Know something about this song or lyrics?
Add it to our wiki.
Under some dirty words on a dirty wall
Eating takeout by myself
I played the shows
Got back in the van and put the Walkman on
And you were playing
In some other dive a thousand miles away
I played a thousand times before
And like pathetic stars, the truck stops and the rock club walls
I always knew
You saw them too
But you never will again
It's too late
Don't you know
It's been too late
For a long time
Elliott, man, you played a fine guitar
And some dirty basketball
The songs you wrote
Got me through a lot
Just want to tell you that
But it's too late
It's too late
No, don't you know
it's been too late
for a long time
Oh no
Things were looking up
Least that's what I heard
Oh no
Someone came and washed away your hard-earned
Peace of mind
When desperate static beats the silence up
A quiet truth to calm you down
The songs you wrote
Got me through a lot
Just want to tell you that
But it's too late
It's too late
No, don't you know
It's been too late
For a long time
It's too late
It's too late
No, don't you know
It's been too late
For a long time
Eating takeout by myself
I played the shows
Got back in the van and put the Walkman on
And you were playing
In some other dive a thousand miles away
I played a thousand times before
And like pathetic stars, the truck stops and the rock club walls
I always knew
You saw them too
But you never will again
It's too late
Don't you know
It's been too late
For a long time
Elliott, man, you played a fine guitar
And some dirty basketball
The songs you wrote
Got me through a lot
Just want to tell you that
But it's too late
It's too late
No, don't you know
it's been too late
for a long time
Oh no
Things were looking up
Least that's what I heard
Oh no
Someone came and washed away your hard-earned
Peace of mind
When desperate static beats the silence up
A quiet truth to calm you down
The songs you wrote
Got me through a lot
Just want to tell you that
But it's too late
It's too late
No, don't you know
It's been too late
For a long time
It's too late
It's too late
No, don't you know
It's been too late
For a long time
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
isn't that the essential tribute / paid respects to an admired artist? it's sad but poignant and powerful, love that part
I did that twice.
Its so sad but so nice.
I didn't discover Elliot Smith until after he died=\
I'm so sad that he died and I didn't even know him,
proves what a great artist both he and Ben Folds are for making me, or anyone else, feel that way.
"desperate static"... elliott had several songs that used the word static in the lyrics, probably most notably tomarrow tomarrow, but there are others.
"hard earned peace of mind" is possibly a reference to the song bled white, where elliott says "dont you dare disturb me, dont you complicate my peace of mind"
the part about "things were looking up, at least thats what i heard" is simply enough about elliott's drug addiction and depression. Prior to his death, it seemed to those around him and to fans that he had cleaned up a lot and was "in a better place" than previous years.
to me, the song almost seems like an apology at times. In the beginning he describes being at a show/preformence with smith and turning on his walkmen during smiths se.
the chorus seems to me almost like hes apologizing for it, like "it may not have been clear at the time.... but, i DO really appreciate and care about everything youve done, its gotten me through a lot." etc.
and even if it isnt an apology, it seems clear he has regrets about how he spent some of his time with elliott, as many people do after someone they love dies.
to me (naturally i have no way of knowing this for sure...) the song seems partly about bens regrets about how he handled his relationship with smith and party as a simple tribute.
either way, its a beautiful, timeless song. well done ben. rip elliott. the songs you wrote got me through a lot too.
I imagine this is Folds after he got the news. He finishes a show and eats alone, then he gets into his van and pops a live tape of Elliott.
I think when fans of Elliott Smith see his name mispelled as "Elliot" they get angry because this is the way his name was spelt in the "suicide" note. Leading many to believe that his girlfriend actually killed him, and wrote a suicide note, and in the process, mispelled his name. It irks me to see it spelled that way because it brings up the emotion that he possibly was murdered, and was taken from earth with many more songs to write and lives to touch. The mispelling is a reminder of what could have been, or what was still to come. Anyway, on to the actual song.
"No, no
Things were looking up
Least that's what I heard
No, no
Someone came and washed away your hard-earned
Piece of mind"
I don't own the CD, so I don't know if this is in the booklet, but shouldn't it be "peace of mind"?
To me this stanza is a statement pointing blame at Elliott's live in girlfriend who was there the day he died. She washed away his peace of mind by either killing him, or by fighting with him that day, causing him to eventually become so enraged to take his own life. Whatever that means, and if Ben didnt actually know Elliott doesn't mean anything, the song is simply a tribute to the fantastic music that Elliott made. The songs helped Ben get through tough times in his life, along with thousands of other people that are lucky enough to discover him. Shut Up Hannah, I feel the same way, I remember the day I "discovered" Elliott, I was watching Good Will Hunting and realized that all the good songs in the movie were Elliott, downloaded about 30 songs that day because I couldnt get enough of him, then did some research and found out he had died just a few months before, pretty heartbreaking.
Even though I haven't lost a friend or someone close to me while I've been old enough to know about it, this song allows me to relate to how he's feeling about it. I love the third verse
Elliott, man, you played a fine guitar
And some dirty basketball
The songs you wrote got me through a lot
Just thought I'd tell you that...
In just four lines, he has so beautifully described the friendship, and it really gets across the feeling of enjoying and respecting the impact someone has made on your life. Thats how it feels to me, anyway.