"I'd Sooner Buy, Defying Gravity..." What does that line mean?

[fiyero8132]

Posted: 10/12/05 at 9:00pm

Can anyone help me decipher this line?

[moowithme111105]

Posted: 10/12/05 at 9:04pm

She rahter try to defeat the wizzard, then have true love, i guess.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 10/12/05 at 9:06pm

"To buy" is another way to say "to believe in" or to.... have faith in, I guess. So, she'd sooner "buy" defying gravity in the sense that she'd sooner believe she can do it than she would... whatever else.

[ashley0139]

Posted: 10/12/05 at 9:08pm

Yeah, like if someone says "I went to the moon" and you say "I don't buy it." That kind of thing. Defying gravity is such a crazy thing that she would sooner "buy" that than whatever else she was talking about.

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/12/05 at 9:08pm

Nicely said, luvtheEmcee.

[BroadwayGirl107]

Posted: 10/12/05 at 9:10pm

I always thought it was referring to the previous line. "Well, if that's love, it comes at much too high a cost."...Meaning she'd rather take that "Defying Gravity" risk than have that cost of the life she was referring to.

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/12/05 at 9:15pm

Look at that! Schwartz put a double meaning into it.

And people claim his lyrics are inferior. I'm glad some of you are actually taking the time to ponder them.

And the rest of you... Pay attention, before you write him off!

There, I got that out of my system.

EDIT: Okay, "the rest of you" probably aren't even reading this thread.

Updated On: 10/12/05 at 09:15 PM

[dancingthrulife04]

Posted: 10/12/05 at 9:26pm

Nicely put, Emcee.
I definitely would agree with that.

[bwayfan3]

Posted: 10/12/05 at 9:36pm

She realizes that she shouldn't have to be something she's not really, in order for people to love her (Well if that's love it comes at much too high a cost) and she's starting to believe that it almost makes more sense that she could possibly do something like fly around Oz trying to defeat the Wizard (which may sound absurd), rather than go back to the life she's been living.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 10/12/05 at 9:53pm

And the rest of you... Pay attention, before you write him off!

actually I use this example as another reason to write him off... it's stupid. he can write some okay tunes, but the man could not write a decent lyric to save his life...

also... this exact topic has been discussed before...

[got-a-light]

Posted: 10/12/05 at 9:56pm

BroadwayGirl107 I'm with you

[jasonf]

Posted: 10/12/05 at 10:04pm

Wow - I thought the line was "And now I'll try defying gravity" - which makes more sense anyway....

[admanrich]

Posted: 10/12/05 at 10:12pm

Yeah I agree w/ BroadwayGirl

[BrdwyBnd2005]

Posted: 10/12/05 at 10:14pm

Thanks broadwaygirl107 for getting it. If you listen to the whole song (i mean the preceeding line), you can figure out the meaning. The end

[gustof777]

Posted: 10/12/05 at 10:14pm

listen nessa...uh nessa...i've got something to confess,a...............................'nuff said

[kidmanboy]

Posted: 10/12/05 at 10:54pm

I don't really understand why everyone chooses to point out his flaws. Every lyricists has some blunders...but I think he's written some great lyrics also. and i REALLY don't understand the obsession with the nessa, confess, a. Sondheim does things like that all the time, and THAT"S genius

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 10/12/05 at 10:57pm

"Well, if that's love, it comes at much to high a cost...I'd sooner buy defying gravity........."

It makes sense that way. In the sense that she's actually saying love comes at too high a cost and isn't what she expected/anticipated, so she'd rather be free even if it means defying Oz.

It also makes sense in the way Em said it.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 10/12/05 at 11:01pm

actually that's the way that makes him look like an idiot. at least the other way makes him look like some thought went into it...

[jasonf]

Posted: 10/12/05 at 11:02pm

I like my version better -- "Soon I'll try..."

[Khashoggi]

Posted: 10/12/05 at 11:31pm

CATS, you are one angry, sad, jealous, bitter, wannabe, loser.
You get a gold star for contributing nothing to the conversation. :)
Well done! :)
Oh, and I always thought that lyric was a subliminal message to do with the merchandise stands in the foyer. :)
-J.

[cathywellerstein]

Posted: 10/12/05 at 11:34pm

it is about the merchandise. stephen told me personally.

[Khashoggi]

Posted: 10/12/05 at 11:39pm

I believe Disney use the same trick in their shows.
The "african chanting" is actually something about "Go and buy $200 worth of Lion King t-shirts, CDs, action figuirines, underwear and sex aids from the Disney henchman in the foyer"
:)
-J.

[ChrisLovesShows]

Posted: 10/12/05 at 11:42pm

I've believe it means she would rather buy that jet that the NASA astronauts train on. The one that goes into steep dives to simulate zero gravity. There is a lengthy prologue to the song, eventually cut in previews, in which Elphaba actually sings about her life-long obsession with space travel, especially the ability for rockets to "defy gravity" as they leave the earth's atmosphere. Her desire to own the jet reflects her desire to find a place where there is no gravity, where gravity is, quite literally, "defied."

Updated On: 10/12/05 at 11:42 PM

[HBP]

Posted: 10/13/05 at 12:05am

CatsNYRevival? Haha, not a big Wicked fan I take it? Oh well, some will like it some won't. That's life guys, as much as I love Wicked people are aloud to think the lyrics are bad or that the book is boring or incohesive. It's not a big deal, if you like it then go ahead liking it and forget what other people think. It still sells out every performance...

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 10/13/05 at 12:16am

Sigh...just let me take this opportunity to say the Stephen Schwartz's rhymes in "Wicked" are some of the most simplistic and half-assed I've ever heard. It's like he just wrote down the first thing that came to his head.