The Mariana

Album: A Deeper Sea (2018)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Here, Everything Everything look at the subject of masculinity. Singer Jonathan Higgs told NME: "It's about male identity and suicide and the current crisis there is, whether you believe it or not, with being male."

    "I'm trying to get my head around that and thinking about it quite a lot so I wrote this song," he added. "There's a line about drifting down into the dark sea and falling into the barrier and the [Mariana] trench. It's another way to talk about all of these things like depression."
  • The song's title is a reference to the Mariana Trench, which is located in the western Pacific Ocean. A crescent-shaped scar in the Earth's crust, it reaches a maximum-known depth of 10,994 metres (36,070 ft). making it the deepest place on this planet.
  • The music video shows an amateur five-a-side football team enjoying a game in slow motion. "The song talks about male identity and the current high rate of suicide among men in the UK, I wanted to capture some men in a natural setting – no actors or contrived sequences," explained Jonathan Higgs. "I settled on amateur football as it's so closely allied to male identity, and a game is a good place to look for unguarded emotions, separate from the everyday. We filmed The Granada Old Boys at Manchester Tennis and Football Centre, in the shadow of the Eithad Stadium."

Comments: 1

  • Vic from New YorkThanks for this! I was wondering what the actual meaning was after seeing people talk about it
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Dean Pitchford

Dean PitchfordSongwriter Interviews

Dean wrote the screenplay and lyrics to all the songs in Footloose. His other hits include "Fame" and "All The Man That I Need."

David Sancious

David SanciousSongwriter Interviews

Keyboard great David Sancious talks about his work with Sting, Seal, Springsteen, Clapton and Aretha, and explains what quantum physics has to do with making music.

Roger McGuinn of The Byrds

Roger McGuinn of The ByrdsSongwriter Interviews

Roger reveals the songwriting formula Clive Davis told him, and if "Eight Miles High" is really about drugs.

Francis Rossi of Status Quo

Francis Rossi of Status QuoSongwriter Interviews

Doubt led to drive for Francis, who still isn't sure why one of Status Quo's biggest hits is so beloved.

Dan Reed

Dan ReedSongwriter Interviews

Dan cracked the Top 40 with "Ritual," then went to India and spent 2 hours with the Dalai Lama.

Jackie DeShannon - "Put a Little Love in Your Heart"

Jackie DeShannon - "Put a Little Love in Your Heart"They're Playing My Song

It wasn't her biggest hit as a songwriter (that would be "Bette Davis Eyes"), but "Put a Little Love in Your Heart" had a family connection for Jackie.