submissions
| Jessica Lea Mayfield – Run Myself Into The Ground Lyrics
| 12 years ago
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my guess is that this is either about anorexia or drugs. she regrets having confessed about it to somebody, and now she's rationalizing and planning how to get out of conversations with more people trying to help her. she's starting to love her new body and way of life, and she isn't willing to give that up. |
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| Jessica Lea Mayfield – I'll Be The One You Want Someday Lyrics
| 12 years ago
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Oh, wow. I can't believe I'm the first to comment on this. The meaning of Jessica's words seems very obvious to me. This is a song about an eating disorder (my guess is anorexia). She knows that she's killing herself, but it doesn't matter, because the disease is making the executive decisions for her. The worst part is, she doesn't know if she's happy about it or terrified. There is determination to continue listening to the sickness in her words, but there is also the presence of a voice which tells her that she is unhealthy. |
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| Jessica Lea Mayfield – Kiss Me Again Lyrics
| 12 years ago
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The first time I heard this song, I knew that the way I was feeling was valid. I knew that somebody else was going through the same shit that I was. Love you, Jessica! |
submissions
| Elliott Smith – Somebody That I Used to Know Lyrics
| 12 years ago
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also, the last verse, especially the part, "keeping a hold of what you just let go" seems to be a bit of a lie. if elliott is talking to himself from the perspective of an ex-girlfriend or friend, he clearly hasn't "just let go." He's still hurting, but he's unwilling to give himself the credit. He's convinced himself that he's an asshole. |
submissions
| Elliott Smith – Somebody That I Used to Know Lyrics
| 12 years ago
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This song feels like it could have come straight from my ex-boyfriends mind. I know that these are things he'd like to say to me, and I know he never will. Maybe Elliott wrote this himself. It was rare that he'd write an angry song directed at somebody else (unless it was charlie), but he did address himself very roughly. The second and third verses confirm this for me. The second sounds like a description of someone who is either fresh out of rehab or has been sober for a while and thinks they can handle it this time. The third verse sounds like somebody pointing out that they've seen Elliott go down that road before, and that forgetting about what happened last time won't help. At the end the phrase, "So you can be sure that you're in control," reminds me of how anyone with self destructive behavior thinks they're in control. They're sure of it. Anyway, this seems like it could be driven by guilt and self disgust just as much as it could be about a failed relationship. |
submissions
| Elliott Smith – The White Lady Loves You More Lyrics
| 13 years ago
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@ giallo11 - You've just put into words my exact sentiment. His entire body of work is full of perfect observations of the human experience, and is, as you said, "spellbinding and devastating." |
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| Elliott Smith – The White Lady Loves You More Lyrics
| 13 years ago
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"Need a metal man just to pick up your feet," also implies that the drug is cocaine. After shooting heroin, you just want to lie back and soak it all in (kind of like the feeling you get after really good sex). Cocaine, however, is a stimulant. That means it will wake you up and put you in the best mood EVER. Of course, over the course of an addiction, the effects get duller, until you need to use "just to pick up your feet." As for my first post, it could really be either. |
submissions
| Elliott Smith – Oh Well, Okay Lyrics
| 13 years ago
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I agree with your ideas to a great extent. I have been trying to figure out this song for a long time, and I think you are on the right track. In order to understand "the safety of a pitch black mind," you kind of have to think of a dark room. He's comparing his mind to a dark place, where a photograph or piece of film is safe from being exposed. All of the imagery fits pretty well into this metaphor. He might be looking at one specific photo in the first verse (an old one that he's just now developed) where he's trying to figure out why he looks so unhappy, but can't remember. "Stopped for a spell and stayed that way," seems to be talking about how a photo can preserve a state of being or a moment in existence, and how he is like a photo in that way. He never changes. He tells him self that he likes it that way ("oh well, okay"). In the second verse, he seems to be looking through a multitude of posed pictures of him smiling or something. The whole time he's doing this, he's bored, and keeps the image of his true self (or how he sees himself) in his mind, safe from the light. It will never change; he will always feel horrible; the film will never leave the dark cannister of his mind and be developed or manipulated. He tries to feel okay about this grim prediction ("oh well, okay"). As for the last verse, it seems to be him finally accepting that he doesn't want to be miserable forever. He's asking for help, even though he knows it won't do any good. So he reassures himself again. |
submissions
| Elliott Smith – Division Day Lyrics
| 13 years ago
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We seem to agree that this song deals with suicide as a theme. Suicide, according to traditional Christian ideology, is a sin. I remember thinking, and I can imagine that Elliott thought, that this fact was a trap. I thought, "If I can't kill myself, then how am I supposed to escape this horrible feeling? They made me feel this way, and now I can't run away." Looking back, I could say that this moral law against suicide kept me from hurting myself for a long time, but that doesn't mean that it wasn't sadistic. The main point I'm trying to make is that the concept of hell, as taken literally, may be the root cause of many psychological disorders. |
submissions
| Elliott Smith – Division Day Lyrics
| 13 years ago
