What Drops of Jupiter Taught Me About Music 

Meet Virginia was definitely a sizable hit in the late 90’s. They are at least a 3-hit wonder.

Honestly man, the whole being embarrassed to like something or playing it off as ironic is a product of age and immaturity. I went through it myself. Now in my mid-40s, I honestly don’t care what people think of the things I like, and it’s very liberating

I have a weird connection to this song. Right after I was born in 2002 I was hospitalized and almost died. While I was in the hospital my mother heard someone playing this song and she says it brought hope that I would be okay. Obviously only being a few WEEKS old I had no idea this happened to me. Fast forward to 1st grade my class puts on a concert for the school/parents this being one of the songs we sang. I remember at the time thinking the lyrics were weird but still finding something hopeful about them. After the concert my mom tells me about that time in the hospital. So even though I don't think it's an amazing song, it holds a very special place in my heart.

A song written for a late mother is still a love song 💔

One of the best sentiments I've ever heard about the collaborative nature between musician and audience was from Wayne Coyne of The Flaming lips in regards to Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (paraphrasing here) he said "We're the band that plays a silly song about a girl who fights pink robots, and somehow we get to take credit for the amazing song our audience wrote"

It’s honestly wild how many songs by train people know but just don’t realize are by train, or even by the same band

The song that I always come back to is "Love Song," by Sara Bareille. In my opinion, it does an incredible job of encapsulating the kind of contradictions you discuss in the video. The standout line from the chorus is "I'm not going to write you a love song." Meanwhile, the song actually functions pretty well as a love song. And then there is the meta-commentary about the song, as Sara said in interviews that her label was unsatisfied with the songs she was writing and was pushing her to write something more like a mainstream love song. "Love Song" was written in this frustrated circumstance, and was instantly a hit with her label and I believe is still her top chart performance in her music career. The perfect example of a song that somehow manages to satirically criticize the request, while simultaneously fulfilling the request.

I will never forgive them for writing the line “I’m so gangster I’m so thug you’re the only one I’m dreaming of”

“Drops of Jupiter” is the song that made me grateful for Shazam. I was ten when it first came out and it took me two years of asking around an fruitless internet searches to find out what it was called and who did it, because I’d never hear the DJ say it when it came on the radio. All I knew was the “Tell Me” hook and that didn’t yield many useful results. I only got lucky that my mom heard them say it in the car when we were driving home from somewhere, after which she drove me to Best Buy to get the CD. And it was worth it. I absolutely love this era of pop rock music, with, as you described, that crisp production and beautiful, almost cinematic string arrangements. Simultaneously cozy and bigger than life.

RIP Charlie Colin the bass player of Train. Definitely one of the first "modern" rock songs I remember hearing us a kid.

I remember my grandmother listening to this song for the first time and asking me what the name of it of was. I told her it was "Drops of Jupiter". She grew to love the song instantly and made it a part of her daily playlist. Several months later, I would lose her to cancer. Now, whenever I hear this song, I can only think of her.

I thought Meet Virginia was their first hit?! They had more than 2 or 3 hits didn’t they? Am I old? Damn.

i've heard this song several times but actually LISTENED to it last week while waiting for a hot towel shave. It's a masterpiece.

Even if the words are silly (at times) the emotional delivery is completely compelling so that the thrust of the message is believed - because he believes it too.

This is one of my favorite songs of all time and I'm glad it's getting its due respect in a Polyphonic video.

I highly recommend checking out the album that also bears the name Drops of Jupiter. The entire album is amazing. It got me through some tough times, and I’ve always loved it. Standout tracks are of course Drops of Jupiter and She’s on Fire, but also Hopeless, Let it Roll, Something More, and Mississippi.

Haven't finished the video, but I remember as a kid making fun of the lyrics, just a goofy song with stupid lyrics about chicken and lattes. But after finding out what it was about, the goofy lyrics kind of hit home, just longing for a normal day, going out for a coffee and hanging out one more time with a passed away loved one. Sometimes if it comes on it just gets me in my feels.

it's impossible NOT to call drops of jupiter a love song when you hear its origins; it's a song about a mother loving her life, and her son. that's not any less about love than a romantic one.

