In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
He's pleased to meet you underneath the horse
In the cathedral with the glass stained black
Singing sweet, high notes that echo back
To destroy their master
May be a long time 'til you get the call-up
But it's sure as fate and hard as your luck
No one'll know where you are
It's just a brief smile
Crossing your face
I'm running speed trials
Standing in place
When the socket's not a shock enough
You little child, what makes you think you're tough?
When all the people you think you're above
They all know what's the matter
You're such a pinball, yeah, you know it's true
There's always something you go back running to
To follow the path of no resistance
It's just a brief smile
Crossing your face
I'm running speed trials
Standing in place
It's just a brief smile
Crossing your face
I'm running speed trials
All over the place
Ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh
In the cathedral with the glass stained black
Singing sweet, high notes that echo back
To destroy their master
May be a long time 'til you get the call-up
But it's sure as fate and hard as your luck
No one'll know where you are
It's just a brief smile
Crossing your face
I'm running speed trials
Standing in place
When the socket's not a shock enough
You little child, what makes you think you're tough?
When all the people you think you're above
They all know what's the matter
You're such a pinball, yeah, you know it's true
There's always something you go back running to
To follow the path of no resistance
It's just a brief smile
Crossing your face
I'm running speed trials
Standing in place
It's just a brief smile
Crossing your face
I'm running speed trials
All over the place
Ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh
Lyrics submitted by EnjOy IncUbus
Speed Trials Lyrics as written by Steven Paul Smith
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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He's pleased to meet you underneath the Horse; Horse=Heroin<br /> May be a long time until you get the call-up<br /> But it's sure as fate and hard as your luck;<br /> It's that anticipation and frustration when your waiting for your dealer to call you back<br /> No one'll know where you are<br /> It's just a brief smile crossing your face;<br /> It's when your sitting on the train, bus, walking to your connect, or whatever and that flicker of a smile crosses your face because you know in a moments time you'll be so fucking happy<br /> Running speed trials still standing in place;<br /> this part seems like a redundancy cause how can you run speed trials while standing in place, but he means you're running speed trials trying to see how fast you can cook it up, find a vein, and get it in.<br /> When the socket's not a shock enough<br /> You little child, what makes you think you're tough?;<br /> to me this part seems like self-deprecation but i could be wrong. <br /> When all the people you think you're above<br /> They all know what's the matter;<br /> it's feeling like you're above other people, non-junkies, people who's happiness depends on material objects, commodities, but then they all know what's wrong with you, they can see your pale skin, your tracks, your runny nose, your sweat, they know that you're a junkie and even if you feel like you're better than them; they feel like they're better than you.<br /> You're such a pinball, yeah, you know it's true<br /> There's always something you come back running to<br /> To follow the path of no resistance;<br /> he's bashing himself, saying that there's always sometyhing that he comes running back to (heroin) , instead of taking the harder route and growing and changing <br /> It's just a brief smile crossing your face<br /> Running speed trials standing in place<br /> It's just a brief smile crossing your face<br /> Running speed trials all over the place;<br /> To the people around you: it's just a brief smile crossing your face,<br /> running speed trials all over the place is shooting up in bathroom on the subway, in bathroom in a restaurant, in the park, in a taxi, you get the picture.
"running speed trials still standing in place" to me this line isn't about doing drugs. even though everyone who is an avid elliott smith fan, as i am, knows elliott had his fair share of dabbling with drugs. but come on... he is really intelligent and a more in depth character than just another junkie. but i believe this line refers to Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking Glass, in which the Red Queen tells Alice, "[I]t takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place." This never-ending evolutionary cycle describes many natural interactions between hosts and disease, or between predators and prey: As species that live at each other's expense coevolve, they are engaged in a constant evolutionary struggle for a survival advantage. They need "all the running they can do" because the landscape around them is constantly changing.
Its possible that Elliott made reference to the catherdral with stained black glass that was across the street from his house in Portland...I love the courus "Its just a brief, smile, crossing your face. Running speed trials standing in place." I can remember getting high, getting a fix and just giving a sigh of relief, like a brief smile as its said in the song...fortunatelly I've done my best to put those dark days behind me but it always amazes me how it seems like all his songs are chapters of my life..
"You little child what makes you think you're tough"
this song is obviously about drug use.
To me the song seems to be about himself. I kinda perked once I realized that he said THEY all know whats the matter instaid of we. I mean I know he could be talking about people the person he could be talking about knows but it seems like the harsh critisicm that someone reserves for themself.
It could be about drugs or it could be about the things a person does to get outside themselves for a while. Something destructive. I dunno.
First of all, I think it is only fair to acknowledge that many of his songs, particularly in Either/Or, were about drug use, and this one is no exception. (“It’s just a brief smile crossing your face” seems to refer to the brief thrill of a high.)
However, he was obviously very intelligent, and his lyrics addressed broader themes than just drugs, or can at very least be interpreted as such. Regardless of Elliott Smith’s intentions with the song, I find that this speaks quite poignantly to my own anxieties and fear of judgement. The very tempo of this song feels like a racing heart, implying panic; I see ‘speed trials’ as a way of describing the snap judgements people are constantly making about you, and how nerve-racking an awareness of that can be. Likewise, there are a couple of sections that feel like the self deprecation that can occur when one holds themself under the same critical eye they believe other people see them through. (“You little child...,” “You’re such a pinball...”) That’s just my take on it, though—it’s very possible that I’m just projecting my own internal insecurities onto this song.
beautiful. simply said.
i think songs are percepted by people mainly by their own (past) experiences. being a former crystal meth addict, the lines:
it's just a brief smile crossing your face running speed trials all over the place
mean that doing drugs just make you feel better briefly, then you're back to all of your problems...
im usually all over elliott songs trying to get the meaning. with this one i just like to listen