Lyrics for 2:45 AM as interpreted by dragonflower44

2:45 AM Lyrics
I'm going out sleepwalking
Where mute memories start talking
The boss that couldn't help but hurt you
And the pretty thing he made desert you
I'm going out now like a baby
A naïve unsatisfiable baby
Grabbing onto whatever's around
For the soaring high or the crushing down
With hidden cracks that don't show
But that constantly just grow
I'm looking for the man that attacked me
While everybody was laughing at me
You beat it in me that part of you
But I'm going to split us back in two
Tired of living in a cloud
If you're going to say shit now you'll do it out loud
It's 2:45 in the morning
And I'm putting myself on warning
For waking up in an unknown place
With a recollection you've half erased
Looking for somebody's arms to
Wave away past harms
I'm walking out on center circle
The both of you can just fade to black
I'm walking out on center circle
Been pushed away and I'll never go back

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justsomegirl
08-07-2002

Rated 0 
jeez, i love this song so much.

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1 Reply
random_chick
08-24-2002

Rated 0 
god, this song.... im speechless when i hear it.... i love it soooo much.... ahhh

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ohsoquiet
03-04-2003

Rated 0 
beautiful song. i love how the background music doesn't really statr til the last 4 lines.

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asknoquestions
07-02-2003

Rated 0 
i think it's about a guy who got mugged now he's affected and afraid to walk at night alone

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poopdeckpappi
05-15-2004

Rated 0 
i believe this song is about someone who has been abused gone into a downward spiral and alomost became the person who committed this wrong against them "beat it in me that part of you but i'm gonna split us back in two" then used anything they could get there hands on to get out of the depression...until they finally realized they will take center stage confront this enemy let them know how they feel turn there back to them and never think of it agai

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slike
06-15-2004

Rated 0 
hehe, I laughed when I really heard:

"and i'm putting myself on warning
for waking up in an unknown place
with a recollection you've half erased"

He's talking to the part of himself thats addicted to alcohol! What else erases memories and fits so well with the rest of the song?

"sleepwalking" "mute memories" "for the soaring high or the crushing down" "living in a cloud" - being intoxicated
"the boss" - the part of him that needs to get drunk
"the pretty thing" - a girl, obviousley
"the both of you can just fade to black" - the two that hurt him, the boss and the girl.


The whole time he's cursing his addiction, halfway through you find that he has recently fallen to it - making an ass of himself, getting beat up, and passing out. Walks out of the alley or whereever and swears he's never going back to boozing.

sad yet endearing

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28064212
06-23-2004

Rated 0 
Can someone please help me with this???? I am pretty sure that this is a cover of an older song, but I don't know who did it originally.

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asknoquestions
10-06-2004

Rated -1 
i can't help but think of schizophrenia when i hear this song. some people just black out when another personality takes over.

"if you're gonna say shit now you'll do it out loud "

this may be him trying to face this other personality telling the other one to come out.

"the both of you can just fade to black"

he's so sick of this disease that both personalities can just fade to black. sleepwalking may be when the other personality takes over and he blacks out. this is just my interpretation of the song but i think elliot or whoever wrote it was going more for slike's explanation. slike's point was very well put and made me think a lot.

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1 Reply
luvpickford
10-17-2004

Rated 0 
I think this guy's girlfriend cheated on him (with a best friend, maybe?) and now he's on a self-destructive rampage of booze and one-night stands.

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katei
12-20-2004

Rated 0 
A few times in Elliott's life he had friends confront him about his drug and alcohol abuse. Right before this album was recorded, he had a huge episode where his girlfriend or best friend or something, and a guy who was working on his record with him, cornered him in a hotel room in Chicago. I always looked at this song as a kind of "fuck you" to them, because he said in an interview the confrontation just made him mad and he denied having a problem and then headed off for the bar.

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NishFets
12-20-2004

Rated 0 
[i]he denied having a problem and then headed off for the bar. [/i]

Why is that so cute and sad at the same time? I'm disgustingly in love with Elliott.

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MARY K
01-02-2005

Rated 0 
this song i love and hate. I love the lyrics. THe chord progression. Kinda reminds me of nirvana. Its the only elliott song that does. But I don't like how the drums kick in at the end of the song! You get into a groove then it ends/

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tonight we win
01-13-2005

Rated +1 
no offense to anyone, but you're all pretty wrong. i suppose some (very few) of you could be a bit close, but no one has said a single thing about his step-father or his family life.

his step-father abused him. he repressed it, and i'm guessing he made elliott's girlfriend leave him(i don't know that for sure):

"where mute memories start talking/the boss that couldn't help but hurt you/and the pretty thing he made desert you"

the problems that they don't bring up, but get worse because of that:

"with hidden cracks that don't show/but that constantly just grow"

step-father, no one believing him:

"i'm looking for the man that attacked me/while everybody was laughing at me"

he's upset with the habits (or addictions) he's made along with all of the memories he's repressed:

"it's 2:45 in the morning/and i'm putting myself on warning/for waking up in an unknown place/with a recollection you've half erased"

he's shedding light on everything, his mother sided with her husband, he's been pushed away and won't ever forgive them:

"i'm walking out on center circle/the both of you can just fade to black/i'm walking out on center circle/been pushed away and i'll never go back"

...
now, i know it's arrogant to try to explain thoughts that aren't mine, but when you think it's schitzophrenia, when you think it's alcohoi, when you think he's like nirvana, and it's pretty clear that it's not, then you need to quiet down. think before you speak.

it's not about a guy who got mugged, it's not supposed to be funny, it's not a cover. it's not the cliche, "my girlfriend cheated on me and i hate them both." i think poopdeckpappi was the only one who came remotely close.

then again, i could be completely wrong. maybe he is like nirvana, four powerchords and all. oh man.