I think theirs a level of nuance where someone can like something, like something ironically, and like something post ironically. And I don't think its any less valid to like a song or any piece of media on those levels. Drops of Jupiter is a wonderful song with a beautiful sentiment, but I love it ironically. I love that they just let Pat Monahan say some of the stupidest lines to be sung. This goes for almost all of Trains catalogue. "Two ply hefty bag to hold my love" is a line I will sing with friends. My love for it is post ironic, though. Like, I adore it because the lines are so stupid, they feel so sincere For me, train will always be a band that makes good music that has lyrics so bad that they loop around to being enjoyable. Theres nothing inherently jaded about that

another song that changes its meaning when we know its story is Bread's Everything i own, a harmless 60's softrock, which seems like a romance song but is actually about the death of the author's father

This was the first song I remember actually "hearing" on the radio as a kid, while I helped my dad build our swing set in 2001. It was the first song I bought on iTunes for my iPod mini in 2006. It was my most played song on that iPod til it died when I was in high school lol. I saw Train live before the pandemic and when they played this song I got goosebumps...almost a cosmic religious experience I guess. Never been able to put my finger on why this song resonates with me....never really tried to give it much thought I guess....but this video helps articulate some points and allows me to explore my own thoughts

Thanks for this, Noah. Really nice work here. I love your views about how we experience art, and how that experience is usually quite personal and individual to each person. Now that I have context and background about this song, I’ll hear it a whole new way.

Something similar happened to the song “Closing Time” by Semisonic. At the surface level, you can say that it is about relationships, new beginnings or endings, etc. But once Dan Wilson explained his point of view of that song, it was actually inspired by his wife giving birth to their kid.

Sometimes even abstract lyrics can really resonate with you when you hear them, for whatever unknown reason: Way down the lane away, living for another day The aphids swarm up in the drifting haze Swim, seagull in the sky, towards that hollow western isle My envied lady holds you fast in her gaze Other, less abstract ones, can generate strong emotional reactions: “Conform or be cast out” “And your hands are really shaking something awful as you light your 27th cigarette” “I never saw a U-Haul being pulled behind a (pulled behind a) hearse” And, as you get older, some lyrics take on a much deeper meaning: “No good for an old memory to mean so much today” “What is this thing that builds our dreams, yet slips away from us?” “Where’ve you been, I’m just not myself when you’re away”

Drops of Jupiter is my go-to karaoke song. It's this little vestige of the unabashed love for Train I had when I was younger ("Save Me San Francisco" was an early favorite album). I am always in pursuit of trying to love music as openly and shamelessly as I did when I was younger.

I always assumed the song was about a former love who left but he never got over. “Did you fall for a shooting star, one without a permanent scar?” Referencing his own actual face scar. I always assumed it was a melancholy “still not over you” song.

I always loved the song because it was so different in its approach to a lover leaving and exploring other people and things. And then coming back.

Truly the soundtrack of getting driven home from school while no one is paying attention to the radio!

This song was first released around the time when I first got in touch with my HS girlfriend. It had already been over 17 years since the last time I heard or spoke to her. It was great seing her again, then a completely grown woman and a mother. I always remember her when I hear this song. Many blessings to her!!!

The story behind “dancing in the moonlight “ is heartbreaking too.

Train's debut album is absolutely worth a listen. Meet Virginia is the biggest hit, but the whole thing is amazing. It's a no skip album for me, probably in my top 50 despite my usual preference of harder rock. At minimum, check out Free, Idaho, and Homesick. Great tunes!

One of my favourite songs of all time and I’ve always loved the story behind it ❤

For the last month of 2000 and the first 2/3 of 2001, I was working in a facility which could only pick up one radio station to speak of (not the one I preferred). And they seemed to be playing "Drops of Jupiter" in very heavy rotation; on some days I'd hear it three times in an eight-hour shift. I thought, at the time, it was...okay. Now, however, I have a different level of appreciation for it.

My take on the song was that it was mostly about loss, about how people can seem to be something that they may not have actually been but what we wish they were. She wasn't manic pixie anything; she was gone, and the hole it left was huge. Finding out that it is about someone losing their mom makes me want to "neener neener" anyone that hated it. I presume you have made a mix or two. Or playlist. Once, a hundred years ago, I popped this track on and followed it up with Closer by Kings Of Leon, and now if I hear one, I must hear the other.

