When Elliot Smith died
Murder with no alibi
Wild hotel ride
LA suicide
Stabbed himself with a sword they say
But lately he’s been sounding good anyway
Sometimes it takes a little blood maybe
But for whatever reason
I’ve been listening to Elliot Smith

Seems like a lot of times
When a man turns to suicide
His fame’ll spread far and wide
Like when Van Gogh or Kurt Cobain died
And you can even include James Dean I guess
Though his death was an accident, more or less
But for whatever reason you didn’t hear much
About the death of Elliot Smith

Yeah but I got reasons to hang about
Wanna see how the Kobe thing comes out
I’ve never seen an Australian moon
I got tickets for the Giants in San Francisco this June
My van’s been running pretty well
Every Sunday there’s a new king of the Hill
I wanna prove that Bush and Bin Laden are in cahoots
Iowa beat Florida in the Outback Bowl which should help with recruits
I learned how to make tortilla chips and my bike has new gears
Churchill never held office ’til his 60th year
And mostly you just never know who with
Or where you’re gonna find your bliss
Maybe today your gift
Is listening to Elliot Smith

Well if fame and fortune ain’t the bride
Don’t go along with suicide
If all the tears so quickly dried
When Elliot Smith died
Well I guess there’s less reason than you think
For mixing pills, depression, and drink
If death and greatness has no link
Well too bad–
Too bad about Elliot Smith

(lyrics: Dan Bern)