Local H - Bound For The Floor
Local H's "Bound for the Floor," released as the lead single from their 1996 album As Good as Dead, became a defining track for the alternative rock duo. The song is recognized for its raw energy and lyrics that resonate with feelings of apathy and being beaten down, themes prevalent in the rock music of that era.
The genesis of the song's distinctive guitar riff can be traced to frontman Scott Lucas's apartment in Zion, Illinois. Lucas, who wrote the song with then-drummer Joe Daniels, experimented with stacked fifth chords, inspired by learning Police songs, and a moving bass line that he was perfecting for his unique guitar setup. The combination of these elements formed the core of the riff.
The title "Bound for the Floor" does not appear directly in the lyrics but alludes to the opening line, "Born to be down." The song explores a sense of resignation and frustration, a common thread throughout the As Good as Dead album, which itself is a concept album reflecting on dead-end, small-town life, drawing from the band's origins in Zion, Illinois. The chorus, with its line "You keep it copacetic," uses a word that Lucas intentionally incorporated for its archaic nature and its rhyme with "pathetic," adding a layer of clever wordplay to the song's cynical tone.
"Bound for the Floor" became Local H's most recognizable hit, a staple on alternative radio stations, and their only entry on the mainstream charts. The band, consisting of just a guitarist and a drummer, carved out a niche in the grunge and alternative scene. The music video for the song, directed by Frank W. Ockenfels, utilized muted colors and white flashes, characteristic of grunge videos of the time, further cementing its place within the 90s alternative rock aesthetic. Despite their subsequent releases and continued work, "Bound for the Floor" remains the song for which Local H is most widely known, encapsulating a particular mood and sound of its era.
Local H - Bound For The Floor Lyrics
Born to be down
I've learned all my lessons before now
Born to be down
I think you'll get used to it
And you just don't get it, you keep it copacetic
And you learn to accept it, you know you're so pathetic
And you just don't get it, you keep it copacetic
And you learn to accept it, you know you're so pathetic
And you don't
And you don't
And you don't
And you don't
Born to be down
I think that I've said this before now
Born to be down
What good is confidence?
And you just don't get it, you keep it copacetic
And you learn to accept it, you know you're so pathetic
And you just don't get it, you keep it copacetic
And you learn to accept it, you know you're so pathetic
And you don't
And you don't
And you don't
And you don't
And you just don't get it, you keep it copacetic
And you learn to accept it, you know you're so pathetic
And you just don't get it, you keep it copacetic
And you learn to accept it, you know you're so pathetic
And you just don't get it, you keep it copacetic
And you learn to accept it, you know you're so pathetic
And you just don't get it, you keep it copacetic
And you learn to accept it, you know you're so pathetic
And you don't
And you don't
And you don't
And you don't
And you don't (and you just don't get it, you keep it copacetic)
And you don't (and you learn to accept it, you know you're so pathetic)
And you don't (and you just don't get it, you keep it copacetic)
And you don't (and you learn to accept it, you know you're so pathetic)
And you just don't get it, you keep it copacetic
And you learn to accept it, you know you're so pathetic
And you just don't get it, you keep it copacetic
And you learn to accept it, you know you're so pathetic
And you just don't get it, you keep it copacetic
And you learn to accept it, you know you're so pathetic
And you just don't get it, you keep it copacetic
And you learn to accept it, you know you're so pathetic
And you don't