There's an Australian alt rock band named with confidence that did a cover of drops of Jupiter a few years back that gave me a glimpse of what the song always was but I never saw. Strings are given more of a spotlight and the lyrics seemed easier to hear their real meaning. It made me realize the profoundness of the song that I never really understood when I listened to it growing up

I haven't been keeping up with your videos lately as I delve deeper into technical music-related stuff. But I couldn't resist this title. I once saw an article "The top 10 worst lyrics of the year" and all the examples were from this song. I always liked this song and thought the lyrics were charming. I always heard it the way you originally did and then I loved coming to understand what it was originally written about.

I certainly found the song to be sentimental. I didn't realize it was sung by the same Train band that did "Hey Soul Sister" or "Drive By" til after the songs came out.

There's just something about how he says "deep fried CHICKEN" that pulls me in every time. There are some great songs that wallpaper soft rock and adult contemporary radio. Sugar Ray have some hits that I unironically love!

I don’t like anything by Train…but I do love this song. I always viewed it as just creating a mood through imagery, not to be taken at face value so some of the clunky lyrics don’t bother me.

Their album For Me It's You, has a great mix between Zeppelin, U2 and 2000s Pop Feel, worth to check it out 🤟

i really respect this video and stance, and i can kinda reassess my feelings about "Drops of Jupiter" even... I'm sorry to say i cannot bring that same energy to "Hey Soul Sister", though.

Ha literally just searched for your channel through my subscriptions and saw this instantly

Train is a band that their Hits are okay for the most part, but it's the deeper cuts that are more interesting. A great place to start is a concert they recorded in Birmingham, AL in 2006 that is available on Streaming Platforms. I have a fondness for the goofy "Save the Day" (which some may remember from "Smallville" but the song has a great charm and Pat destroying the Cool Rock Dude Myth during the Bridge) , but there are also great songs like "Landmine" (advice to a friend who has cold feet on their Wedding Day), "Get to Me" (a better Word Soup than "Soul Sister" about being separated from a lover) and a very decent take on the Faces "Stay With Me." (Not for the very PC)

It's amazing to hear someone talk about liking a song but feeling like they need to couch that like in "I know it's bad/silly but I like it anyway". I've always felt that way about "ME!" by Taylor Swift. People heard it and were immediately scornful of some of the lyrics and that always made me feel like it would be awkward to then tell them that I really love that song... but how could I not? "I'm the only one of me/Baby, that's the fun of me" and "I promise that you'll never find another like me" are such joyful lines, and the whole song is an expression of that joy.

Perfect timing for this video. I've actually been wanting to cover this song, but have had mixed emotions about it.

I've always genuinely loved Drops of Jupiter, it was a part of my childhood.

STOP THE TRAIN!

Too bad that Soul Sister will forever be written on their tombstone...

I always like how Polyphonic can make a sond sound so much cooler and deep then it actually is. This song will always be on my overplayed list

Fun fact: In Germany a lot of people understood 'Erdnussbier' instead of 'atmosphere' which means 'peanut beer' in English. I'm just going to leave that here...

Interestingly, I hadn't actively heard this song because I never listened to the radio growing up. I was only 10 when it came out and grew into a music contrarian besides. I only recently found this song via Rocksmith 2014 and found I enjoyed it. And the reason I enjoyed it - aside from being an adult who doesn't believe that pleasure has to be guilty - is that when I read the lyrics I immediately read them as mourning the death of a loved one. I'm panentheist and the idea of someone becoming the universe upon their death is one that has stuck with me since my late teens/early twenties. So I immediately latched on and have been singing it unironically since Although that soy latte line is rough.

I always thought this song was about the comic book "The Watchmen" You know, the comic where the Character Sally Jupiter has a daughter who ends up on Mars with her old lover, choking because there's no atmosphere, before coming back to earth to her new lover? This is the girl whose father is permanently scarred, who was blasted out of a sky rise building and fell to his death at the comic opening, like a "shooting star."

I think nostalgia can also create a sense of negativity towards something we once enjoyed but nostalgia can also be much the opposite. I really enjoyed all your points here & for helping me realize I gotta let go of the guilt of enjoying something that doesn’t resonate with everyone♾️

I hate that song because of my own emotional attachment at the time. It dropped right as I was going through one of the worst breaks up my life. It was literally inescapable.

