Sailin' away on the crest of a wave
It's like magic
Oh and rollin' and ridin' and slippin' and sliding
It's magic
And you, and your sweet desire
You took me, oh, higher and higher, baby
It's a livin' thing
It's a terrible thing to lose
It's a given thing
What a terrible thing to lose
I'm takin' a dive
Dive
Making believe this is what you've conceived
From your worst day, I'm takin' a dive
Oh, moving in line when you look back in time
To the first day, I'm taken, I'm taken [ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/e/electric_light_orchestra/its_a_living_thing.html ]
And you and your sweet desire
Don't you do it, don't you do it
You took me, oh, higher and higher, baby
It's a living thing
It's a terrible thing to lose
It's a given thing
What a terrible thing to lose
And I'm takin' a dive
Ah the slide, hey
Takin' a dive 'cause you can't halt the slide
Floating downstream, I'm takin' a dive
Ah so let her go don't start spoiling the show
It's a bad dream, I'm taken, I'm taken
And you and your sweet desire
Don't you do it, don't you do it
You took me, oh, higher and higher, baby
It's a livin' thing
It's a terrible thing to lose
It's a given thing
What a terrible thing to lose
It's a livin' thing
It's a terrible thing to lose
It's a given thing
To me this is a song about a women who fell in love and then had her heart broken. She then decides to commit suicide after losing her love. The song appears to be from the perspective of the man whobroke her heart.
by Unregistered on Apr 6th 2012 9:06 pm
Even though it was stated by the writer that it is just about the complexity of love,... I'm sure it is and how complicated it can be when you fall in love and the power of sexual desire with someone who is already taken & you know it's wrong, but can't deny the tremendous pull... I'm taken, i'm taken...
by Unregistered on Mar 6th 2012 10:44 pm
I think it's about a dog. A dog that died in a car accident.
by Unregistered on Mar 6th 2012 10:10 am
I'm not sure what the true meaning of this is supposed to be. I tend it believe it's about sex or addiction. I highly doubt it's about abortion "... Sailing away on a crest of a wave. It's magic. " for me, it's about my sobriety. "it's a terrible thing to lose," 20 years & counting!
by Unregistered on Feb 3rd 2012 11:57 pm
Why do people assume songs are "about something" literal, like an essay or something? They are mostly just the pieces of babble that roll out of your head while you're writing them, they may or may not make sense when you write them down. Their purpose is to make emotional sense coming in through your ears to your heart.
by Unregistered on Jan 18th 2012 5:42 pm
It's not about anti-abortion or drug addiction (though those two topics could easily fit the meaning of the song). The song is just about love in general and it's fleeting nature at times.
by Unregistered on Nov 29th 2011 4:46 pm
It's well known as an anti-abortion classic. It made all the feminists bark & sniff each others tails, when it was released back in the 1970s.
by Unregistered on Nov 28th 2011 7:51 pm
Taking a dive? Sweet desire? Rollin and ridin and slippin and sliding? Duh. Sex, of course!