| Elliott Smith – A Big Decision Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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This song, like many of Elliott's, is about his heroin addiction, but more broadly, it is a metaphor for all types of troubled relationships, be they between people, between a person and a substance, or even a conflict within a person. The song's title is likely a reference to the line in Velvet Underground's "Heroin" - as in "I have made a big decision, I'm gonna nullify my life." Also, "you can't kick when you're down" refers to how withdrawal brings on an overwhelming depression that makes it nearly impossible to kick the habit. One of the beautiful things about Elliott's songs is the way he uses the imagery of drug addiction, especially heroin, in ways that can be interpreted as either literal or figurative. I have noticed a lot of posts where people get annoyed anytime someone interprets Elliott's lyrics as being about drugs. I disagree. References to heroin use are scattered throughout most of his songs, sometimes more explicitly than others, and sometimes as a metafor for other types of conflict and pain. Nevertheless, if you know much about heroin, I find it almost impossible not to see that heroin (and the corresponding desire for escape) is a central theme throughout his work. To name a few: Needle in the Hay, Speed Trials, Miss Misery, Can't Make a Sound, Angeles, A Passing Feeling, etc. |
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