I admit I never paid too close attention to the lyrics, but it never felt like a love song to me to be honest, and I was surprised to hear you describe it that way. I guess because the chorus goes into second person, I also took the "you" to be... well, me. And because of that, it resonates with me as a song about this sort of existential search for meaning, and exploration of the vast cosmos and the littlest pleasures, reckoning how small we are and little we understand with our deep-rooted desire to make sense of it.

If you've played Outer Wilds and you see the red giant informing you of your impending doom, Drops of Jupiter is now stuck in your head.

After every time you read one of the lyrics in the back of my mind, I hear 🎶“yeah yeah yeah yea”🎶. 😂

Their contemporaries (Coldplay, Our Lady Peace, even Kings of Leon) stand up better over time. It’s easy to forget how “parachutes” was very original, “happiness and the fish” was philosophical, or how KOL was rock heavy compared to their pop contemporaries. Train was cringy when it was new. They immediately felt like industry more than others.

Pretty sad and immature that many in your comments can’t even see through their own biases about the song and hear what you were trying to communicate. I don’t like the song, but I think this discussion was fantastic and well articulated

Damn, I never knew about it’s true meaning, I always thought of it as a beautiful song. I grew up on Train and whilst some (most) of their songs come across cringy looking back, I will always love Drops of Jupiter (and Save Me San Francisco) for being charming and bangers.

There is an acoustic version done by Taylor Swift that is pure brilliance. On the morning before a funeral service , I had that version on repeat.

I would actually say that Train is a "four" hit wonder band. It's funny you didn't even mention the song that I associate with them the most, and what I would consider to be their biggest and best song, and that's "Meet Virginia." I think you should look into that one if you haven't there are a lot of thematic similarities in the lyrics to "Drops of Jupiter." However, "Meet Virginia" is more explicitly a love song than "Drops of Jupiter," especially after watching this and learning more about the latter song's history. The other song of theirs that I used to hear a lot, and enjoy, is "Calling All Angels." That's one I would hear a lot on the radio when I was a kid and I don't know why but it always reminded me of the first half of Yes' "I've Seen All Good People" and when I was really young I used to confuse the two of them, which is weird to think about now. I think it's because some of the lyrics are similar.

Also, given that it's about his mom, the awkward lyrics may be taken from real moments with her. And they also come off a little childlike (as in a child wrote them) which makes sense in the context of his mother.

I actually really enjoy the ridiculous lyrics. For me a mother son relationship was always one of remembrance of childhood. I never feel more connected to my childhood than when I'm back home and my mom plays her classic 80s tunes in the kitchen cooking some meal that teleports me back to those simpler days. The ridiculousness of those lyrics remind me of that relationship and how random and odd some of those childish fun sayings and perceptions can be. They are whimsical and I think that's exactly what the song would need to fit its message

I didn't know the context of the song but for yeeeears I've told my closest family members and friends that I want this song to be played at my funeral.

"Irony is a Dead Scene" ... is not just an applicable statement, but a fantastic EP by The Dillinger Escape Plan ft. Mike Patton. You should do some exploration of that for the channel 🤓

Meet Virginia was a hit too. So that’s three. And they won two of those Grammy nominations for Drops. They had a gold, a platinum, and a double platinum album. So I guess their career was aight. 10M albums sold, 30M tracks. I am not a big fan, but Drops is a classic that almost reaches the level of, say, an Elton John composition.

I mean their stuff from the 00’s is good. But their 2012 Record California 37 will always be my favorite. I was about 10-11 when that dropped, and that was my introduction to their music.

Hmm. As a open minded, eclectic life long songwriter I just played this song again. I hate to say I don't understand its popularity. Just so poppy and run of the mill. Unique vocal cadence though on a lot of lines and a few clever vocal lines but aside from that I don't get how this stands out from a sea of similar music but apparently this did really well. I hate it when I can't at least see what others feel strongly about

I have always loved this song… I now look at it a little differently. I always enjoy what music I like.

Yes, thank you Noah. I don't really know this song, but the point still stands: Like what you like, and don't let the "Irony" ™ of the world poison how you feel about something. You know, the kind of people who make snarky jokes while you're crying at the end of The Lord of the Rings, because they can't handle real feelings.

Leonardo Di Caprio in Titanic would be a manic Pixie dream boy then?

