Analysis of a Song Part 7: Saturn by SZA
Welcome or welcome back to Analysis of a Song, the series where I pick a song and break down the lyrics section by section. So far in this series, we have covered multiple artists, including Taylor Swift, Lorde, Olivia Rodrigo, and one song from the musical Hamilton. The artist we’re looking at today I am admittedly less well-versed in, and that is SZA. Of SZA’s three big projects, Ctrl, SOS, and LANA, I have only listened to the standard edition of SOS in full, but that is an album I enjoyed. The song we’re looking at today, however, is my favourite song I’ve heard from SZA, that being Saturn.
Verse 1
If there’s another universe
Please make some noise
Give me a sign
This can’t be life
If there’s a point to losing love
Repeating pain
It’s all the same
I hate this place
This is a song that grapples with some deep existential fears. SZA doesn’t want to believe that this is all life is. She doesn’t want to believe that we grow up, work, do mostly the same stuff every day, die, and then that’s it. There’s more to life, surely? There’s surely a reason why we’re here? She’s begging the universe to give her a sign that she’s wrong, that in actuality, life is so much more than she could ever imagine.
In the first few lines, she’s introducing the idea of something extraterrestrial coming to save her. This isn’t the first time I’ve seen this idea expressed in a song. Phoebe Bridgers has a song called Chinese Satellite, in which she says, “I want to believe that if I go outside, I’ll see a tractor beam coming to take me to where I’m from. I want to go home.” Additionally, Taylor Swift expresses a similar sentiment on her song, I Hate it Here: “I hate it here so I will go to lunar valleys in my mind, when they found a better planet, only the gentle survived.” Speaking of Phoebe, she features on one of SZA’s own songs, Ghost in the Machine, that explores many similar existential themes, in which SZA declares, “y’all lack humanity, drowning in vanity. I crave humanity.”
It’s in the second half of the first verse that SZA begins to wonder if life is meaningless. We go through life constantly “losing love, repeating pain” as she says; we go through life just to get our hearts broken again and again in a hundred different ways. Even if there is a point, every emotion we feel is a recycling of emotions we’ve already felt. She’s overwhelmed by the repetition and mundanity of everyday life, hence the reason why she’s craving something more — something magical, something extraterrestrial, something incredible. But as much as her heart wishes for this to be true, her brain knows she’s waiting on something that will never happen.
She ends the first verse with, “I hate this place.” It’s such a simple and direct statement, but she says it with so much sadness in her voice. It again reminds me of Taylor’s song, in which she states quite simply, “I hate it here” (Saturn and I Hate it Here share so many similarities lyrcially and thematically, I love it).
Pre-Chorus
Stuck in this paradigm
Don’t believe in paradise
This must be what hell is like
There’s got to be more, got to be more
Sick of this head of mine
Intrusive thoughts, they paralyse
Nirvana’s not as advertised
There’s got to be more, been here before
She’s again reflecting on the repetitive mundanity of everyday life. She’s stuck in the paradigm; stuck in the patterns and routines of society. By mentioning paradise and then immediately mentioning hell in the next line, it creates a contrasting effect; a juxtaposition, if you will. This place isn’t paradise, it’s hell. Again, she has to believe there simply must be more to life than what meets the eye.
In the second half of the pre-chorus, SZA narrows down her perception. She goes from talking about society as a whole to focusing on her own experience. She’s sick of living in her own head, of putting up with her brain; she’s sick of the constant anxiety and overthinking and ruminating. Intrusive thoughts are scary and unwanted thoughts, hence the name “intrusive.” SZA describes her intrusive thoughts as paralysing. That’s such a powerful and weighted word. Her own thoughts have so much influence on her that they’re triggering a freeze response.
Nirvana (no, not the band) is a term used in Buddhism to describe a state of mind one can reach in which they become above feelings of pain, suffering, and self-awareness. There is just enlightenment. An individual who has reached nirvana has transcended to a higher plane of existence. In the western world, it can be used to describe a state of complete peace and happiness, or even be used as a synonym for paradise (another word SZA just used).
