St. Vincent – Smoking Section Lyrics | Genius Lyrics

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About

Genius Annotation

The closing track on MASSEDUCTION sees St. Vincent dive into the darker themes of the album. The subdued production and somewhat hesitant vocals reflect the uncertainty and nervousness that Vincent carries as she unearths the thoughts of suicide, as well as the substantial pressure she feels in life.

She further broke down the song during an interview with Pitchfork in October 2017, adding:

It really always comes down to the work. People ask me, “You won a Grammy, did that change the way you approached writing this album?” The honest answer is I felt the pressure that I put on myself to make something that was better than whatever I had done before. But I’m lucky in that I get to do a thing I love. There’s no way to control or reverse engineer acclaim or exponential fandom, so I still just put my focus on the thing that I can control, which is trying to make the best work I can make. I also really try not to think about myself in abstract terms—the holographic version of yourself that gets put on magazines or websites—because it’s never heartening or productive. My ethos has always been: If you make it, they will come.

Q&A

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

What did St. Vincent say about "Smoking Section"?
Genius Answer

When asked by NPR about whether she considers “Smoking Section” to be a dark song, Clark replied:

Yeah, it sure is. I’ve been [depressed]. I mean, I was there, so I wrote it.


Credits
Synthesizer
Composer
Backing Vocals
Pedal Steel Guitar
Piano
Recorded At
Electric Lady Studios (New York City, New York); Rough Consumer Studio (Brooklyn, New York); Compound Fracture (Los Angeles, California)
Release Date
October 13, 2017
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