I love the song.. I didn't mind the lyrics coz it's sounds good.. I just think it's trying to be quirky or something (still thinking this was a love song for a person you like).. but when I knew about the history of the song... years after... it became my favorite song.. I didn't realize that singing this is like singing for my mother..

But ... further to my previous comment, genius from you getting me to at least respect a song I genuinely can't stand. The greatest bit was how he admitted turning it into a love song, because that's what people want - same as movies, making the experience relatable. Brilliant observation, srsly. Brilliant ... great work that those people want to sponsor you, that's an ad for you not them.

Could not remember the song, so I paused your video to listern to it. I then remembered it, Thanks for posting another great video.

Honestly that whole album was great. Granted I was a late teenager, when like many a lot of my personal seminal songs and albums came out. I lost my own mother about a year before that album came out myself. It really added a bit of depth to my own experience of the album too.

Nostalgia is great, nothing wrong with taking a stroll down memory lane and enjoying these songs with a smile. However, in my case, I am no longer disillusioned with the bands i admire and their songs. It is becoming more clear to me with each passing year, the bands/songs we love are not organic, natural and spontaneous. So many bands/songs are created in an executive board room, a recording studio; manufactured commodities. Sad but true. Like Lennon said, "the dream is over".

Did anyone else hear this as a song about a mom before they had any clue about the backstory? IDK, a lot of the way she's described just felt like an empty-nester redefining her life after her kids have left home.

Train's first album is pretty good and Meet Virginia did very well too. It felt more concept and is still my favorite of the 2 . The second had some more of that concept style indy writing. Their later albums are good, although they try to lean towards commercial too often. However, there's a song on the 1st album, Eggplant. Really good. In later albums he'd make more songs about his mother and how important she was to him.

One of my favorite songs that I listen to very often. Thank you!!!

drops of jupiter can honestly be argued as the best song ever. Its not my favorite, but damn is it a good song

Coming for Train is like coming for Paul Wall on Twitter.... Also, imagine an irony free world. Just let Kurt, South Park, and Gen X go. Be earnest , be happy.

The drummer Scott Underwood is a pocket machine. So groovy, Ive always been a fan of their first couple albums.

Great Information and thanks for reminding me to start using my brilliant membership.

It taught me that I loved Train

I've always had a big soft spot for this song even though I too found it to be a little corny and overplayed. The realization that this a such a deeply personal song about a tragedy that I also experienced is heartbreaking. Thank you so much for sharing this.

Hey Polyphonic! It Must Be Kismet! Joe Bonamassa & Train dropped a cover of "Hold On Loosely" around the same time you posted this! Hope you see it👀👀👀

I hadn’t heard the song until after watching this video and I decided to check it out afterwards. Why the hell do people think it’s cringe this song is amazing, it’s so beautiful in so many ways and the “cringe” lyrics to me are just a bit of a personal touch to me, it means something to the guy singing it so who am I to have a problem with it, I like it. I’d say I like pretty much everything about the song. What a banger, the fact that people have been too self conscious to just admit that it rocks is ridiculous to me.

I always thought it was about his mate, struggling with drugs and constantly having to take another trip, to be happy with their own existence. I kinda of bitter sweet.

This wasn't big my side of the Atlantic but I just have heard it at least once because when I listened to it prior to watching this I was like "oh yeah, the one that sounds in places like Micheal Bolton Drift Away".

It is a great drum track... the dude an awesome drummer

Darn it! I just heard this song at my local grocery store today!

Another thing I think should be taken into account is how active your league is: a league where trades happen every week I truly believe its worth it to draft people with upside earlt in the year and fade the Jonathan brooks of the world just to trade for them when their value is lowest

This was another CD that I *almost* bought back in the day, but ultimately didn't because it got just enough airplay and I could use the money on something more obscure, or blank tape for the next time it came on lol

Totally agree on this. I recently became a huge Taylor Swift fan. But the one thing I do is that I don't give a damn who the songs are written about. I actually prefer not to know. I just like listening to the songs and putting them into my own context and imagination. First rule of Art: Everything is subjective.

“meet virginia” and “calling all angels” were pretty big songs

Love the thumbnail art

I love this. I love you. I'm a musician, and I play those self sane stupid games! Why can't we JUST LIKE stuff? We always have to be cool.

Manic Pixie Dream Girl is a good name for a band

Meet Virginia is really good too