When we struggle with an unrelenting brain, as many of us do, we get told all of the things that will “cure” us. You’re told meditation will cure you. Mindfulness will cure you. Journalling will cure you. Practising gratitude will cure you. Drinking more water will cure you. There are thousands of videos on YouTube that tell you if you follow their 12 simple steps, your life will change overnight. Sure, for some it’s that simple. For most, it’s not. I love the line, “nirvana’s not as advertised.” Particularly the use of the word “advertised” stands out to me. It makes it feel as if nirvana, a deeply spiritual practice, is being advertised to us by a company trying to get us to buy their mood-boosting vitamins. Almost as if SZA herself has tried the meditation and the mindfulness and all the other stuff to ease her paralysing intrusive thoughts, only to find she’s fallen for false advertisement.1
In the last line of the pre-chorus, SZA says, “got to be more, been here before.” To me, that last line reminds me of groundhog day, which is the idea of every day feeling like the same day over and over again. Which ties in nicely to the theme of the repetitive nature of life.2
Chorus
Life’s better on Saturn
Got to break this pattern
Of floating away
Find something worth saving
It’s all for the taking
I always say:
I’ll be better on Saturn
None of this matters
Dreaming of Saturn
It’s in the chorus that we first see what is daresay the central theme of the song: Escapism. She introduced the extraterrestrial theme in the very first line of the song, and now it’s making a reappearance. SZA can’t help but imgine that life would be better on Saturn; on a planet that isn’t actively being destroyed, a planet that isn’t filled with the vain and apathetic humans she references on Ghost in the Machine. Pondering about space is something that often freaks people out. It can be daunting to think of how big the universe is and that, really, we’re just a small speck in the grand scheme of things. Which is why I find it so interesting that instead of being intimidated by this prospect, SZA is comforted by it. It gives her hope that there’s a better world out there. But does it give her hope, or does it fuel her need to believe that there’s more to life than this lest she be overcome by existential dread?
When she says she has to stop “floating away,” I think there’s a multitude of ways you can interpret that line. First of all, the idea of floating away conjures imagery of space and how astronauts float because of the lack of gravity. But in a metaphorical sense, I think she’s referring to escapism. But the means of escapism could be many things. She could be talking about escapism through art. On a daily basis, we escape into movies, into books, into music, into our comfort shows and favourite online creators. The great thing about art is that it allows us, for a brief period of time, to escape into someone else’s head; into a fictional world that doesn’t affect us. We’re not worrying about our own problems, we’re worrying about the problems of someone else.
Alternatively, she could be referring to escapism through daydreaming. Daydreaming is a tool that can be a source of great comfort. In moments when our minds wander, we can find ourselves fantasizing of a better version of ourselves living a better life in a better world (this is something I’m personally extremely guilty of). Daydreaming is something that can very easily feel like “floating away” from reality as you get lost in the make-believe.
Or, a third suggestion, she could be talking about dissociation. Dissociation is a process of the brain in which it detatches itself from reality, usually as a trauma response, although it’s more common than people realise. Some describe dissociating as feeling as if your brain has gone on autopilot. Some describe it as feeling as if you’re dreaming even though you’re awake. Some describe it as the world feeling 2D or flat. Some describe it as an “out-of-body” experience. Dissociation is literally an escape tactic the brain uses when it is feeling overwhelmed or unable to process something that has happened. Please don’t mistake this as me trying to “diagnose” SZA or psychoanalyse anything, I just know that for me personally, ‘floating away’ draws connections to dissociation. SZA may not be referring to anything I’ve said in that line, these are just the things it reminds me of.
In the next line, she says, “find something worth saving, it’s all for the taking.” That is quite possibly the most depressing line of the song. The idea that humanity is so far gone at this point that it would be hard to even find something worth saving is pretty dark. The environment is getting destroyed almost to a point of no repair, people’s rights are getting taken away, Palestinians are being slaughtered while politicians turn a blind eye, AI is actively erasing people’s critical thinking skills, all the while everything is only getting more expensive — I can understand the notion to look at all of that and think perhaps we’re reaching a point of no return.
Again, it draws connections to SZA’s Ghost in the Machine, in which she says: “I hate everybody, I hate everyone. Let’s talk about AI, robot got more heart than I. Robot got future I don’t (…) Can you distract me from all the disaster?” I find her use of the phrase “all for the taking” interesting; it could be a reference to greed and how easy it is now for the powerful to attain more power. Or, she could be talking to the aliens, telling them earth is all theirs for the taking because nothing is worth saving anyway. I mentioned in the first verse that SZA seemed to be pondering if life is meaningless, and she quite straightforwardly states in the chorus: “None of this matters.” That is Existential Crisis Final Boss. And so SZA will continue dreaming of Saturn, the so-called better place that exists only in her mind and will always be just out of reach.
