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Half Right Lyrics
Well you shouldn't talk to yourself
Well I pictured somebody else
Someone that looks like
What I look like
Would you say that one of your dreams
Got in you and ripped out the seams?
That's what I'd say
That's what I'd say
He was a sucker for your double dose
Motherfucker turned white as a ghost
Don't you say hi?
Don't you say hi?
With a broken sink for a face
And a head that just takes up space
He's not half right
He's not half right
It's already half past
And it won't last
I was sticking up for my friend
When there's nothing much to defend
It's a lost fight
It's a lost fight
'cause when I talk to you on the phone
Well it's just like being alone
It's not half right
It's not half right
Well I pictured somebody else
Someone that looks like
What I look like
Got in you and ripped out the seams?
That's what I'd say
That's what I'd say
Motherfucker turned white as a ghost
Don't you say hi?
Don't you say hi?
And a head that just takes up space
He's not half right
He's not half right
And it won't last
When there's nothing much to defend
It's a lost fight
It's a lost fight
Well it's just like being alone
It's not half right
It's not half right
Song Info
Submitted by
foxiliary On Apr 24, 2007
More Elliott Smith
Between the Bars
Needle in the Hay
King's Crossing
Twilight (Somebody's Baby)
A Fond Farewell
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After just recently listening to New Moon and hearing the newly released version of this, I'm not sure if I prefer it live or not. It's almost like two different songs really. The tone and tempo are so different. Either way though, an incredible song.
Elliott is so under-appreciated. Its such a pity he never received the acclaim he deserved (and still deserves) when he was alive. At the same time though, and from a very selfish place, these songs are so personal to me that I nearly prefer it that none of my friends 'get' him.
Anyone in the same boat?!
@no_name_no1 the EXACT same here. I associate such strong emotional moments of my life with this music, it speaks to me and I get it. I wouldn't like people singing the words and not knowing what they mean, that his image is contorted and his lyrics misshapen and not appreciated or understood. Idk It is a selfish feeling, I know.
@no_name_no1 the EXACT same here. I associate such strong emotional moments of my life with this music, it speaks to me and I get it. I wouldn't like people singing the words and not knowing what they mean, that his image is contorted and his lyrics misshapen and not appreciated or understood. Idk It is a selfish feeling, I know.
well you shouldnt doctor yourself well i pictured somebody else someone who looks like what i look like
would you say that the one of your dreams got in you and ripped up the seams thats what id say thats what id say
its already half past and it wont last
he was a sucker for ur double dose motherfucker turned white as a ghost dont you say hi dont you say hi with a broken sink for a face and a head that just takes up space hes not half right hes not half right
its already half past and it wont last
i was sticking up for my friend well its nothing much to defent its a lost fight its a lost fight
cause when i talk to you on the phone well, its just like being alone its not half right its not half right
This song is a sterling example of Smith's adherence to a philosophy of optimism, first pioneered by Germanic polymath Gottfried Leibniz. In this song, Smith enumerates a litany of seemingly less-than-ideal situations that a lesser student of idealist philosophy would describe as wrong (or, perhaps half-wrong). Smith, however, uses the panglossian term "half-right" to indicate that although seemingly wrong, we live in the best of all possible worlds and such situations are necessary in order for fuller benefit elsewhere.
This whole song is about a friend of his that falls to heroin addiction. The first verse is about how Elliott expected him to be the one who falls into this type of heroin addiction (just because Elliott himself was addicted to heroin doesn't make the song not valid, not all songs are based solely on reality). The 2nd verse is about how the cause of his friend's heroin addiction was caused by the love of their life completely breaking their heart making them look for a cure (a way to restitch the seams). A comment above said that double dose is slang for heroin use. That might be right, or it could be Elliott Smith talking about the love of the friend. The friend really wanted to talk to the girl again, and when he did he turned white as ghost. Elliott is telling the love to not say hi cause they'll just break his friend's heart again. A broken sink for a face-- he just keeps talking nonsense, head that takes up space-- useless. The next 2 lines I'm not sure about. Then he talks about his friend indirectly and that his friend has fallen so far that there's practically nothing left to him. It's a lost fight-- he can't cure his addiction for him. Last verse, refer back to the head that just takes up space. There is no real communication going on between Elliott and his friend on the phone.
In case anyone was curious like myself, a "double dose" is a slang term for injecting heroin.
The last verse puzzles me.
I definitely feel that way. After 4 years of listening to Elliott's music, discussing his songs, and reading interviews and stories and articles, I feel as if no one could fully appreciate his music unless they under went the same kind of process. When you know so much about him,you listen to his music is on a whole different level.
to lightblueness-if you're referring to the last verse as in 'Cause when I talk to you on the phone Well, it's just like being alone It's not half right It's not half right then i think he's referring to the feeling of distance. like you might have a loved one, particularly boyfriend or girlfriend, who is far away and they are yours but the distance makes you feel alone anyways. being with someone physically and being with someone mentally are totally different. i don't know if that makes sense to you, but it does in my head. haha. sorry. great song, one of my favorites.
how about this: he is trying to help a friend who is in an abusive relationship getting out of it. trying to defend his friend, but his friend keeps coming back to that relationship and that person. the lines could be him imploring the friend to see the reality of the situation and not to turn a blind eye anymore. anyway that's my imagination.
@KarenZevon I agree. That is why in the last line he says theres nothing much to defend his own friend because he is fked up. At last. The only thing people can do is just try to improve themselves because do it for another is a big waste of time.
@KarenZevon I agree. That is why in the last line he says theres nothing much to defend his own friend because he is fked up. At last. The only thing people can do is just try to improve themselves because do it for another is a big waste of time.
Here are my thoughts stanza by stanza,
“Well you shouldn't doctor yourself Well I pictured somebody else Someone that looks like What I look like”
you can’t heal all the pain on your own I pictured myself helping you heal us helping heal each other mirroring
“Would you say that the one of your dreams Got in you and ripped out the seams? That's what I'd say That's what I'd say”
Instead of helping stitch the wound shut the person made the wound bigger
“He was a sucker for your double dose Motherfucker turned white as a ghost Don't you say hi? Don't you say hi?”
He was drawn to you not knowing what he was getting into now he is paralyzed and can barely handle you, he can’t even greet you or acknowledge he knows you
“With a broken sink for a face And a head that just takes up space He's not half right He's not half right”
A broken sink has a faucet that can’t shut off crying his head is so full of thoughts of himself he isn’t paying attention
“It's already half past And it won't last”
A relationship is two halves They stopped putting in effort The length of time you could wait for them has ended The other half never fully shows up,
Never truly arrives.
“I was sticking up for my friend When there's nothing much to defend It's a lost fight It's a lost fight”
You want to hope they will do better but there is so little hope to fight for
'”cause when I talk to you on the phone Well it's just like being alone It's not half right It's not half right”
It’s isolating now even when you speak they have checked out the other person can’t show up even halfway
Last thoughts: it’s amazing to think about the idea of halves and twos like two people in a relationship/ the words half past etc throughout the song. He even states the ends of every verse with two repeating lines
If you’ve read this post far thank you!
I guess I'll be the first to say how amazing this song is.
So heartbreaking and beautiful at the same time just like a lot of Elliott's work.