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tonight we win
01-13-2005

Rated 0 
no offense to anyone, but you're all pretty wrong. i suppose some (very few) of you could be a bit close, but no one has said a single thing about his step-father or his family life.

his step-father abused him. he repressed it, and i'm guessing he made elliott's girlfriend leave him(i don't know that for sure):

"where mute memories start talking/the boss that couldn't help but hurt you/and the pretty thing he made desert you"

the problems that they don't bring up, but get worse because of that:

"with hidden cracks that don't show/but that constantly just grow"

step-father, no one believing him:

"i'm looking for the man that attacked me/while everybody was laughing at me"

he's upset with the habits (or addictions) he's made along with all of the memories he's repressed:

"it's 2:45 in the morning/and i'm putting myself on warning/for waking up in an unknown place/with a recollection you've half erased"

he's shedding light on everything, his mother sided with her husband, he's been pushed away and won't ever forgive them:

"i'm walking out on center circle/the both of you can just fade to black/i'm walking out on center circle/been pushed away and i'll never go back"

...
now, i know it's arrogant to try to explain thoughts that aren't mine, but when you think it's schitzophrenia, when you think it's alcohoi, when you think he's like nirvana, and it's pretty clear that it's not, then you need to quiet down. think before you speak.

it's not about a guy who got mugged, it's not supposed to be funny, it's not a cover. it's not the cliche, "my girlfriend cheated on me and i hate them both." i think poopdeckpappi was the only one who came remotely close.

then again, i could be completely wrong. maybe he is like nirvana, four powerchords and all. oh man.

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dirty_pillows
01-25-2005

Rated 0 
I have to agree with tonight we win. That is pretty close to what I thought it meant too.

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whatcapo?
01-29-2005

Rated 0 
Yeah, tonight we win basically nailed it but I'd just like to point out that "the pretty thing he made desert you" is Elliott's mother and not some girlfriend.

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lisalynn
02-04-2005

Rated 0 
"no one has said a single thing about his step-father or his family life. "
no offense but i think this is a bit insulting to him as a songwriter. he did not just write songs about his sad childhood, and it is kind of rude to make a statement like that, as though all his songs were always about that, like he had no ability to think about anything else. Its as one-dimensional as the "all his songs are about drugs/alcohol" steriotype. He was a very creative songwriter and the fact that so many people got so many different meanings out of the song i think would have made him very happy. He didnt try to write songs so everyone would analyze his past, in fact breaking down his lyrics was something he didnt really like people doing, and he rarely went into much explination of his songs. Also, i think the point of this place is to add your interpretation of the song, what it means to YOU. Not - this is exactly what Elliott was saying in this song. How boring would that be if we just had one persons idea as the be all end all. Not to mention no one here is Elliott, so its imposible and rediculous to say this is exactly what he meant.

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doesntevenmatter
02-12-2005

Rated 0 
well put, lisalynn. nobody's right, nobody's wrong. every person's opinon is as credible as the next...and i gotta say one of the things i like most about the song is how the drums kick in in the last verse. 's just perfect.

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buwhaha
03-17-2005

Rated 0 
I think this is about him fighting an old alchol addiction, so one night he goes out wasted walks around thinks about stuff has his head in the clouds and he realizes how much his life has relied on alchol. He then may perhaps reminese on other things as well, most likely sad things.

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lost_in_twlight
04-16-2005

Rated 0 
i agree with tonight_we_win and whatcapo? you beat me to the mom part.

my record skips on the thrid and fourth lines and makes it sound like he's stuttering...which makes the song even more amazing.

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aisha_08
04-30-2005

Rated 0 
tonite we win...chill out. other people can talk too! haha but good interpretation.

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Heather200408
06-17-2005

Rated 0 
"i think it's about a guy who got mugged now he's affected and afraid to walk at night alone"


no offense....but to sum up any of elliott smith's songs into one line is a joke upon itself. And that summary really is so inaccurate, you obviously know nothing of his life and struggles.

RIP

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samjuro
07-15-2005

Rated 0 
In an interview (check sweetadeline.net) Elliott said this song was written about an arguement he had with his step father and mother. he went wandering out in portland (rose city) until 2 in the morning pissed.

Elliott was very poetic, but his songs were usually fairly benial in subject matter.

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plaincl0thesman
07-23-2005

Rated 0 
i think this song is by far one of elliott's most emotional songs, you can hear it in his voice. it seems to deal with helplessness and self destruction, as well as denial.

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plaincl0thesman
07-23-2005

Rated 0 
and heather200408... who the hell do you think you are to put down people's opinions? as if you knew everything there is to know about elliott's life and struggles.

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