This is the twelfth track from Elliott Smith’s fifth album, Figure 8. How do you feel about this song? What are some of your favorite lyrics? How would you rank it among the rest of Elliott’s discography? How would you rate it out of 10 (decimals allowed)?
SUGGESTED SCALE:
1-4: Not good. Regularly skip.
5: It’s okay, but I might have to be in the right mood to listen to it.
6: Slightly better than average. I won’t skip it, but I wouldn’t choose to put it on.
7: This is a good song. I enjoy it quite a bit.
8-9: Really enjoyable songs. I rank them pretty high overall.
10: Masterpiece, magnum opus, or similar terminology.
Rating Results
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Son of Sam: 8.87/10
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Somebody That I Used to Know: 8.85/10
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Junk Bond Trader: 8.53/10
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Everything Reminds Me of Her: 8.82/10
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Everything Means Nothing to Me: 9.43/10
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LA: 8.37/10
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In the Lost and Found (Honky Bach) / The Roost: 8.02/10
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Stupidity Tries: 8.85/10
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Easy Way Out: 8.8/10
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Wouldn’t Mama Be Proud: 7.92/10
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Colorbars: 7.55/10
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Happiness / The Gondola Man: 9.65/10
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Definitely a 10 - basically a perfect song with sublime and tasteful production, brilliant playing throughout to produce its build at the end, a chord progression that just kinda rolls off the tounge and wistful/philosophical lyrics: 'What I used to be will pass away and then you'll see, That all I want now is happiness for you and me'. Truly excellent!
10
If someone put a gun to my head and told me to name my favorite song ever, 9 times out of 10 it would be this one. Someone in an earlier discussion mentioned how a lot of Figure 8 feels like an unhappy person trying to write happy songs, which somehow makes the song hit harder. I feel like this song is the perfect example of that. It's very bittersweet how it's optimism clashes with the song's actual content. The intro and outro (not gondola man) especially are iconic and draw me in every time. Easiest 10 so far.
10
“What I used to be will pass away and then you’ll see, that all I want now is happiness for you and me” is such a beautiful lyric and one I think about often.
Definitely a 10. One of my fav songs. I love the outro.
really? I almost felt that gondola man didn't fit the vibe of the rest of the song, maybe that's the point?
They might be referring to the "What I used to be section" as the outro; I think of Gondola Man as more of a connector.
Yes exactly. I was referring to the "what I used to be" part. Don't really care much fot Gondola man
ahh okay, cause gondola man feels kinda unnecessary
10 one of my favorite songs
10, for two reasons. First, just being a beautiful and well crafted song that builds towards a rewarding, cathartic crescendo. But second and more importantly, I've always felt this was the Rosetta Stone to understanding Elliott's music. People often view him as a sad/unhappy person who wrote sad/unhappy music, and I've always seen this as wrong. It's much more universal than that. There were many challenges in Elliott's life, things he struggled with - addiction, abuse, depression. To some extent, don't we all have something that we struggle with? His music was about making something beautiful that transcends those struggles. And this song was quite literal about that aim: "What I used to be will pass away and then you'll see, that all I want now is happiness for you and me."
That's a simple line, didactically, compared to his other lyrics, which are rich in metaphor and symbolism, and often rather oblique. In this song he laid it out there. It always struck me as not just a beautiful song, but a mission statement: I'm going to make something beautiful out of the forces that oppress us. I love this song so dearly.
Incredibly well said! Thank you
Honestly i really dont get the whole song, but the last lines are just perfect.
10!
“Happiness” is definitely a solid 8 for me. This song really feels like a bridge between his earlier acoustic offerings and his posthumous release. It was the first song I really, really liked on Figure 8 and it always reminds me of moving to Chicago back in 2011, driving up and down Lakeshore Drive at night because I didn’t know anybody and had nothing else to do.
Great instrumental, with a very interesting opening. The rhythm in the opening is fairly unusual although it definitely suits the album. The organ underneath the track really ties it together. Reminds me a little bit of “Coming Up Roses.”
“And a cop standing out in the road, turning traffic away...” Elliott occasionally wove this kind of imagery into his music. Think “Speeder > Cop”, being followed by police in the Miss Misery video, or White Lady Loves You More (“From a dream you won't remember flashing on like a cop's light”). Apparently Elliott absolutely loathed cops, and even got into a violent altercation with an LAPD officer. Definitely an ADHD moment.
10/10. It took a while for this song to grow on me when I started listening to him, but it eventually rose to one of my favorites.
10
10
10 !! Words cannot express my love for this song.
10 !! words cannot express mine own love f'r this song
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9.5. It feels grand and unique in Elliott’s catalogue, another commenter mentioned the rhythm and organs and I think those were spot on details to mention — they distinguish Happiness further. It grew on me, probably started as a 6.5, it is really permeable initially. But the more listens I give it the deeper the lyrics have felt, as it’s slowed down, and I can like really give each bit the attention it deserves. It’s a great one.
9
10. I love just about everything about this song, but I wanted to show my appreciation to those sick metal drums in the intro/outro! So cool.
10, one of my favourites of all time. Hits me where it matters
Absolutely a 10. My favorite song.
10
One of my all time favorites. Very fun on guitar once you get that intro down. I love the dissonance in the guitar. I remember getting the single that had the acoustic version and I was blown away. A timeless melody, wonderful refrain at the end.
10 - The opening and end are up there with his best
9.5 - one of the strongest tracks on the album
What I used to be will pass away, and then you'll see
That all I want now is happiness, for you and me.
One of my favourites from this album, but not quite from his whole discography. 9
10!!! wish it was the closing song on the album as it wouldve been a phenomenal outro track but bye is also very good!
Solid 9
10.
10
9.
Acoustic town hall version solidified this as a real work of art for me. 9.
do you have a link to that version?
9 great tune
9
10, this song is pretty iconic, especially that outro.
10. Prescient.
9
10
10
10. Can I rate it any higher? Some of the best songwriting in Elliott's catalogue is on this track, same with acoustic guitar work. I think you can tell just by the sheer number of people commenting on this thread what this song means to fans. It's a really special one.
10
My second favorite song on this album, only beat out by Everything Means Nothing to Me.
10 my favorite track of his, hits all the right spots, and I couldn't possibly understand someone thinking otherwise, but open to opinions. Lol
10
9
8.5
8/10