Harry Styles – Sign of the Times Lyrics | 1 year ago |
It's wild how this one has SO many interpretations, from a dying mother's speech to school shootings to religious messages to personal confessions of loss & more. I personally can't see Harry's stated meaning at all, but that's what makes it such a great song, it speaks to people in so many ways. Here's mine: It sounds like a conversation between 2 people, or maybe 2 sides of the same person--a moral argument. One of them says, "the world is F'd, it's raining bullets, the end is coming, we have to get out of here!" The other says: "stop your crying, this is how it's always been, it'll be okay, just have fun." Then the first one responds: "You pretend to be a good person, but you can't fool god (can't bribe...). And floating up there, looking down from the sky everything looks good to you, but you're not really good (I love how he leaves the next beat empty so the word is underlined) and it's not really good down here either." And then the chorus could be both or either saying: this keeps happening so we need to get out, OR this keeps happening so we'll get thru it this time too. The last few verses go back and forth between the speakers with the first one making a plea that we talk more and work it out before we destroy ourselves while the second speaker just keeps saying "stop your crying" and have fun while you're alive. This is an internal argument I think we all have with ourselves sometimes, looking at the world, but I imagine it's even harder from the heights that Harry is at. He's way way up above us all in the sky looking down, life does look pretty good from up there I'd imagine. But he's also moral enough to know that his view is not the truth. That's the other voice in his head, the one that says something has to be done. But what? And the argument goes on... |
Elliott Smith – Cecilia/Amanda Lyrics | 11 years ago |
Here's my take on this song: Cecilia is a hooker and a stripper ("dancing...in a place where lonely men make their opposites match"). She has a daughter (Amanda) and has vowed that she will stay away from drugs and clean up her life for her kid ("things you promised that you never did"). But she has been beaten by a Jon ("black and blue...", a hospital "patient in a party dress") and her pimp "Whitey" says that it will make her less desirable to the men ("she ain't a hit no more"). He sends her to get more drugs (the "daily score"), possibly from the narrator (Elliott??). This saddens the narrator. He is afraid that Amanda will follow in her mother's footsteps, and that he is contributing to this outcome ("she asked me can I fix it so YOUR record plays the rest of HER song" isn't just literal and the weird pronouns aren't accidental: "YOUR record"=the mother's lifestyle, "HER song"=Amanda's life.). Amanda wants to be a dancer like her mother, she looks up to her and asks the narrator about it but he obviously doesn't want to tell what kind of dancer she is. He wants to protect her. But in the end Amanda does become her mother. She puts on "a new party dress" (mirroring the party dress worn by her mother in the hospital after being beaten) and Amanda starts "dancing to a record YOU scratched" (aka living her mother's lifestyle) with her own version of a lying, drug dealing pimp (the "dealing amateur actor making opposites match"). All in all it's a sad story of the cyclical nature of addiction, abuse and exploitation. It's made all the worse because the scenes with the narrator talking to the little girl about dancing feel so innocent even as the 'dancing' and the 'records' serve as metaphors for the inevitability of her innocence being breached. And all sung to a poppy upbeat melody, just to underline the contrast one more time. Heartbreaking and brilliant as only Elliott can be. |
Elliott Smith – Antonio Carlos Jobim (Heatmiser cover) Lyrics | 11 years ago |
I like the idea of the person who should be thankful to be alone being Elliott's mother, but I don't think that's right in this case. He is clearly talking about a man ("tell him", "he'd hear"). Myrmidon might be right, he might be talking to himself, berating himself for making this trip to meet with the man about his record and his lyrics. Maybe he's mad at himself for trying to forge a relationship with someone he knows won't understand him or his "sour notes". Or worse, with someone who was the cause of those sour notes. This is likely the case. On another hand, it's still possible he is talking to the man, saying that he should have stayed away from Elliott and his mom, he should have been happy just to be alone rather than make other people miserable (there's a line in some other Elliott song that I can't put my finger on that's a little like this, something like 'why couldn't you just leave her alone') |
Elliott Smith – Amanda Cecilia Lyrics | 11 years ago |
Here's my take on the b-side [non-live] version: Cecilia is a hooker and a stripper ("dancing...in a place where lonely men make their opposites match"). She has a daughter (Amanda) and has vowed that she will stay away from drugs and clean up her life for her kid ("things you promised that you never did"). But she has been beaten by a Jon ("black and blue...", a hospital "patient in a party dress") and her pimp "Whitey" says that it will make her less desirable to the men ("she ain't a hit no more"). He sends her to get more drugs (the "daily score"), possibly from the narrator (Elliott??). This saddens the narrator. He is afraid that Amanda will follow in her mother's footsteps, and that he is contributing to this outcome ("she asked me can I fix it so YOUR record plays the rest of HER song" isn't just literal and the weird pronouns aren't accidental: "YOUR record"=the mother's lifestyle, "HER song"=Amanda's life.). Amanda wants to be a dancer like her mother, she looks up to her and asks the narrator about it but he obviously doesn't want to tell what kind of dancer she is. He wants to protect her. But in the end Amanda does become her mother. She puts on "a new party dress" (mirroring the party dress worn by her mother in the hospital after being beaten) and Amanda starts "dancing to a record YOU scratched" (aka living her mother's lifestyle) with her own version of a lying, drug dealing pimp (the "dealing amateur actor making opposites match"). All in all it's a sad story of the cyclical nature of addiction, abuse and exploitation. It's made all the worse because the scenes with the narrator talking to the little girl about dancing feel so innocent even as the 'dancing' and the 'records' serve as metaphors for the inevitability of her innocence being breached. And all sung to a poppy upbeat melody, just to underline the contrast one more time. Heartbreaking and brilliant as only Elliott can be. |
Elliott Smith – Sorry, My Mistake Lyrics | 12 years ago |
Also, the concerts can be found at the internet archive at http://www.archive.org Again search for these 2 shows on the archive: 1999-02-26 at Satyricon and 1999-03-06 at The Troubadour. Also, according to the main Elliott Smith website (www.sweetadeline.net), both Elliott and now his family supported the trading of bootlegged concerts, so feel no guilt at downloading these and other of his amazing live shows. |
Elliott Smith – Sorry, My Mistake Lyrics | 12 years ago |
