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Throwing candy out to the crowd
Dragging down the main
The helpless little thing with the dirty mouth
Who's always got something to say
You're sitting around at home now waiting for your brother to call
I saw him down in the alley
Having had enough of it all
Said you can do what you want to whenever you want to
You can do what you want to there's no one to stop you
All spit and spite you're up all night and down every day
A tired man with only hours to go just waiting to be taken away
Getting in to the back of a car for candy from some stranger
Watching the parade with pinpoint eyes full of smoldering anger
You can do what you want to whenever you want to
You can do what you want to there's no one to stop you
Now you can do what you want to whenever you want to
Do what you want to whenever you want to
Do what you want to whenever you want to
Though it doesn't mean a thing
Big nothing
Dragging down the main
The helpless little thing with the dirty mouth
Who's always got something to say
You're sitting around at home now waiting for your brother to call
I saw him down in the alley
Having had enough of it all
Said you can do what you want to whenever you want to
You can do what you want to there's no one to stop you
All spit and spite you're up all night and down every day
A tired man with only hours to go just waiting to be taken away
Getting in to the back of a car for candy from some stranger
Watching the parade with pinpoint eyes full of smoldering anger
You can do what you want to whenever you want to
You can do what you want to there's no one to stop you
Now you can do what you want to whenever you want to
Do what you want to whenever you want to
Do what you want to whenever you want to
Though it doesn't mean a thing
Big nothing
Lyrics submitted by EnjOy IncUbus
Track duration: 02:47
"Ballad of Big Nothing" as written by Steven P. Smith
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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I admire the rawness of Smith's lyrics, and this rawness alone gives Smith's songwriting significant value although (ironically) Smith makes it clear in songs like this that he saw no value in himself or anything he did.
I would also like to mention another considerable value of Smith's lyrics: these lyrics scream, "Don't do drugs". Drugs gave Smith this sense of worthlessness and despair and those who would like to avoid the descent into Hell would do well to avoid the drug use that ruined him.
This was actually Elliott Smith's response to Kierkegaard's great work, "Continuum," published in 1892. He says "you can do what you want to whenever you want to" as a nod to Soren's nihilist ideologie(s). The "helpless little thing with the dirty mouth / who's always got something to say" refers to a lesser character in the aforementioned Great Work, whose name was Pinchin. Pinchin was a "straw man" who would constantly repeat the refrain "you can do what you want to" in response to the obvious fact that human options are sorely limited by other concerns.
When Elliott Smith refers to the "alley," he means a metaphorical alley, of course, the alley of the human conscious AND conscience. Anything can walk down that alley, but few things can come back. It is like crossing the heroin needle riddled Rubicon of sorts. The man with "smoldering anger" refers to Americans and their subsequent loss of innocence and idealism in the late 20th century. Pinpoint eyes, of course, pinpoint the issue.
There is much more to be said about this great Ballad, but if you want to know more shoot me an email at esmithRULZ22@mailinator.com.
Dragging down the main"
- Candy being his often negative, depressing lyrics that he throws out to the main, which is the general audience, the recievers of his messages. I believe Elliott thought he was a bad influence, so this fits with that motif nicely.
"The helpless little thing with the dirty mouth
Who's always got something to say"
- talking about himself, referring to himself as a helpless little nothing with only negative, critical assesments of the world. However, having an artistic, analytical mind, he's always got an opinion, and something to say, but from his perspective, this isn't always a good tihng.
"You're sitting at home now
Waiting for your brother to call
I saw him down at the alley
Having had enough of it all
Said you can do what you want to whenever you want to
You can do what you want to, there's no one to stop you"
- whether he's referring to his actual brother, or perhaps just a friend, a symbolic brother, to call, but since Elliott was a bit of a difficult guy, his brother basically says, 'fuck it- you're too difficult. i wanted to help, but you're not getting anywhere."
"All spit and spite, you're up all night
And down every day"
- all spit means he's all talk, which is only fueled by his own spite. He's awake all night and depressed everyday.
"A tired man with only hours to go
Just waiting to be taken away"
- he's just waiting for death, hoping it'll come for him soon.
"Getting into the back of a car
For candy from some stranger
watching the parade with pinpoint eyes
Full of smoldering anger"
- while his fans get a rise from his lyrics, i assume he gets his rise from whatever this stranger has to offer, maybe just company, maybe sex- it's hard for me to guess here. all the while he's watching the parade, which is a metaphor for life, with his analytical eyes tearing everything a part and making assessments and judgments with a deep seated "smoldering anger" because of what he sees in the world.
"You can do what you want to whenever you want to
You can do what you want to, there's no one to stop you
Now you can do what you want to whenever you want to
Do what you want to whenever you want to
Do what you want to whenever you want to
Though it doesn't mean a thing
Big nothing"
- repeating the main part of the song, which reveals a theme that i think hints at suicide, but also at how others get tired of his antics, if thats what you want to call it. in the end, elliott is the big nothing, big perhaps because of fame, but nothing, because that's how he viewed himself.
this all just guesswork and how i view the song, but thought i'd throw it out there.
But the big world is nothing but a blender of chaos, drugs, sex, perversion, anger and depression.
Call your big brother for help but he's face down in the alley.
Come here little naive one, I have some candy for you here in my automobile.
Now look at you, zapped out, used, and thrown down from partying into a pile of pity.
So congratulations young one, on finally growing up, doing whatever you want, and being apart of something.
Let's all celebrate and cheer for the BIG NOTHING.
woo hoo :(
This song is about HEROIN!
This song is about SUICIDE!
This song is about committing HEROIN while shooting up SUICIDE!
Throwing candy out to the crowd
- Watching the dealer hand over the heroin/amphetamine.
Dragging down the main
- Main blood vein; heroin.
The helpless little thing with the dirty mouth
- This as well as the 'brother' line are what makes me think of this as story instead of a non-narrative
drug song. Hence why it's a called a Ballad. The helpless little thing is a young girl, who is
dependant completely on her brother (parent's gone?)
Who's always got something to say
- Personal trait of the girl, perhaps to the anger of the people shooting up at wherever she lives.
You're sitting at home now
- Girl alone, waiting for her brother to come home and look after her.
Waiting for your brother to call
I saw him down at the alley
Hadn't had enough of it all
- Elliott saw her brother abandoning her to get high
Said you can do what you want to whenever you want to
You can do what you want to, there's no one to stop you
-
All spit and spite, you're up all night
And down every day
- She hates her brother for leaving her, it affects her - depression.
A tired man with only hours to go
Just waiting to be taken away
- The addiction is about to consume her brother, beyond return. Elliott is always fairly resigned to the idea of quitting hard drugs - it's too mind altering etc.
Getting into the back of a car
For candy from some stranger
Watching the parade with pinpoint eyes
Full of smoldering anger
- Brother following drugs around and falling into an angry rage induced by the drugs he's taken.
The parade is the sober world. I speculate that the drug could be ice, but the 3rd line betrays any chance of that.
You can do what you want to whenever you want to
You can do what you want to, there's no one to stop you
Now you can do what you want to whenever you want to
Do what you want to whenever you want to
Do what you want to whenever you want to
Though it doesn't mean a thing
Big nothing
- Last two line's are reflective of the feeling of worthlessness and lack of hope in the girl's life now.
That's my two cents.
I wonder if anyone else would agree?