Time to kill, wrote a living will
And gave it to the man in the moon
But I'm on a get well soon
This happy face is watching me die
Elevate me to another world
All that I can do on my own
Is leave well enough alone
Leave well enough alone
Leave well enough alone

Circumstance dropped by uninvited
And demanded to be fed
But I've already gone to bed
There's nothing you can see from inside
My spirit arose and put on my clothes
And helped me disconnecting the phone
To leave well enough alone
Leave well enough alone
Leave well enough alone

Time was I was a wire, then an animal in a cage
First it's all the reaction, now it's all the rage

Waking up at a station stop
And reality's invading my brain
The cops want to search the train
They'll take away whatever they find
But I don't have the thoughts you want
Just a memory of love I was shown
A vision that turns to stone
Leave well enough alone
Leave well enough alone



Lyrics submitted by dragonflower44


A Living Will song meanings
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19 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment:I'm pretty sure it's:

    "But I wanna get well soon"

    "There's nothing you can see from insight"

    "Time was always a wired/wild animal in a cage"
    Flag wordsdrawnighon March 14, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:and reality's invading my brain...

    its soo elliott...i love him for that kind of crap ;-)

    its also always the same about the meaning...you make your own thing...the music/lyrics are just one...

    i really miss him...but he's still HERE
    Flag bomb20on October 26, 2009   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:he was murdered by his dumb girlfriend. no one could stab themselves TWICE in the heart.
    Flag charcoalsketchon February 08, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:This song sounds like it's about a person refusing to die in the hospital and in the arms of well-wishers. The narration, the verses are sequential and begins with a decision, the preparation and leaving, and falling asleep on a train on his route out of town.
    Flag Sinfantile76on February 03, 2009   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:upbeat tune, but the lyrics really make up for that for me.

    I don't think it's fair for people to say that a song isn't about drug use only on the basis that people believe a lot of Elliott Smith's songs are about drugs. I think this particular song is about dealing with addiction. It's safe to say if a songwriter is addicted to heroin, his music is going to reflect that.
    Flag lemonade_stanon January 13, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:such a beautiful song, and kind of a poor recording. this is a recently-appreciated favorite for me.

    The first verse sounds like he was referencing being in the hospital (for suicidal behaviors/ideation or detox/rehab, I suppose), surrounded by tokens from well-wishing loved-ones that are not having the intended effect: "this happy face is watching me die" (possibly a balloon or a card) & "I'm gonna get well soon" (I know this is not the lyric as it reads above, but i think it makes more sense)
    Flag ferrit4739on July 07, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I think this is more accurate for the third verse, but I'm not 100% sure of it.

    "Timeless, I was a wired animal in a cage,
    First it's all the reaction, now it's all the rage"

    Great song though.
    Flag DMV666on December 07, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:one of the happier tunes, not particularly in keeping with the lyrics
    Just a memory of love I was shown
    A vision that turns to stone
    quite obvious its meaning and its put v.v.well
    Flag maddilneon April 24, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:a Living Will is a will enacted while the subject is still alive, but incapacitated. it's most often brought up in terms of whether or not to keep someone on life support- a person can dictate whether they'd prefer to be kept alive, or let die naturally. This can be contested by families, who can keep a basically dead person aliva against their will. No pun intended.

    This is a sad son,g but it really isn't about drugs. Not every Elliott Smith song is about drugs.
    Flag raukoielon February 06, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Yea - that's a pretty obvious typo… Why didn't someone catch that before now? Still can't believe that he killed himself by stabbing himself in the freakin' heart.
    Flag muzakgeekon February 03, 2007   Link

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