I'm positive that the second and third line are wrong here, but I'm not positive what the right lyrics should be. I think that it's this: A frozen tear melted here To flood the man-made lake I didn't mean to make A drowning note fury wrote That caused the earth to quake Confidence to shake Sorry, my mistake I think this is right because the first 3 line describe one mistake (a flood caused by his own tears) and the fourth to sixth lines describe another mistake (a furious note screamed loud enough to shake the earth) and both mistakes are ones where the strength of his emotions have effected the world. So this makes more sense to me then the other lyrics, and I think that they conform better to what I hear when I listen to the songs. Also, this is only a live song (with lyrics anyway), and can be found on two bootlegged concerts: 1999-02-26 at Satyricon and 1999-03-06 at The Troubadour. |
Bright Eyes – Reinvent the Wheel Lyrics | 13 years ago |
I think this song is about how we can live on after our deaths (not in a religious way though). He is pointing out that what we do on earth influences others, and because of that we have the ability to live forever. I think he is saying that even though his 'friend' who wrote the tragic album is gone, his influence lives on - both in the 'hearts of his fans' and in the next new crop of singer-songwriters who are influenced by the dead musician and therefore 'reinvent the wheel' by making more music inspired by the dead singer. Thus, he also lives on in another form - in the form of other people's music. So, is this dead singer Elliott Smith? I'd like to think so. Some things fit better than others. Elliott never wrote an album inspired by a real life dead girl, but he did write multiple songs featuring suicidal girlfriends - 'Condor Ave', 'Georgia, Georgia', 'Don't Go Down' are a few. So, it would not be odd that Conor might have heard a rumour that these songs were based on something in Elliott's life (though as far as I know, they were not, and may in fact have been about himself). The other thing that doesn't fit that well with Elliott, is the line about hoping he is alive. Now, from my interpretation of this song, you could read it as hoping that the legacy of the 'friend' is still alive, not the person himself. But I do admit that this is a little problematic. Everything else fits really well with Elliott as far as I can tell, most of these have been posted here before. One hasn't though and that is the paragraph about the ghosts. Elliott was constantly plagued with the ghosts of his past. His songs are full of references to horrible events from his childhood which kept a reoccurring litany in his dreams, both awake and asleep. The lines: "Now ghosts, they have their secrets, And they'll tell them to a few. So you could never pay attention When they're whispering to you" and then the mention of his 'glazed eyes' could definitely be a reference to Elliott's ghosts and the depression and substance abuse that they caused as he tried not to 'pay attention' and ended up blocking out the whole world, literally and figuratively. All in all, it is probably about Elliott - we loved him and he never understood why, he never saw himself the way that we did, and that's a pity. But he will live on because someday we will be watching 'the late show' or something and some young newcomer will sing a masterpiece that was clearly inspired by Elliott and therefore we will be seeing Elliott in another form. |
Elliott Smith – No More Lyrics | 13 years ago |
Some corrections to the lyrics: The lyrics in single quotes '...' are the corrected ones: ________________________________________________________ Tired of looking sideways With the things in black and white No more, no more Arguing my case to the wee hours of the night What for? What for? What for? Put it in your face and let the petals fall Cursing your family name Rather being happy was the cause of it all Panicked and hateful, with nothing to blame That's a useful dream that 'pretended to explain' No more, no more, no more Superstition in the image of 'One I already believe' 'Easier to use 'cause I made it up' To deal with the same things Tired of looking sideways With the things in black and white What for? What for? What for? |
Elliott Smith – Pictures of Me (Either/Or demos) Lyrics | 13 years ago |
I love how the early versions of Elliott's songs often have a more direct meaning and a more personal story. (See the early versions of "I didn't understand" and "Everybody Cares, Everybody Understands" too). This one seems to me to be about Elliott fearing that the woman he is dating is in love with the public idea of 'Elliott Smith' rather than the real him. The one she really loves is the Elliott on the blue screen or on the coin-op tv. He fears he "can't compete" with the image of himself that is out there. His public image is totally wrong, but he feels it is better than the real him, and he can never measure up to the pictures of him. The chorus makes so much more sense with the rest of the lyrics in this version than in the other one. I think this often happens with his songs, where he first writes a really personal story and then he changes it so it's theme is no longer as recognizable or as personal. Sometimes it even feels like he puts two completely different songs together in the final versions - like the verses are from one song and the chorus is from another. I feel like that a little bit with the album version of the song, but not with this one - this one is clear and heartbreaking. I just wish I had a better recording of it. Mine has a lot of fuzzyiness in the recording quality. If anyone knows if there is a cleaned up copy, let me know. |
Elliott Smith – Looking Over My Shoulder Lyrics | 13 years ago |
My two cents: It is definitely 'sonic fuck you' and not 'sonnet; fuck you!' or 'song and fuck you!'. It means he wants to write a song that is meant to be a fuck you to someone. In this case the fuck you is for whoever it is that is coming over with all of their friends to give him opinions he doesn't want to hear. In other words, this song "looking over my shoulder" IS the sonic fuck you. As to who the 'fuck you' is for, the two most likely options have been pointed out here: friends of his who are trying to convince him to change his ways (give up drugs) or a record company. I personally think the former is more likely, it fits in with other songs of his where he's been mad at people trying to get him to stop drugs (like "everybody cares, everybody understands"). An alternative is that he is mad at people coming around and complaining about things he doesn't find that important - like the things he is wrestling with are so horrible that listening to other people complaining about "being alone" is driving him crazy. I felt like this after a few of my friends died and I was grieving and every time I had to listen to someone complaining about boyfriend troubles or getting a B on a paper would make me feel angry and apart from the whole world - everybody else's problems felt so shallow compared to my grief. There is something in this song and others by Elliott (like "Stained Glass Eyes", among others) which is reminiscent of this feeling for me. I think it's interesting that he goes for his meeting with Mr So and So at 2:45am - the same time as in the song 2:45am. In both songs he paints a picture of himself wandering the streets in the middle of the night looking for a way to escape his life. He looks for drugs and the arms of another person to chase away the problems which are plaguing him, whether they be the demons in his dreams (in 2:45am) or the people in his life (in this song). Obviously this is a reoccurring problem for him. What is also interesting is that Elliott seems to be admitting in this song that his problems are reoccurring - he says he's writing "another sonic fuck you", pointing out that he has written songs as fuck-you's before and in making the meeting with the dealer at 2:45am he is purposefully reminding us that he has found himself in this position before. |
