Lyric discussion by 42 steps 

Cover art for Jeannie's Diary lyrics by Eels

The bells/chimes used in the song make it one of my favorites. I'm not sure why - they just seem to be so perfect and give a wordless echo to the emotions expressed in it.

I hear two variations of them in the song - a short, discordant clanging sound, and then a pure extended deep note, that play against each other.

I especially notice them here -

...yes i am intense (clang) maybe quite obsessed (clang)

  • signaling the the singer's incongruent state of mind (intense, obsessed) and followed by the chime:

...everything she does is curious

  • emphasizing a purity of feeling for her contrasting his own personal tumultuous state (or maybe symbolizing her perfection in his eyes)

The two sounds then continue throughout the song, echoing this dual theme wordlessly.

I love the last two chimes of the song that I'm able to hear before then end, one picked up and extended by the strings, and then one extended ~ an octive lower (I think) ~ by a clarinet (or oboe). Beautiful.