Lyrics for Christian Brothers as interpreted by EnjOy IncUbus

Christian Brothers Lyrics
No bad dream fucker's going to boss me around
Christian Brothers going to take him down
But it can't help me get over

Don't be cross, it's sick what I want
I've seen the boss blink on and off

Fake concerns is what's the matter, man
And you think I ought to shake your motherfucking hand
Well, I know how much you care

Don't be cross, it's sick what I want
I've seen the boss blink on and off

Come here by me, I want you here
Nightmares become me, it's so fucking clear
Nightmares become me, it's so fucking clear

Interaction
Mail to a friend Send Lyrics to a Friend
Share on Facebook

Stumble It
Add to Del.icio.us Add to Del.icio.us




  • 36 Comments
  • Printer Friendly Lyrics
oldest first     Expand All
AndForgetMeNots
04-15-2002

Rated 0 
nice and angry

Log in to reply
mon no jigoku
06-07-2003

Rated 0 
Christian Brothers is a brand of alcohol, and these lyrics are wrong, there's more repeating of the chorus in the song. I always thought of this as how people think they want to help you when you have a problem, but you either are too addicted or deeply into what you're doing to care or you think it's just out of pity. "fake concerns is what's the matter, man, and you think i oughta shake your motherfucking hand?" like whoever's concerned is just being phony and they expect a thanks when it's all done and over.

Log in to reply
1 Reply
witty_reference
07-05-2004

Rated 0 
this song is AMAZING. it's like a barely cohherent overflow of the emotion that it's seeped in.

Log in to reply
bigeasy
10-20-2004

Rated 0 
The best part of this song is the references to the "chemical embrace...and pure synthetic sympathy that infuriates you...." I think he feels that people are degrading or making light of how badly he's hurting by pretending to understand it. Pain and suffering are very personal things and to have people give an artificial or shallow concern can make things even worse.....like they don't respect you enough to leave you alone.

Log in to reply
nopoetic
12-22-2004

Rated 0 
everyone said pretty much the same thing, bigeasy put it pretty well. how people cant understand and their fake sympathy and unwillingness to actually help you by doing what they should by listening, and only trying to push you off to professionals. like degrading your problems to the need of prescription drugs or a therapist to help it, when the person really needs love and someone to try and understand them.

Log in to reply
shoez
12-30-2004

Rated 0 
elliott smith also talks about how alcohol makes one more steadfast in their beliefs. "christian brothers gonna take him down" is equivalent to 'alcohol helps me win any conflict.' anyone who has engaged in a drunken argument knows what this is about. when inebriated, people become much more fierce and vehement in defending their beliefs, as deluded as they may be.

Log in to reply
lisalynn
01-07-2005

Rated 0 
that is very true.. i can relate to the drunk defence anger.. and the idea of needing help but instead getting fake sypathey and being told to take some pills or see a doctor when really you just need love. Great song.

Log in to reply
wesleywes
01-14-2005

Rated 0 
bigeasy... that's from "everybody cares, everybody understands"... I don't know why no one else noticed or pointed that out.

Log in to reply
1 Reply
latino_keno
03-13-2005

Rated 0 
christian brother is some brand of whiskey or something

Log in to reply
pollyethylene
04-02-2005

Rated +1 
just an idea, but it could be about a parental figure? i won't assume it's his stepfather, because who knows.. don't mean to overuse that idea, but it seems like a lot of his songs do have something to do with this apparently heinous charlie guy...

my interpretation: he doesn't want to be "bossed around" by someone who he does not respect or accept as an authority figure.. he's an inconsistent parent that "blink[s] on and off"? this also fits with the handshake part.. he despises the smarmy parental attitude that his stepfather is doing things all "for his own good".. he sees it as fake and even malicious.

i do agree that the alcohol reference is probably quite correct.. could be symbolic for any way of numbing out the painful relationship, but due to the whisky reference.. probably booze.

just my take though! nobody kill me, please..

Log in to reply
1 Reply
lost_in_twlight
04-05-2005

Rated 0 
okay,i thought he said "and you think, i oughta shake your motherfucking head" like they think this and to get them to be real he has to physically shake of the phoniness. not to hurt the person but it must be a violent shake like grabbing their shoulders and tryng to pry them away from the imaginary grasp of phoniness. i like it that way, it seems like angry compassion. maybe a bit too much catcher in the rye. but that's just what i got and all by misinterperetting on word.

Log in to reply
lost_in_twlight
04-05-2005

Rated 0 
and if you remove the comma, it's like they think that he is fucking with them, but really it's them. (wow, lots of pronouns) and it's also the mood you're in when you listen to it. or at least for me.

Log in to reply
badge
05-17-2005

Rated 0 
i like that interpretation polyethylene, makes sense. is your name from the radiohead song polyethylene on paragons of virtue by any chance or is that just coincidence?