Elliott Smith – Fear City Lyrics | 13 years ago |
I'm not sure what this is about, but like someone mentioned above, I too think that there is a similarity to the song "Alphabet Town" but I would add the alternate version of "Everybody cares, Everybody Understands" as similar too. It even mentions "fear city" in this lyric: For a moment's rest I leaned against the banister After running upstairs again and again From a place you people never been With all of Fear City's finest following behind Who with a greater skill and resourcefulness After putting me under a wrongful arrest Stuck me out to the desert to dry and die The first line of Fear City is "Dragged down into lowercase". Letters of the alphabet are lowercase, so this could mean he's being dragged into an area of alphabet town/fear city. Alternatively, lowercase could refer to the lower part of a staircase. In 'Everybody Cares...' he talks about running upstairs again and again and being chased by "Fear City's Finest". I think the staircase is a metaphor for his constant battle with drugs and "Fear City's Finest" could be interpreted either as the forces which drag him down into drug use, or as the forces which chase him away from the drugs (cops, friends, rehab councilors etc.). Its interesting that in "Fear City" the line about the cops follows the line about being dragged down into lowercase, when in 'Everybody Cares...' he's being chased up the staircase by "Fear City's Finest", who certainly sound like cops. Then, the line "Your broken English over their flat, tired remarks / Still trying to bring some dead beauty back to life" reminds me of a large portion of Alphabet Town. In my interpretation, that song is about Elliott befriending a prostitute who's working name is Constantina but who's real name is unpronounceable. They bond over the fact that neither of them will judge the other and they show each other around Alphabet Town, which I get the feeling is a 'haunted' area full of drug addicts, prostitutes and other living dead. So what if the prostitute with the unpronounceable name is the same woman who speaks with broken english, and she is the one trying to bring her 'dead beauty back to life'? And if Alphabet Town/City and Fear City are the same it makes sense that he expects to see the city dead - again he describes it as a haunted city, which can be interpreted a dead city or a city full of the dead. Another similarity between the two songs is the emphasis on names. In Alphabet Town he says the name of his lover by mistake, and is unable to pronounce the name of his prostitute friend. In Fear City he says "You write your name in all of the places no one goes". It's conceivable that the one writing her name is the same one who has a name he can't pronounce - like since her name can't be spoken she needs to write it everywhere. It's also possible that he is the one figuratively writing his name in all of the places no one goes - that it's a way of saying he's leaving a piece of himself behind in all those places. The phrase "places no one goes" or something similar is in a couple of songs. In Alphabet town he says he's "running...from a place you people never been". In 'High Times' he says "I don't go where I'm supposed to go / And I don't go really anywhere you know". Definitely similar themes. As for what the rest of the lines in this song mean - I don't really know, but I'd love to hear some other people's ideas. To me, this song is way more disjointed than most of Elliott's other songs. It really doesn't seem to have a clear story. It feels more like a collection of disparate thoughts or impressions, with each two line stanza being a distinct topic, unrelated to all the others. At least that's how it feels to me. |
Elliott Smith – Alphabet Town Lyrics | 13 years ago |
Like others have suggested, I think this is about Elliott's friendship with a prostitute, much like the alternate version of 'pretty mary k' or 'cecilia amanda' seem to be. I think Alphabet city is an area full of those you might poetically refer to as the walking dead - drug addicts, prostitutes etc ["alphabet city is haunted"]. A girl named Constantina is one of these walking dead ["Constantina feels right at home"]. She won't judge Elliott for being there, because she's there too ["She probably won't say you're wrong"]. She shows him around, and he shows her around Alphabet town - ie. they do what others in alphabet town are doing...drugs, sex, drinking, whatever. He has another girl on his mind, and he says her name without meaning to (possibly but not necessarily during sex), but Constantina doesn't mind, she understands that people come to Alphabet city to escape the pain in their lives, and as a prostitute, she is often the stand-in for other women. Constantina isn't her real name either, it's her 'working' name. Her real name is something he can't pronounce - which could mean that her name doesn't really matter to him, the name that matters is the name of the girl he loves - the name he couldn't help but pronounce. Nevertheless, the fact that she told him her real name and that she put her hand on his arm (a gesture he places some importance on), shows that there is some kind of a true relationship here, even if it's not with the girl he's pining after. He knows she's a prostitute and/or a drug addict, but he doesn't care ["I know what you are, I just don't mind, I won't say you're wrong"]. She won't judge him, he won't judge her. They will accept each other and give each other what they want, without judgment [I know what you want / And it's what I want / So let's go out / I'm ready to go out / I'll show you around this alphabet town]. So it's a song about finding a real, if temporary, relationship in a place you would not expect. It's about misery loving company and about people bonding over their vices and finding solace in others who have also fallen on hard times. It's kind of beautiful when you think about it. |
Elliott Smith – Alphabet Town Lyrics | 13 years ago |
The lyric is clearly: "And you're with someone who'll hear you say it and just not mind" Powers that be, please change it. |
Elliott Smith – Good to Go Lyrics | 13 years ago |
