Saw Lightning
by Beck

Album: Hyperspace (2019)
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Songfacts®:

  • This four-minute acoustic funk banger finds Beck singing about being struck down by an unspecified peril. Like many of Beck's lyrics, it probably doesn't mean anything.
  • A collaboration with Pharrell Williams, the song was the first single to be released from Hyperspace. Seven of the album's 11 tracks were co-written and co-produced by the Neptunes producer.
  • "Saw Lightning" features an ad-lib section of "mumbles" credited to Pharrell. He also plays drums and keyboards on the track.
  • This soundtracked a commercial for the Powerbeats Pro from Beats. The ad features assorted sports stars, including LeBron James, Serena Williams and Anthony Joshua, in their individual training, each using the totally wireless Powerbeats Pro.
  • Beck explained the Hyperspace record's title to Mojo magazine. "It has to do with thinking about music as a form of escapism," he said. "It's transportive. Something that can somehow pull you out of the state of mind you're in and take you to another place. It's magical thinking/time travel."

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