“Between the Bars” by Elliott Smith

Song Analysis

Between the Bars by Elliott Smith is a heartbreaking olive branch of affection. This acoustic lyrical bleeds out Smiths possessive vocals. I chose this song for song of the week because I believe it delves into a rather unknown maze of human psychology. Smith’s understanding of such a niche community brings about the songs gentle embrace.

The melody opens with a person’s deepest insecure thoughts, “stay up all night / with the things you could do / you won’t but you might.” Tossing and turning unable to sleep, an individual walks down a path I recognise. “The potential you’ll be, that you’ll never see / The promises you’ll only make.” Whatever it takes so you can sleep at night, a saying heard again and again.

“Sep2011 571” by Lord Jim is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Taking action to improve our lives is easier imaginated then enacted. Fear holds back this individual as it has so many others from making inspiration out of imagination. Does this mental cycle only hinder us from jumping into the abyss of change? Our minds coddle us with these daydreams and when left unchecked can lead to stagnentation. Why take a leap of faith in real life when you can do it in your head and get half the rush?

Smith serenades the listener as if talking to them directly. His whispers of compassion hold a clear communication of devotion. “do what I say / And I’ll make you okay and drive them away / The images stuck in your head.” These images I can only infer to be vividly traumatic. He yearns to sooth the person of his affection and gives a promise he doesn’t only make. Maybe, the person he years to sooth is himself.

According to the National Library of Medicine, “in our earlier review of naturalistic studies of intrusions we also identified that intrusive images and memories were sometimes associated with events that appeared to occur at the onset of a wide variety of disorders.”

Smith preaches understanding for this example of, from my guess, PTSD or schizophrenia. We all go through phases in life, shedding old versions of ourselves as we learn and grow. This is made exceedingly easier with the help of a friend in another and in yourself. “People you’ve been before / That you don’t want around anymore / That push and shove and won’t bend to your will / I’ll keep them still.”

We may find these old versions of ourselves seeping through the cracks into our minds again in times of turbulence. If struggling like Smith a person may even find that their mind doesn’t feel like their own.

“Image” by neil conway is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Smiths next words I can only describe as a liberation for those craving to be recognized. “I’ll kiss you again between the bars / Where I’m seeing you there with your hands in the air / Waiting to finally be caught.”A mental illness such as this can feel like a prison in your own mind. Being dragged kicking and screaming into the past where memories are too overwhelming to be processed.

According to Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience, what”makes memories traumatic is a failure of the central nervous system to synthesize the sensations related to the traumatic memory into an integrated semantic memory.” (Aka short-term memories refuse to download into your long-term hard drive)

From my understanding he may feel lonely in this dissociation and desires to lock this part of himself away behind bars of his own making, afraid of what others may think. Even so, he desperately wants someone to find him in this cage while at the same time needing just as badly to be left there.

His hands are in the air as if a gun is being held to his head. Maybe for him there once was.

“R.I.P Elliott Smith” by Steve Isaacs is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Sung like a lullaby for the forgotten Smith says, “Keep you apart, deep in my heart / … where I like you the best / And keep the things you forgot.” According to Psychoneuroendocrinology, It is especially common in cases of CPTSD (trauma from childhood) for individuals to completely blackout specific memories. Smith offers to hold the painful memories so another can choose to forget.

Whether the song is about him or someone else, he’s walked a mile in these shoes. Smith died in October of 2003 from stab wounds that appeared to be self inflicted, may he rest in peace.

Overall, his heartfelt promise of care feels to the listener like a cocoon of concern and attention where no one has shown it before. When your emotions won’t bend to your will, Smith will keep them still.