I disagree with you writing this here, but I understand where your coming from. When I first found out what happened I thought to myself 'how could such a beautiful guy do that to himself', and I told myself that he couldn't have. I read the coroner's report and latched on to all the inconsistencies as proof of the belief I wanted to hold. But the more I really listed to his music the harder it was to hold onto this belief. I'm not saying there aren't reasons to believe it could be murder, and Chiba suing the family did look really horrible. But really, Elliott wrote about, and therefore thought about, suicide A LOT! He had tried it once before. He sang 'Division Day' (a song about the beautiful release that would come from jumping off a bridge) at almost every live show for years. He wrote song after song with references to suicide. I believe he had planned to kill himself for years and years, but acted on a spur of the moment impulse to actually do it. In other words, he knew he would do it but he didn't know when. Either way it's horribly sad, but one bit of peace might be that if it was indeed suicide, at least he had a choice - he wasn't forced to die, he wanted it and he chose it. |
Elliott Smith – Good to Go Lyrics | 13 years ago |
He did say in an interview about the song Amity that 'good to go' means 'tired of living', as in ready to die (like another poster rightly stated). That said, I don't think that is what it means in this case. I think that this is about a junkie girl who Elliott fell for. I think her drug use inspired Elliott to use drugs too. I think the line "you can do it if you want to be like me" is from the girl's perspective. She's telling Elliott he can use drugs and if he does he will be like her. He thinks she is pretty awesome, so this seems like a good thing to him. In a way she is his hero (his drug-use hero), so the line "I wouldn't need a hero if I wasn't such a zero" is him saying he wouldn't need to look up to her or do drugs because of her if he wasn't 'such a zero'. So in this case I think "good to go" means "ready to use drugs". Then she takes off and leaves him alone. He tries to find her, walking around the city to all the places she might be, but she is long gone. All he has now are memories and old letters. He realizes she's not coming back. There is a possibility that she died (overdosed maybe) but it seems more consistent with the lyrics that she simply left because she was a whirlwind - she blew into town, changed Elliott, and left just as abruptly. The unspoken implication is that Elliott is now hooked on drugs but the reason he got hooked is long gone. This is a common addict story, not the girl part, but that you might start for one reason but after a while that reason no longer matters. You don't even really get high anymore, so it's not even about having fun. It becomes about not wanting to feel bad, about avoiding the withdrawals. This is a side note, but it is interesting to think about the girl as an allegory [is that the right term?] for any fleeting reason a person might find themselves drawn towards drug use. |
Elliott Smith – Things Are Hard (Seen How Things Are Hard) Lyrics | 13 years ago |
makh is right about the lyric. Whoever has the power over the lyrics, please fix it. |
Elliott Smith – Watch the Worlds Collide (I Didn't Understand, early piano version) Lyrics | 13 years ago |
Yeah, I love this version too. It's interesting because the whole meaning of the song is changed. In the album version, it's like Elliott has broken up with a woman because he's sure that she doesn't really care about him anyway [thought you'd be looking for the next in line to love...And so you'd soon be leaving me alone / Like I'm supposed to be...] and because he's too depressed to really give what he should to the relationship [I waited for a bus to separate the both of us / And take me off far away from you / Because my feelings never change a bit / I always feel like shit / I don't know why, I guess that I "just do"]. But once she's gone, he finally realizes what she was talking about when she told him about the strength, happiness etc he could get from a relationship (that it could be a never-never land). He's saying he didn't understand until it was too late. The whole song feels like he wishes he could have her back, and that he's sorry he didn't understand things sooner. This version feels like it was written before he came to that understanding. It sounds like he's saying he can't wait to get away from the relationship [And I'd be happy just to be / Relieved from duty right away ... I'm waiting for a bus to take / My thoughts away from us / And drop me off far away from you]. He's sees relationships as false fronts, showing just the pretty side. He knows that there is an ugly side too so he wants nothing to do with covering it up. In this version, he doesn't yet understand. I think these two songs show a beautiful progression of his understanding of relationships and love. It's awesome. |
Elliott Smith – Cupid's Trick Lyrics | 13 years ago |
Also, I think it's "sugar lie" not "Should've lied". An alternative but complimentary explanation (to my idea posted above) is that 'sugar' is not a woman but the drug (cocaine probably). So he's saying he's consumed by the drug, not the other way around (sugar lick me up) even though he knows that the drug is a lie - it's not real happiness (Sugar lie). Nonetheless, he sees the drug as his love, and also as the thing that makes him real [The stupid kick that makes me real]. This is not a new sentiment for Elliott, his lyrics often allude to drugs making him more real, giving the world colour etc. So then here, cupid's trick is that he loves something that is destroying him, [kick me, cane me...] something that is ultimately a lie. But he can't escape it [It's never over and done]. All in all, I think the song is a melding of my two explanations. So many of his songs have dual meanings, and like another poster said, it's usually about drugs and a woman. Again, what do you think? |
Elliott Smith – Cupid's Trick Lyrics | 13 years ago |
What about this interpretation: He's ODing or at the very least very out of it from the drugs [absent and numb]. The woman he loves comes and starts shaking him, trying to get him to respond, trying to turn back the clock to before he was on the brink. He says he's fine, he wants to be left alone - but he's lying. She knows he's lying and he knows it but doesn't care, it's his lie. He wants her to buy it and leave him alone [sugar, lick me up it's my lie]. She keeps shaking and kicking him to get him to wake up [The stupid kick that makes me real ...She's shaking down / It's never over and done / So kick me, cane me ... ] Cupid's trick in this context is the dual love - the love of the drugs and the love of the woman who is keeping him from enjoying the drugs. Cupid had made him love both, but he can't be with them both at the same time, at least not without lying. What do you think? |
Pedro the Lion – Winners Never Quit Lyrics | 13 years ago |
