submissions
| Elliott Smith – Coming Up Roses Lyrics
| 16 years ago
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There's an underlying problem that no one can see: "So you got in a kind of trouble that nobody knows." To interpret this song you have to work off of this idea -- that your troubles cannot be seen by others. What others see, in stark contrast, is you "coming up roses everywhere you go." They see you succeeding. Everywhere you go things are working out. But all this success is prone to collapse if the "trouble that nobody knows" comes out. In a sense, you're bound to everyone's misperception of you, and you become a distorted version of your ideal self. What exists in the void created by the differentiation between your distorted self and your ideal self? But these ideas are expressed at the end of the song. From here, we have to work backward to attempt to answer the question I have raised, among many others that many others have certainly raised. Unfortunately, the lyrics at the front end of the song lend themselves to so many different interpretations it's startling. (Meaning, I'm not yet ready to go there.)
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submissions
| Elliott Smith – Angeles Lyrics
| 16 years ago
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Consider the title of the album (Either/Or) for a second -- angeles is about the struggle between the ethical and the aesthetic. I mean, come on, Either/Or is a reference to Kierkegaard's text of the same title which discusses this very struggle. The last part of the song is a seduction into the aesthetic, while the first part he's the speaker and it's basically him saying how he's susceptible to this. Everyone is. But as Kierkegaard points out, the person who follows this path will find themselves in a pit of despair. The "poison arms" are a great image of this. It can work on the drugs level as well, though, with the drugs being that aesthetic route while staying clean is the ethical path. And it's interesting to think of it that way considering what happened to him; he was so aware of the choices he made and yet he still let drugs take over his life for a while.And it can also work in regards to the music industry, which I think actually works a little better because he talks about how he needs money -- "Picking up the ticket shows there's money to be made." He picks up the ticket, and it shows him how little money he has. But I don't think Elliott Smith wrote it simply for its literal meaning. He wanted to explore this philosophy in context of his life, and drugs and the music industry were a major part in his. He also did major in philosophy. |
submissions
| Elliott Smith – No Name #3 Lyrics
| 16 years ago
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When he says 'home to oblivion', is he saying that people are moving from their homes to oblivion, or is he saying that their homes are turning into oblivion? I can't really tell, but it makes a huge difference when trying to understand the song. One way the home is being destroyed; the other way the person is being destroyed -- and at their own doing too. |
submissions
| Elliott Smith – Angeles Lyrics
| 16 years ago
|
That's because it's not really about drugs. Consider the title for a second -- angeles is about the struggle between the ethical and the aesthetic. I mean, come on, Either/Or is a reference to Kierkegaard's text of the same title which discusses this very struggle. The last part of the song is a seduction into the aesthetic, while the first part he's the speaker and it's basically him saying how he's susceptible to this. Everyone is. But as Kierkegaard points out, the person who follows this path will find themselves in a pit of despair. The "poison arms" are a great image of this. It can work on the drugs level as well, though, with the drugs being that aesthetic route while staying clean is the ethical path. And it's interesting to think of it that way considering what happened to him; he was so aware of the choices he made and yet he still let drugs take over his life for a while.And it can also work in regards to the music industry, which I think actually works a little better because he talks about how he needs money -- "Picking up the ticket shows there's money to be made." He picks up the ticket, and it shows him how little money he has. But I don't think Elliott Smith wrote it simply for its literal meaning. He wanted to explore this philosophy in context of his life, and drugs and the music industry were a major part in his. He also did major in philosophy.
This is a great song. I don't understand why so few people like this guy's music. But I'm kind of glad it's not mainstream, though.
I probably spelled Kierkegaard wrong... |
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