Between The Bars

an amazing cover.

I love this guy.

I think Elliott Smith would like this. Its still shy, still self destructive, still beautiful. And his own music is pretty damn good, listen to it.

doing a cover isn't a bad thing. he obviously does write his own music.

despise me for saying so, but i do really think this is an improvement on elliotts song. it seems better suited as a piano piece

not my favorate cover, I love the way singer/songwriter Glen Phillips covers this, but Chris just doesn't strike too well with his voice on his version.

i love this cover so much. nothing can beat elliott's original, of course, but i love chris garneau and his voice is beautiful on this.

i might be more biased towards this version since i heard it first and then heard Elliot Smith's original, but this song is so good and i just love his voice.

i think this song is about a man cheating on his loved one until finally he gets caught and realizes he wasn't thinking of anyone's feelings but his own.

I love this song equally compared to elliot smith's. Both are daunting and beautiful. As to what the song means, it reminds me of a parent's influence on their child. "The potential you'll be,That you'll never see,The promises you'll only make" Is when the child is a baby, their life is so full of promise and mystery, and as it grows, it takes after the parent and all the promises are lost. A child seeing his or her parent as an alcoholic is more prone to becoming an alcoholic themselves. or a parent going to jail to see their child following in their footsteps "I'll kiss you again,Between the bars,Where I'm seeing you there,With you're hands in the air,You're waiting to finally be caught" I don't have children but I know of the depressing realization that you can't take the influence of a parent away from them no matter how awful they are, there is still a chance they will live in the shadow of the parents wrongdoings.

Or maybe it is about the influence someone has on a significant other, or bad influences in general. That is my take on it but a good song is one where everyone develops a different meaning.

this is definitely one of my favorite covers. chris' voice is soft and wispy like elliott's, with his own twist. hearing this as a piano rendition surprises me- its very lovely, almost better than the original. makes me wonder if elliott ever tried this on piano.

looking at elliott's life (including a physically and verbally abusive stepfather who didn't think songwriting was a "real job") helps the understanding of this song's origin. one of the more popular interpretations of this i've seen is elliott's alcoholism personified, talking to him. this is what i personally agree with, too. for a more in-depth explanation, i'd recommend visiting the elliott smith lyrics for this song.

The guy that originally wrote this (Elliot Smith) said that he wrote this song one night while he was drinking, and he wrote it from the point of view of an alcohol bottle... Hence the lyric, "Drink up with me now, and forget all about the pressure of days. Do what I say. And I'll make you okay, and drive them away, the images stuck in your head" The alcohol is telling him to just let it take control over his mind, and that drinking will make everything okay. I also think it is about love. The love of an addiction.

This version really is beautiful and is a different take on Elliot Smith's guitar version, and instead playing it on a piano. Well done, Chris. ❤️