranged all the strings on the album. We gave him this brief which was kind of ‘John Barry, James Bond meets Serg...
What have the artists said about the song?
It’s the last moments of someone who’s dying in an alleyway. They’re very, very discombobulated and they don’t really know what’s going on and they’re kind of reminiscing, but at the same time, their heartbeat is slowing down and slowing down and they finally succumb.
— Joe Newman via Apple Music