This is definitely my favourite Elliott Smith song for two different reasons. Firstly how perfectly it expresses the great human feeling of isolation. The imagery of just a fragile teenage boy at a party is remarkably powerful, as is the repetition of 'leave alone' and 'you don't belong', which echo in your head long after the song has finished.
I am a huge fan of Smith's music and also am fascinated about his life and nature. No Name #1's simple meaning tells us a lot about the man and the isolation he endured throughout his life because of how his brain was wired and because of how talented he was.
Others have picked up on this quotation: 'The mighty mother with her hundred arms swept all aside' - as a direct reference to his own mother. I too interpreted it this way, it's interesting though, in later songs where a female figure that is seemingly a reference to his mother appears, they are usually portrayed as weak and feeble. Here, the 'mother' is conveyed as a strong, mythical beast. I think this could reflect where he was emotionally in the Roman Candle era, his mother and the internal conflict he suffered from past experiences with her were overpowering and throttling at this time. This could portray anger he felt for her for the pain she had caused him. As time goes on in his songwriting career, this female figure as aforementioned weakens- could this be a sign of his anger transcending into pity for his mother?
No one knows truly what he experienced in his childhood, but something definitely fucked him up from it. I think this song is a very insightful view into his mind.
This is definitely my favourite Elliott Smith song for two different reasons. Firstly how perfectly it expresses the great human feeling of isolation. The imagery of just a fragile teenage boy at a party is remarkably powerful, as is the repetition of 'leave alone' and 'you don't belong', which echo in your head long after the song has finished.
I am a huge fan of Smith's music and also am fascinated about his life and nature. No Name #1's simple meaning tells us a lot about the man and the isolation he endured throughout his life because of how his brain was wired and because of how talented he was.
Others have picked up on this quotation: 'The mighty mother with her hundred arms swept all aside' - as a direct reference to his own mother. I too interpreted it this way, it's interesting though, in later songs where a female figure that is seemingly a reference to his mother appears, they are usually portrayed as weak and feeble. Here, the 'mother' is conveyed as a strong, mythical beast. I think this could reflect where he was emotionally in the Roman Candle era, his mother and the internal conflict he suffered from past experiences with her were overpowering and throttling at this time. This could portray anger he felt for her for the pain she had caused him. As time goes on in his songwriting career, this female figure as aforementioned weakens- could this be a sign of his anger transcending into pity for his mother?
No one knows truly what he experienced in his childhood, but something definitely fucked him up from it. I think this song is a very insightful view into his mind.