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I had a similar childhood experience. I started attending a Catholic school at the age of seven, and had previously been raised without any religious influence. At such a young age, as you touched upon, I took everything literally. I distinctly remember that time in my life as the first time I felt truly ashamed and hopeless. I was convinced that I was destined for hell; that I was a bad person. My mother once found herself incapable of calming me down during a particularly bad panic attack. She asked me why I was so upset, and I told her, "I'm going to hell." Since then, I have largely rejected organized religion and its dogma. The problem is, the guilt never really went away. I've seen this same phenomenon in many other people (but especially in those that were exposed to religion at a young age). We carry this deep dread and anxiety, and feel as though we are fundamentally unworthy. In some people, this seems to manifest in social neuroses (one feels that every slip-up is grounds for beating oneself up internally). One is incapable of forgiving oneself ("unrightable wrong"). Some people even believe that they are responsible for things that weren't their fault ("sick exchange" may be referring to Elliott's feelings of shame about Charlie's abuse). "Running on feet of clay" reminds me of the fatigue caused by long term depression, where even the smallest tasks seem incredibly challenging. It may also represent the weight of guilt which pulls one back. |
submissions
| Elliott Smith – King's Crossing Lyrics
| 13 years ago
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I think NishFets is right. King's Crossing would be a main attraction for junkies, right? The 'dominoes falling in a chain reaction' are the events in his life that he hasn't been in control of because of heroin.'The scraping subject' is another addict, probably the one that introduced him to heroin, or gave him good shit. 'The judge is on vinyl' may be code for, 'my reasons for destroying myself are pretty clear, if you've heard my music, so there's your excuse.' 'Decisions are final, and nobody gets a reprieve' is clearly talking about how suicide works. Not sure what the tidal wave metaphor is. It's pretty obvious that the third section is about the music industry. 'I've seen the movie, I know what happens' is interesting. I think he may be referencing the 1996 film, "Trainspotting." He's saying that he knows about what heroin can do, that the film is too alarmist, and that he doesn't care. At first I thought that the 'skinny santa' part was a nod at our favorite person, Charlie. But on second inspection, it appears to be a drug dealer. 'Open your parachute and grab your gun' seems to be a war reference. Like he feels that every day of working for the record company is a battle. This makes sense in relationship to 'read the part and return at five, it's a hell of a role, if you can keep it alive.' 'This is the place where time reverses' is very similar to "Riot Coming" (Time's running backwards from me and you). Maybe this is how it feels to be on heroin. At the same time, he is potentially pondering what it will be like after he dies. If he will be aware of what's going on, or have some degree of existence. In this fantasy realm, he pictures the other dead people in a morgue, and perhaps being autopsied. 'Don't let me get carried away' could be his frightened, helpless plea as they are wheeling him in to be cut open. It could also be his acknowledgement of the melodramatic nature of his fantasy. He doesn't want to become the caricature the record company is trying to turn him into. |
submissions
| Elliott Smith – Riot Coming Lyrics
| 13 years ago
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If it is "storyville," which i think it is, then i think it makes better sense with the last verse. My interpretation: I got busted by vice, while i was on prescription drugs (painkillers? during a detox, there can be pain and increased libido). I need a hit. (If it is "punch," he is referencing Charlie's abuse. If it is "bunch," he is again talking about painkillers. "Punch" makes more sense with "drug in the water.") I hate that I need this so much. I hate how it makes me. It was so much better the first time, when she showed me. Now I'm stuck in this addiction. I have a hard time keeping track of my life. My life is so pointless. I wish it would end. So I'm sitting here in jail, and my cell-mate has this way about him. He contradicts himself and acts illogically. At first I felt like I was better than him, but now I see. We're the same. When I get out, I'm shooting up. I don't care anymore. This is the only way I can feel good. |
submissions
| Elliott Smith – See You Later Lyrics
| 13 years ago
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I think he's talking about a girl that left him for a total asshole. He's trying to forget her, but he can't. He remembers being with her when they were both on drugs, feeling paranoid. He tries to concentrate on work ("main man" might be a reference to his manager or a record company), but no matter what, something always reminds him. The "thick mud" is his struggle to move on to somebody new(new blood). Both of them are clean for the time being, and don't want to go back to where they were. Elliott sees that he's better off without her, but he still misses her. |
submissions
| Elliott Smith – Half Right Lyrics
| 13 years ago
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At the end there is a hint of a failed relationship, and how things didn't happen the way he wanted them to.
Mostly the song seems to be about the way one evaluates oneself in front of the bathroom mirror. You walk in expecting to see somebody else in the glass, but it turns out to be worse than you thought. I think that the friend he was sticking up for was himself. In a lot of Elliott's songs, he uses terms used almost exclusively by psychiatrists and psychologists. "Sticking up for a friend" is often the manner in which a therapist tells a person with low self-esteem to talk to themself. The dream is to be beautiful, and it's impossible. Loving himself was a "lost fight." |
submissions
| Elliott Smith – Strung Out Again Lyrics
| 13 years ago
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This song has a personal meaning for me. It sort of represents the lose-lose situation of eating disorders and BDD. You think other people look down on you. You're never really sure if what you see in the mirror is true. When you purge, your mind is fucked up, and you get all strung out. But when you take care of yourself, you hate the way you look. No matter what, it's a constant depression and dissatisfaction that keeps drawing you in over and over. Eventually, you know you'll either crash and burn or fade out. |
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