Log in to reply
badge
06-08-2005

Rated 0 
the fact that he references "the boss" as he does in 2.45am also agrees with the stepfather interpretation. he gets hammered on whiskey to try and forget all about the experiences he had...............RIP

Log in to reply
wewah
07-23-2005

Rated 0 
i agree with most of what is said about this song, but i'd like to point out that christian brothers is a type of brandy, not whisky. and it's delicious, much like this song.

Log in to reply
pollyethylene
08-02-2005

Rated 0 
why yes lost_in_twilight, yes it is. *high fives nerdily*.. i love when people recognize it. and it's spelled incorrectly just to make it more name-like.. yet you still recognized.. you are a hero. and you also like e. smith. congratulations :)

Log in to reply
plutonium
01-22-2006

Rated 0 
In canada, the Christian Bros are a well known religous orginaization that sets up orphanages and schools for boys. In 1992, 9 christian bros were procecuted with a total of 75 sexual abuse charges and the orinization was sued something like 13 mill. There is a CBC move about it called "the boys of saint vincent".

Log in to reply
plutonium
01-22-2006

Rated 0 
To add, I do think there is a lot more going on in Elliotts references than addictions and stupid people trying to help. But I'm not saying I know what this song is about.

Log in to reply
Alni
06-27-2006

Rated 0 
This song is in my Smith's top 5. Just a perfect song. So intense.

Log in to reply
jukeboxfuckup
08-24-2006

Rated 0 
christian brothers is a type of brandy. i think there is a definite reference to his self-destructive behaviour in 'nightmares become me it's so fucking clear'. it's almost as if he keeps succumbing to these stereotypical issues which plague so many decent artists and he's entirely aware of it, even wants it maybe - 'it's sick what i want'.

Log in to reply
surooner
03-23-2007

Rated 0 
I've always interpreted this song as having something to do with remembering past child hood abuses(and trying to block it out). It's the first thing that came to mind when I heard the whole bad dream bit being taken down by booze. but hey who knows.

Log in to reply
tigersmoke
05-12-2007

Rated 0 
It's true, Christian Brothers, is an inexpensive brandy, that Elliot was probably familiar with. But I think in this song, it's just a play on words, and that his real meaning has more to do with him dealing with the aftermath of a fucked up adolescence. It is well documented that his time with his mom and stepfather in Dallas was a traumatic one for him. I think this song is about him trying to cope.


For sure, Elliott wasn't your typical Dallas teenager. I can imagine him being bullied about by jocks and other typical "frat boy" types. Many of them probably stood under the banner of Christianity, in the way that many Republicans do (Ahhemm george bush). He uses the word "cross" to mean angry, which I think is a play on words reference to the theme of christianity.

Quite possibly, the song is a direct attack on that system, perhaps more specifically, his main antagonist, his stepfather. It appears to me that his stepfather came to represent the things in his life that went wrong and the suffering he faced.

These lines:

Fake concerns is what's the matter, man
And you think I ought to shake your motherfucking hand

Make me think that he is pissed off by the fake sympathy that is shown to him, and he is outraged that he should have to make a show of peace by shaking this person's hand. A person he despises.

Log in to reply
user13
05-29-2007

Rated 0 
he says "bad dream"
could be about his tumultuous relationship with DreamWorks, who he was signed to.
just thought i'd throw that out there

Log in to reply
ameristarfree
07-31-2007

Rated 0 
Now correct me if I'm wrong but I'm thinking this album was made when he was still signed to Kill Rock Stars before Dreamworks had probably even heard of him due to the fact he does an album after this before XO his first Dreamworks album, also it was befoire he was a drug addict/alcoholic, I think Elliottt Smith had a lot more to say than just moan about his own life and he probably meant this song to be taken on many levels, thanks for reading, Thanks for the great tunes Elliott, RIP

Log in to reply
bernardofbbraga
08-02-2007

Rated 0 
This is what I could make of it:
"No bad dream fucker's going to boss me around
Christian Brothers going to take him down"
He can't reach his dreams and uses alcohol as an escape, to "take him down", forget about what ruins his dreams.
"But it can't help me get over"
It only makes him forget, doesn't help really.

"Don't be cross, it's sick what I want"
He doesn't want any help, he WANTS to be sick.
"I've seen the boss blink on and off"
I think it'd be a reference to God, specially the use of "Christian Brothers" as an alcohol instead of any other.. I think he means he's been close to dying many times..

"Fake concerns is what's the matter, man
And you think I ought to shake your motherfucking hand
Well, I know how much you care"
When people try to "help" and get you out of such states of alcoholism or drug addiction, they're actually thinking about themselves, how they love the addicted person and how they miss them. So they're actually helping themselves, not the addicted (not my vision on it, I guess it'd be elliott's vision).

"Come here by me, I want you here
Nightmares become me, it's so fucking clear"
In the end, it becomes clear that he really wants company and help, he doesn't want to be alone.

Log in to reply




  • Add Your Comments
What does this song mean to you?

You must be logged in to post your comments.

Feel free to create an account with us, or log in with your existing account, to start adding your comments to songs.





Popular
Top:   Lyrics, Artists, Albums
Random:   Lyric, Artist, Album

Your Ad Here