Verse 2
If karma’s really real
How am I still here?
It just seems so unfair
I could be wrong though
If there’s a point to being good
Then where’s my reward?
The good die young and poor
I gave it all I could
Karma is a nice thing to believe in; the idea that good things will eventually come back around to good people and bad things will eventually come back around to bad people. It’s a comforting idea in theory, but falls apart the more you think about it. Bad things happen to good people every day. Good things happen to bad people every day too. It is, as SZA notes, unfair. But as the old adage goes, life isn’t fair. You can either believe in things like fate and karma and “everything happens for a reason,” or you can believe that life simply isn’t fair, and never will be. You deal with the cards you are dealt. It’s a glass half full VS glass half empty mentality. SZA says, “how am I still here?” Almost as if she’s still pondering why a spaceship hasn’t come to take her away to a better planet yet.
She then asks herself one of the questions of life everyone must confront at some point: Is there a point to being a good person? Obviously, there is a point to being a good person, but in the pessimistic state SZA is currently in, she can’t bring herself to see it. And while being a good person shouldn’t be about the reward (if there’s a reward at all), SZA is in such a state of disarray that she wants reassurance it wasn’t all for nothing. She reflects on how, “the good die young and poor.” If karma is real, then why do good people die young and poor? If karma is real, then why do the poor keep getting poorer, while the rich only get richer? SZA ends the second verse with, “I gave it all I could.” She says it with an air of resignation, as if she feels she has nothing left to give. She tried to be hopeful and optimistic, but hope and optimism can only get you so far, and will run dry eventually.
Pre-Chorus 2
Stuck in this terradome
All I see is terrible
Making us hysterical
There’s got to be more, got to be more
A terradome is a glass dome that covers plants and greenery, with terra being the Latin word for ‘earth.’ Upon finding this out, I immediately thought of The Simpsons Movie, in which Springfield gets trapped under a giant glass dome.3 Stephen King also has a 2009 book based on the same premise called Under the Dome, but the Simpsons movie actually came out in 2007, so I guess they did it first. And while it is slightly different, I’m also reminded of The Truman Show, in which Truman is placed in a fake world designed to stop him from escaping. Either way, what SZA is likely trying to say with this line is that she feels trapped.
Again, she’s reflecting on how whenever she looks around at the general state of the world, all she sees is awful, terrible things. Not only that, she’s seeing the effect it’s having on people. People are distressed. People are angry. People are scared.
I’ll be better on Saturn
None of this matters
Dreaming of Saturn, oh…
I wish I could wrap this analysis up with a nice little bow and end it on a happy note, but I can’t. Because this song begins and ends pessimistically, and that’s okay. It’s normal to have a good ol’ existential crash out every now and again, encouraged even. And it’s understandable to dream of escaping to another planet given the current state of the world. Okay, because the optimist in me can’t help herself, I will end this on a semi-happy note. Even though SZA has songs like Saturn and Ghost in the Machine where all she can see is despair and the doom and gloom, there are also songs like Good Days, in which she declares: “I’ll await my armoured fate with a smile. Still wanna try, still believe in good days.”
On that note, I hope you enjoyed this lyrical break down. Writing this made me way more existential than I thought it was going to, which, in hindsight, I probably should have seen coming lol. I may not have heard every song of SZA’s, but I do think she’s such a fascinating artist and has such a unique writing style. If you have any different interpretations to certain lyrics in this song, I’d love to hear them in the comments.
Until the next analysis,
- Lilly :)
Adding a note here even though I feel it goes without saying, but I am not a mental health professional. And I’m not trying to claim these sorts of things can’t work. I’m only talking about it in the context of the song and providing my personal interpretation.
I googled ‘groundhog day’ for this and it came up with “Did you mean: groundhog day” and I kept pressing it again and again despite nothing changing before I realised what they were doing… Google, that was cute of you ngl
Unironically one of the most memorable movies of my childhood despite the fact I am sure it has likely aged poorly
love this analysis!