Status

Elliott Smith Song

Written By

Elliott Smith

Recording Sessions

June 24, 1996 (Undercover Inc, Portland, OR - Either/Or Session at Undercover) - 2 versions recorded here, one unoffficially circulating and one officially circulating (instrumental with vocals later added on the official release) - the organ track from this instrumental was used on “Either/Or: Expanded Edition” as a hidden “add-on” at the end of the record
Fall 1996 (Laundry Rules, Portland, OR - Either/Or Session with Larry Crane) - vocals added to the previously recorded instrumental noted above, officially released in combination.

Availability of Official Release

Either/Or
Either/Or: Expanded Edition

Lyrics

Start stop and start
Stupid acting smart
Flirting with the flicks
You say it’s just for kicks
You’ll be the victim of your own dirty tricks
You got yourself to tease and displease

Doors swinging wide
You walked in to hide
Looking at your feet
Failure’s complete
Saw you and me on the coin-op TV
Frozen in fear every time we appear

I’m not surprised at all and really, why should I be?
See nothing wrong
See nothing wrong
I’m so sick and tired of all these pictures of me
Completely wrong
Totally wrong

You go walking by
Here come another guy
Jailer who sells
Personal hells
Who’d like to see me down on my fucking knees
Everybody’s dying just to get the disease

I’m not surprised at all and really, why should I be?
See nothing wrong
See nothing wrong
I’m so sick and tired of all these pictures of me
Completely wrong
Totally wrong
I’m not surprised at all and really, why should I be?
See nothing wrong
See nothing wrong
I’m so sick and tired of all these pictures of me

Oh everybody’s dying just to get the disease
Everybody’s dying just to get the disease
Everybody’s dying just to get the disease

Alternate/Early Version (thanks to snowballinhell):

your eyes turn down
flirting around with the image of
the one you really love
whose face you saw on the blue screen above
felt cheap and diseased
completely at ease
noise from inside
door swinging wide
looking at your feet
and 42nd street
saw you and me on the coin op tv
frozen in fear
there’s nobody here

i’m not surprised at all
and really why should i be
see nothing wrong
see nothing wrong
so sick and tired of all these pictures of me
completely wrong
totally wrong

i’m walking by
come another guy
jailer who sells personal hells
who’d like to see me down on my fucking knees
don’t expect to see me begging you please

hey hey hey hey
i’m not surprised at all
and really why should i be
see nothing wrong
see nothing wrong
so sick and tired of all these pictures of me
completely wrong
totally wrong

i’m not surprised at all and really
why should i be
see nothing wrong
see nothing wrong
so sick and tired of all these pictures of me
oh they’re completely wrong
i couldn’t compete
completely wrong
i couldn’t compete
completely wrong
i couldn’t compete

First known live performance

1997-05-06 (No Life Records, Los Angeles, CA, USA)

Audio