Wow, some of you people read too much religious meaning and not enough human/moral meaning into this album! To me, as pointed out by others on this site, this album clearly tells a story of 2 brothers. One was always considered the 'good brother'. He is a politician who uses religion as his political platform and believes himself to have a special place [a mansion] reserved in heaven. But he also buys his political power and buys sex, and he ignores the plight of those around him, including his brother. The second brother was always thought of as 'the bad brother'. He is an alcoholic who has never been able to 'stay on the straight and narrow'. He tries hard, he doesn't want to be the one to disgrace his politician brother or his family, but still, he gets arrested for driving drunk. While his brother is in jail, the politician comes to a breaking point and ends up killing his wife and then committing suicide. The politician sees the murder of his wife as justified because she no longer believed in his cause - which he sees as being on the side of god. He also sees himself as a martyr for God's cause. The second brother gets out of jail to go to his brother's funeral. He watches his father despair because he has lost 'the good son', and because bad things should not happen to good people in a world where there is a god who cares about us personally and who, if we just worship him, will intervene on our behalf. So the father questions god, asking how he could let this happen when both the father and the good son went to church etc. Which brings us to this last song. I think it's contrasting the brother who never quits (the politician) with the brother who must quit (the alcoholic). The brother who succeeds in this story IS the one who quits, not the one who keeps on going with an eye on the finish line [see 'Never Leave a Job Half Done']. The second brother should be thankful that he wasn't the 'good brother', that he was enough of a failure that he now has the chance to redefine himself, without the good brother to be compared to and without the 'bad brother' stigma from his parents. He has a second chance. There is nothing overtly religious in this second chance if you ask me. Nor is the albumm a glowing recommendation for religious furvour. I think it is a deep and wonderful examination of the gray area of moral rightness, and that it clearly questions blind faith or how faith can be used as an impetus to do horrific things. Or if not an impetus, at least an excuse. No, Bazan doesn't question the existence of God, since God smiles and looks the other way, but he does clearly question the idea that humans have any idea what He wants, if anything. And he questions the idea that the religious amoung us are more moral than those of us who are struggling or those who arent religious. |
Heatmiser – Everybody Has It Lyrics | 13 years ago |
I don't hear "Supposed to appease me" I hear "Supposed to abuse me". Anyone else? It makes me wonder if the previous line ends right too - I mean is it possible that it's 'guy' maybe instead of 'line'? Anyway, good Elliott song overlooked because it's Heatmiser rather than solo. Reminds me a little of 'Cecelia Amanda but I don't know why. |
The Frames – Friends And Foe Lyrics | 13 years ago |
Um, I don't see how you get this as a song about Mic Christopher. Please explain. To me it's about - love that changes over time, that falls away or ends [the arms that once held you have receded over time / the walls that held you with us have fallen out of sight]. This could be death, but doesn't need to be. - lines we draw between us, keeping us apart or together, depending on whether we label ourselves 'friend' or 'foe'. And then, that despite all the forces that keep us separate, the times we spend together are worth it, even if we can't stay together forever, even if it has to end. |
Elliott Smith – Antonio Carlos Jobim (Heatmiser cover) Lyrics | 14 years ago |
I have noticed that a lot of times in Elliott's writing, "you" and "I" both refer to himself, and "he or she" refer to others. He seems to switch back and forth between referring to himself as "you" as if he's talking to himself, or "I" for effect. So my take on this song is that Elliott has gone to visit someone he never expected himself to visit, to show them his lyrics and get their response to his music. I think this person features heavily in his lyrics, that that by writing the songs he was able to "tell him" something that he was unable to say otherwise [Why are you here?; Couldn't you tell him?; Were you afraid he'd hear?]. He takes off his shoes, but not his coat, or anything else because that "Would be bad news" (because he was leaving soon [disappearing] anyway?) So the man looks at his lyrics, "couldn't complain" and went and put on a different record, importantly a record without lyrics, a record "of quiet instrumentals" (presumably by Antonios Carlos Jobim). The man lies and tells him he liked his lyrics, his music, his collection of sour notes (painfull moments?). Elliott knows it's a lie, the man knows it's a lie. Knowing a little about Elliott's history, it's easy to think this is about him showing Roman Candle to his step-father, who did feature heavily in the lyrics of that album and it's B-sides. But who knows, and unlike the songs which actually mention his step-father by name (Some Song, No Confidence Man, Flowers for Charlie), I don't want to make too many assumptions in this case, but it makes sense to me. My one question: Who should have been thankful to be alone, the man or Elliott? |
Heatmiser – Antonio Carlos Jobim Lyrics | 14 years ago |
I have noticed that a lot of times in Elliott's writing, "you" and "I" both refer to himself, and "he or she" refer to others. He seems to switch back and forth between referring to himself as "you" as if he's talking to himself, or "I" for effect. So my take on this song is that Elliott has gone to visit someone he never expected himself to visit, to show them his lyrics and get their response to his music. I think this person features heavily in his lyrics, that that by writing the songs he was able to "tell him" something that he was unable to say otherwise [Why are you here?; Couldn't you tell him?; Were you afraid he'd hear?]. He takes off his shoes, but not his coat, or anything else because that "Would be bad news" (because he was leaving soon [disappearing] anyway?) So the man looks at his lyrics, "couldn't complain" and went and put on a different record, importantly a record without lyrics, a record "of quiet instrumentals" (presumably by Antonios Carlos Jobim). The man lies and tells him he liked his lyrics, his music, his collection of sour notes (painfull moments?). Elliott knows it's a lie, the man knows it's a lie. Knowing a little about Elliott's history, it's easy to think this is about him showing Roman Candle to his step-father, who did feature heavily in the lyrics of that album and it's B-sides. But who knows, and unlike the songs which actually mention his step-father by name (Some Song, No Confidence Man, Flowers for Charlie), I don't want to make too many assumptions in this case, but it makes sense to me. My one question: Who should have been thankful to be alone, the man or Elliott? |
Elliott Smith – Now You Want to Show Me How Lyrics | 14 years ago |
I can't tell if it's: "Now you wanna show me how you hate the sight of me 'oh why?' OR "Now you wanna show me how you hate the side of me 'oh why?' But it is definitely 'oh why?' not 'i like'. Also I can't tell if it's: "Some sickened story that follows you" OR "Some second-hand story that follows you" |
Elliott Smith – Crazy Fucker Lyrics | 14 years ago |
Here's what I think: He's saying that he is in a bar, drunk and itching for a fight and egging the crazy fucker on by talking shit at him [Bleeding fortified wine out of the injury that I call my mouth; Trying to insult some crazy fucker from the south]. He's waiting for the fight, wanting it, because it will bring "white noise" - it will drown out everything else, including his thoughts, memories and his own voice in his head: the "stupid screaming little half-assed middle-class boy". He begs the arrow [the crazy fucker's fist maybe] to find him, to 'come pick him out'. |
Elliott Smith – No Confidence Man Lyrics | 14 years ago |
