About the artist
John Mayer was born on October 16, 1977, in Fairfield, Connecticut. He picked up the guitar at age 13 after receiving a Stevie Ray Vaughan tape from his neighbor. That single moment changed everything for him. By 1998, he had moved to Atlanta, Georgia, where he built his skills and developed a loyal following playing small venues and coffee shops.
Mayer has won seven Grammy Awards throughout his career, including Song of the Year for “Daughters” and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for “Your Body Is a Wonderland.” His albums have sold over 12 million copies combined. He’s known for his technical guitar mastery and has been recognized by Time Magazine as one of the most influential contemporary artists.
Mayer wrote “Walt Grace’s Submarine Test, January 1967” for his fifth studio album “Born and Raised,” released on May 22, 2012. The album represented a major shift in Mayer’s sound, moving away from pop toward folk and Americana, drawing influence from Bob Dylan, Neil Young and other folk legends.
Mayer has described this song as his first attempt at creating a world separate from his own experience. He was playing a Dobro guitar when the nautical sound inspired the idea of a man building a submarine. The character of Walt Grace became so real to him that he thinks about this fictional person during traffic jams, constantly developing the backstory and what happens after the song ends.
About the song
Walt Grace hates his mundane life and dreams of escaping to somewhere new. He locks himself in his basement, working obsessively on building a homemade, fan-blade, one-man submarine. His wife tells their kids he’s lost his mind. His friends predict he’ll fail. But with determination and a library card, Walt does it anyway.
One morning, he rolls his creation from dry land to wet sand, closes the hatch, and pedals off into massive waves. He experiences quiet for the first time in his life as he learns to navigate the tides. Weeks later, his wife receives the call she never expected: he’s calling from Tokyo. He made it.
This song teaches us that your life belongs to you. When you feel trapped in a situation that drains your spirit, you have the power to change it. Walt’s friends and family doubted him, but he built his escape route anyway. He didn’t need their permission or approval.
The recurring line “when you’re done with this world, you know the next is up to you” carries profound weight. You get to decide what comes next. You can stay stuck, or you can build something ridiculous and beautiful that everyone thinks will fail. The choice is yours alone.
The song isn’t about tragedy or foolish dreams. It’s about someone who refused to accept a life that felt wrong and did something about it, no matter how absurd it seemed to everyone watching.
The song also touches on legacy and what we leave behind. Years later, Walt’s friends gather at a bar named after him, raising glasses and smiling when they talk about the man who took that impossible ride. They remember him. They tell his story. He didn’t just escape; he became legendary in his own small way.
Stop waiting for the right moment or for people to believe in your vision. Build your “submarine”. Learn what you need to learn. Then roll it to the water and go.
Deja tu opinión sobre esto