Matthew Lemay, in his book "Elliott Smith's XO" (from the "33 1/3" series: which so far includes 50 or so paperbacks, each going into great detail about one record) devotes a chapter to this song. Smith's use of language, Lemay argues, is often deceptively simple.
Lines which may sound as if they're referring to drugs--such as "It's a chemical embrace that kicks you in the head/To a pure synthetic sympathy that infuriates you totally"--aren't always literal. Elliott may have been referencing drugs/intoxication only metaphorically.
The rehab clinic (where he was coerced into treatment by his so-called friends) was in Arizona. You can imagine how oppressive the heat must have been, for someone accustomed to living in Oregon's usually-mild climate. So the "guiding light" of the "brilliant sun"--which, on its face, sounds as if it might be an image of healing, natural beauty--in this instance represents feeling trapped after having been "helped" by people misguided at best, manipulative at worst.
Matthew Lemay, in his book "Elliott Smith's XO" (from the "33 1/3" series: which so far includes 50 or so paperbacks, each going into great detail about one record) devotes a chapter to this song. Smith's use of language, Lemay argues, is often deceptively simple.
Lines which may sound as if they're referring to drugs--such as "It's a chemical embrace that kicks you in the head/To a pure synthetic sympathy that infuriates you totally"--aren't always literal. Elliott may have been referencing drugs/intoxication only metaphorically.
The rehab clinic (where he was coerced into treatment by his so-called friends) was in Arizona. You can imagine how oppressive the heat must have been, for someone accustomed to living in Oregon's usually-mild climate. So the "guiding light" of the "brilliant sun"--which, on its face, sounds as if it might be an image of healing, natural beauty--in this instance represents feeling trapped after having been "helped" by people misguided at best, manipulative at worst.