I agree that this song is mostly about abuse. Here's what I have to add to what's already been said: No Confidence Man - reminds me of a confidence man, a con man, a man who can talk you into anything, who can trick you into things, make you believe that black is white. Also, a con man is always playing a role, always "on". Elliott remembers Charlie coming to him when he's just trying to sleep and sexually abusing him (rubber loop = condom, "I'm the man you really want; So just act natural"). Also, reminds me of the line in Southern Belle "I wouldn't have you how you want". Twice Elliott mentions Charlie's words as being important. He accuses Charlie of telling him "some bullshit scheme" when he comes to him in bed with the 'rubber loop' and then later he says "He gave me nothing but grief; And some bullshit story only I would believe". I think this goes along with the con man thing. I think Charlie justified his actions at the time (you know like saying "I'm doing this for your own good" or "I know you love me and that you want this" or "you brought this on yourself" or some such blame the victim nonsense.) And as a kid, of course it's hard not to believe it. Thus Charlie is a con man. But now as an adult, Elliott knows it's all bullshit, that Charlie is 'full of it all the time', he sees through the lies so now Charlie is "no confidence man". One last possible interpretation is that part of the song is set in the present where Elliott speaks to a friend about himself saying "You better wake up your friend [ie. Elliott himself]; Before he won't wake up anymore; Because I got to split, I'm late to leave". I think he's saying to a friend that at some point he is going to die so he doesn't have to listen to Charlie anymore [either literally or in his remembrances] so his friend had better wake him up while he still can. |
Elliott Smith – Riot Coming Lyrics | 14 years ago |
The first line is DEFINITELY "In Storyville, I fucked a cop". I listened to 2 different recordings of this [live & studio] and it is clearly this. Whoever has the power to, please change this. |
Elliott Smith – Ballad of Big Nothing Lyrics | 14 years ago |
Also, it's kind of ironic: it sounds like freedom 'I can do what I want to, there's no one to stop me' but in this context it's the freedom to self-destruct, and of course addiction is the opposite of freedom - you are ruled by the drug, not free at all. |
Elliott Smith – Can't Make a Sound Lyrics | 14 years ago |
I get something different than everyone else with this song. To me he's talking about being on tour and how surreal that is, and how he is forced to take on a persona that has little to do with who he is. I think he's upset about how everyone wants to hero worship his depression, make it out like he's such a sad person and that's all he is, like he can never laugh: the hero killed the clown. But he can't say anything about it. He's stuck going through the motions. And then the on tour part. He's all alone on tour, only has his own monologue. Doing the same things over and over. Plays his set, walks off stage, waits for the encore, comes right back - he stands up to sit back down (something he mentioned more than once in live shows feeling weird about doing). He just keeps going from town to town until they all blend in together and he leaves a piece of himself in every town (Spinning the world like a toy top; Until there's a ghost in every town). But he still can't say anything about how miserable this makes him because this is the life he wanted right? So he retreats into himself even more so he becomes the maker of his own world(Why should you want any other; When you're a world within a world?) |
Elliott Smith – King's Crossing Lyrics | 14 years ago |
Likely no one will read this as it will be pg 8 of the comments but I haven't seen this suggested anywhere else (unless I missed something) so here goes... What if the king is Elliott? The king is crossing from a junkie to straight, or from life to death. His 'subject' tells him whiskey is better than beer if your aim is to be a junkie or to kill yourself with drink. Then what if the judge is also Elliott? He is the one on vinyl after all. And he is the one making the decisions (to die, to use drugs or both). Then he's saying if anyone hangs around with me their going to get hurt (by the tidal wave), there is no escape. Then he says he's ready for death and that he expects it to come - the shell game of his life is already in play, the dominoes are already lined up...it's going to happen, he just doesn't know when. But he knows why: The record industry and drugs. He knows his disatisfaction with his life, with getting paid to 'take his own insides out' or bare his heart and soul on his records for money, will eventually lead him to 'fuck up' and use drugs again. He knows how that 'movie' will end, he will OD. The last verse has a dual meaning for me. On the one hand it alludes to the results of an overdose (or a suicide attempt for that matter) in that he is in the hospital fighting for his life. But it also reminds me of the record version of 'Pretty Mary K'. In both he's a soldier who is taken with the beauty of the nurses and who is relying on the nurses care to save him. There is something like a plea for nurturing care by women in both songs. And yes, the time reverses bit is meaningful in light of what happened, but likely doesn't mean what it feels like. I think it means that if he is saved by the nurses, then the inevitability of his death by OD is stopped. |
Elliott Smith – Last Call Lyrics | 14 years ago |
To support the above, I just listed to a bootleg of his last concert in 2003 and he said that he wrote this when he was 17 and in high school. So again, it makes more sense that it's about his mom and not a girl. |
Elliott Smith – Half Right Lyrics | 14 years ago |
I think it is Elliot talking about a "friend" who, in order to silence a bad figure from his dreams, is addicted to drugs (doctor's himself, double doses), overdoses (turns white as a ghost), is expected to still "say hi" to the dealer even though he was responsible for his friends downfall, or was he? Maybe he's just sticking up for his friend, but it was actually his friends fault (there wasn't much to defend). Then the last verse echoes the first verse; someone who looks like himself; talking to someone on the phone but it's just like being alone. Both verses suggest that the "friend" is either exactly like him or IS him. It works both ways. |
Elliott Smith – Abused Lyrics | 14 years ago |
I think it's amazing how he's written this song where he sings overtly about having been abused, to the point of even naming his song "Abused", and then in the last lines he says: "Why does everyone know; Been abused now; Didn't want it to show". It's like it's two parts of him at war. One part wants to keep everything to himself, to be private, to hide the pain that's inside and what has happened to him. The other part thinks there's no point to making music that isn't true (heard a quote where he said this once), and maybe needs to write his history in order to deal with it, so he tells us all these intimate details of what has happened to him. And not just with this song; the abuse theme is in "Roman Candle", "Waltz #2", "Some Song", "No Name #4" and probably a whole bunch more I can't think of right now. And then he denies that his songs come from personal stories. But of course they do, and he knows we know it. Two sides at war again. |
Elliott Smith – Roman Candle Lyrics | 14 years ago |
This is just a way out theory but... I was thinking about how sometimes when the child who was abused grows up and confronts the parent with what they did to them as a child, the abuser turns all 'sorry' and apologizes and such. What if the halucinating part is actually about this. Like he feels like he is hallucinating because he never thought he'd see either his mother or his step-father crying about what was done to him. But of course, the tears are cheap. |
Elliott Smith – Last Call Lyrics | 14 years ago |
I don't know guys... I get a different impression of this song. I don't think it's about a break up with a girl. I think it's about a teenager's troubled relationship with his mother. A mother he part loves, part hates, part wishes she would just leave him alone, but who ultimately made him who he is. I don't think this song switches between the "I" and the "You" but still refers to "I" like someone suggested (and you're right that Elliott did do this alot) but I think that in this one all the "You's" refer to his mother and all the "I's" refer to him. I think it starts with him having a fight with his mom because she didn't tell him the truth about something and he feels like she is emotionally detached (icicle etc) and that all she does is just walk away. The line with "The clap of the fading out sound of your shoes" definitely reminds me of being a kid and listening to grown women walk down a hall - like knowing the teacher was coming by the sound of her shoes clacking in the hall. So he listens to her go and wonders if he ever even knew his mother or if he ever will because she is so detached and because she won't tell the truth (Made him wonder who he thought that he knew). Then he starts drinking to try and bury the feelings and his anger. She comes to check and make sure he's okay when he's passed out drunk. She keeps trying to talk to him, but like a teenager, and like someone who's depressed, he gets mad at her for trying (Sick for your sound; Sick of you coming around; Trying to crawl under my skin; When I already shed my best defense). I think he's especially mad because he tried to connect with her at the beginning but got shut out so he doesn't want to open up to her now. He was mad at her before for 'walking away' but now he's mad at her for coming around. Also, he feels like she's a hypocrite for trying to talk him out of his lethargy, depression and alcoholism. Like, who are you to talk to me about my stuff when "All you aspired to do was endure; You can't ask for more, ask for none; Knowing you'll never get that which you ask for; So you cast your shadow everywhere; Like the man in the moon; You start to drink, you just want to continue; It'll all be yesteryear soon". He's saying she never tried to do more than endure her life, that she escaped by drinking and by going through life like a shadow, so she shouldn't get on his case for doing the same thing. The last verse underscores this previous point. He goes through the motions of going to church with his family, watching other people celebrate but he can't feel it himself. And then he says: "And I'll sing the praises of my maker's name; Like I was as good as she made me". The maker is his mother, not God. He's saying he's just what his mother made him to be - a depressed drunk who doesn't ask for more from life than to endure it, or to sleep it away: "And I wanted her to tell me that she would never wake me". This last line, if the 'she' is his mother can have multiple meanings. The literal one: 'when i'm passed out in my bedroom trying to sleep away my cares, don't come in and wake me up and try to talk to me - just leave me alone.' The not-so-literal one: She's his mother so she's responsible for him "waking" in the first place, for him being born. So it could mean 'I wish she had never had me if she was just going to bring me into this life'. And it could also mean 'Let me wallow in my depression and sleep though my life if I want to, don't try to wake me up'. Lastly, of course, it could mean 'let me die if I want to. If I want to drink myself into a coma and die, let me. Stop coming to check on me to make sure I'm all right. Don't try to wake me." |
Elliott Smith – No Name #2 Lyrics | 14 years ago |
I was just thinking that maybe the clothesline part means that he decided to leave but gets stopped. Either he was planning to leave town before he got the news, but now he's stopped by the baby coming or he decided to leave because of the baby but in the end cannot go through with it and ends up staying. Also, the last lines of the verse say to me that she told him he'd be fine as a father but he knows better because it is him on the other line of the phone, not another guy who could be a good father. [Other line, not in terms of having another phone line with someone else you are talking to waiting, but in terms of the girl being on one line and him being on the other]. He's saying, 'unfortunately it is me you are talking to, me who has gotten you pregnant, and that is a crime because I am not capable of being a father.' |
Elliott Smith – No Name #2 Lyrics | 14 years ago |
I get the 2 interpretations (pregnancy and a break-up) but I think it works slightly better with the first. Here's what I think: - He gets a call while asleep or stoned (concrete hands) and doesn't immediately recognize the caller - She tells him she's pregnant (quiet terror news) - He says he doesn't care what she does with the pregnancy - keep it, adopt it, abort it. - But then she says one more thing and then he cares (all she has to do is speak; mouthpiece to cheek; please say no more)... THEN ... he's on the ground crying (wet concrete) whatever she has said has caused him to fall down literally and figuratively (her name...was just a stuttered step you hear when you are falling down). - I think she told him she is keeping the baby. I think that is why he suddenly cares. Also it fits with "killing time won't stop this crime/crying" - No amount of killing time by getting drunk, stoned etc will make an impending baby go away. In fact it will just make the birth come faster. - So then he decides he really SHOULD grow up for the baby. "You better start watching what message that you send now" because there will be a baby watching everything you do. "No more situations I only go in to be kicked out" - no more failing on purpose or quitting an opportunity first to prevent yourself from failing because now you have to succeed because you have a baby on the way. - But he doesn't think he is capable of growing up. He's only capable of getting knocked down. He remembers the girl on the phone saying "You're just fine, You'll be just fine"; as in, you will be a good dad, it will all be okay. But he doesn't believe it. He thinks this is a lie to hide the crime that he committed, namely bringing a baby into the world with him as the father. What do others think of this annalysis? It get's a little wonky with the paragraph about getting clotheslined, but otherwise it might work. If I'm right it begs the question: is this a fiction or is there an secret baby elliott out there. Just kidding. |
Elliott Smith – No Name #4 Lyrics | 14 years ago |
It sounds to me like there is something in this section here that ultimately leads her to decide to go back to him: "In her bag I saw things she drew when she was nine Like this one here Her alone, nobody near "What a shame, let's just not talk about it" No, it doesn't look like you But you did wear cowboy boots That's your thing There's no question about it" There's something about that picture of herself that makes her say "what a shame, let's just not talk about it" and then she goes back to HIM. But what is it exactly? Is it that the pic of her all alone upset her so much that she decided she was better off with HIM than alone? Or that she had become so different from the pic of herself alone (it didn't look like her anymore, except for the boots) that she couldn't even be that person anymore - so that the pic of her alone was empowering but still a person she could not be again? What do others think? |
Elliott Smith – True Love Lyrics | 14 years ago |
Also, he's saying that love only works when it is like the rose behind glass; untouchable, love from a distance, sheltered, not exposed to real life or the real world. If the rose/the love leaves it's protection it is destroyed. Freja |
Elliott Smith – True Love Lyrics | 14 years ago |
Instead of: My love had gotten too strong Just to try to getting back on my own I had to go to rehab I hear: My love had gotten so strong Just to try being back on her arm I had to go to rehab And if I'm right then it sounds like a story about a couple in love and then the honeymoon ends and real life sets in, including all real life problems like his drug use. She gets mean. They fight. Then she leaves and to get her back he has to go to rehab. He does all the rehab steps, not to get better but to get her back. Then he begs her to get him out of rehab, take him home and be with him again... Take me home, my love Take me home today Take me out of this place Take me home with you today Freja |
Andrew Bird – Case in Point Lyrics | 14 years ago |
I didn't pick up on this until I read all the other peoples good comments here, but I am now feeling like there is something of an anti-essentialist meaning here as well as the anti-determinism the others have noted (ie our lives are not pre-determined by god's plan). Something about how reality as we know it is shaped by us and our language (there isn't anything essentially 'horse' about a horse, it could just as easily be called a 'table' - but would it mean the same thing or not?) and it's hard to say if there is a reality sepparate from our perceptions of it. Or something like that. Here's why I'm thinking this way: The person in the song is told that his fundamental truths are not true: "And I don't know where I stand / Not since someone informed me / That my house was built on sand". Then, when he looks closer at the reality around him, it all falls apart (the buildings, the house on sand) or it never actually existed (the horse, the earth). The following lines have one thing in common - they all point to someone discovering that the things that they thought were essentialy real are not: That my house was built on sand / And it's not the earth beneath me / It's just the concept of the land And I'm standing on the corner / When the buildings they all fell You know you can't ride the concept of the horse / But still I try But there's something that unnerves me / Like I'm riding on thin air But it seems I'm getting nowhere / On the concept of the horse Also, the following verse points to our reality being not real (it is cartoon, we are wearing cartoon jetskates made by a fictional cartoon company): In a cartoon desert landscape / With a pair of ACME jetskates And isn't it a conceptual hell when you realize that reality as you know it isn't real? (like, as 'tenwords' pointed out, plato's people in the cave did). So I think he's saying something like 'we go through life thinking that our reality is real, our truths are true, our paths are determined by god and that we are all moving forward but we are all just riding the concept of a horse (ie. it's all in our minds and we aren't getting anywhere because of it).' And then, even when you know there is no essential real or true, what else can you do but go on? ... 'But still I try' ... |
Andrew Bird – Cataracts Lyrics | 14 years ago |
Does anyone else feel like there is something sexual about this verse - particularly the first two lines: And they shall enter from the back With spears and scepters and squirming sacks Scribs and tangles between their ears Faceless scrumbled charcoal smears He makes up so many words, it's hard to tell if there is meaning in the words or not. Maybe it's all about the sound of them, not the meaning. Except for in odd obscure urban slang, the words 'scribs' and 'scrumbled' have no real meaning. ('Scrumbled' has a couple of sexual meanings according to the slang dictionary, which could support my feeling of the sexual nature of this verse - but probably this is a coincidence). Maybe I'm just in a special frame of mind at the moment, but actually, alot of these lyrics could have sexual connotations (tongues of others, the sour milk that's spat might not be milk at all, [yeah, I know my mind is in the gutter], the light from the eyes and the cataracts could be about the dazed vision during coupling or how people's eyes light up when they look upon their loved ones, or even to how love is blind and when in love we see the other person as if through a veil - or cataracts) There are also so many nature references and weeds and plants named: coppice, chaparral, thickets, mold, bracken, brier, catchweed. I wonder if this has any greater significance? I'd love to know what others think of my wild imaginings here. |
Andrew Bird – Plasticities Lyrics | 14 years ago |
There's something of an anti-development, pro-alternate/old-style living message here i think. Neural walls & plasticities seem to be about the city of the future - all plastic and science based, maybe even the melding of biology and technology. That's what THEY fight for. WE fight for tradional cities - for music halls and other old 'dying' buildings that make our cities great. I'm assuming both sides fight to influence the 'commitee' (city planning commitee?) via protests and signs in the street. Also, 'a whale in a cubicle' could be about modern human life stuck in boxes, like working in a cubicle and living in a condo when we should be free like the wales. Then: "You're gonna grow old, you're gonna to grow cold Before the sun can deliver you" Also could be about living our lives stuck inside in small boxes in plastic cities, cut off from the sun until we die. |
Andrew Bird – Fake Palindromes Lyrics | 14 years ago |
I think it is about plastic surgery and fake women. I think it is about a woman who is doing all sorts of questionable stuff, stuff that could kill her, to win the perfect man (six foot tall and east coast bred). She turns herself into (or from, if you see disney as a more or less innocent state) the disney bride with red lipstick & high heals and more crazy methods (swapping your blood with formaldehyde) and becomming a monster in the process. I think in order for the man who meets her via the singles adds to find the real girl under the monster she needs to be tied up and her real self exosed by 'drilling a hole into her head'. What do you guys think of this interpretation? |
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