Elliott Smith - Stickman (Acoustic)

a beauty.

[@brodyarmbar]

On my way to the club in Jersey! BEST hype song!

[@kingdavid3366]

That is really funny - bravo. Could you imagine? I guess I could because I’m like that sad of a dude - but it’s not the ideal hype song, no....

[@TheProJigsaw]

SHOT THROUGH THE HEART AND YOU'RE TOO BLAME

[@TheProJigsaw]

I'm pissed I'm seeing my own comment with no likes,and the guy above is 100 % right there is no hype in this song

[@nunyab8972]

You're a legend dude.

[@brunosm.l2267]

U fuckers who listen elliott smith to be sad are crazy cowards. I mean there's a sad content to the song, but its only for good, its a beautiful song, makes u a man. Sorry, i cant stand that cliché, being sad its also a part of being a man, or a woman of course

[@PogieJoe]

Oh wow. This is the most superior version I think. That backing loop is so otherworldly and creeping. The harmony and piano coming in are superb.

[@knuckle12356]

I much prefer this version to the "album version" recording. The faster, bigger studio recording. Doesn't do the song justice like this one does.

[@SunFrog_]

It's great

[@BadDreamFucker]

@@knuckle12356 There's an album version? News to me.

[@dr_schneeplstein2637]

⁠this song isn’t released, it was supposed to be on basement on a hill I believe, but it was cut, a prototype version is available on KZbin, it’s much more produced and has slightly different lyrics. Just look up Elliott smith stick man, you should find it

[@jekylwhispy4181]

I prefer this one mostly and that extra verse is fire but honestly friend, the live version of this just cuts to the bone. How he just with a guitar is so vulnerable and beautiful and penetrates with that minimal

[@bppmurphy]

It's funny how some of Elliott's best songs never made it onto an album

[@hillman175]

everytime i listen to elliott, its just mindblowing for my brain and my thoughts.. am i the only one?

[@miquel3657]

There are around 7500 humans in this planet right now so I don't think you're the only one

[@avivabetzer5932]

no elliott is my love

[@avivabetzer5932]

not at all it makes two of us

[@davebosworth1778]

3

[@komenbevrijdze7964]

4

[@Kleasone]

anyway Stickman is a masterpiece

[@boonesboroughbeachboy9341]

It is,to me. There is a version of this song thats better than this 1. Its just him playing a show by himself.

[@jala1081]

@@boonesboroughbeachboy9341 know the link?

[@boonesboroughbeachboy9341]

@@jala1081 I will find it and paste it here for you

[@aoldatabase]

@@boonesboroughbeachboy9341 liar moment

[@asaantoine9485]

@@boonesboroughbeachboy9341 not keeping promises is a bad habit

[@nunyab8972]

I sit here shooting blanks Out at emptiness Ain't nothing really wanna kill Maybe time I guess I sit and spin the world on it's flipside And listen backwards for meaning cus I'm a stickman I live with one dimension dead Trying not to think too many moves ahead I draw from memory The stillest kind of life I cut slide after slide Mental pain's the sharpest knife Project what's done so everything's in phase To me they're color reversals and I'm a stickman in frames that go one by one If I sped it up you'll see I'm on the run From some monster off screen killing sons Lonely makes me blue Envy turns me green Hate might paint me red if I load my magazine But not just now, when it's easy to stay clean When no one sees where I'm bleeding. I'm a stickman in black and everything is clear Empty in fact, but for the fact I'm here Loading my blanks to make a silent sound So make me smile to make the cruel clown Who drew me this way frown

[@wolf980911]

I'm pretty sure for the last chorus, instead of "stickman" he says "sick man"

[@EmptyAngelo]

I always thought it was "Stickman, i live with one dimension depth"

[@pierrecaron6967]

A stickman is two-dimensional, so he lives with one dimension less than a normal man, or "with one dimension dead".

[@rjmiller9144]

I really love the low tuned plucking in the background throughout

[@miacall281]

“Hate might paint me red if I load my magazine”... Woah there

[@jekylwhispy4181]

Well it's true. We're limited here in some ways

[@lucassmith4524]

I find myself listening backwards for meaning more and more. This song is so damn good. It’s up there in my top three E.S. songs.

[@Curdle7]

ohvy god this is a version the world has never eseen! too much beautiful rocks here for a thousnad years!

[@jekylwhispy4181]

This is one of my favorite songs. Gosh I see why he cut the final verse on other versions but it's so real. I feel you Elly. Love you RIP friend I didn't get to meet

[@zackfreitas]

Hands down best version of this song. Rumor has it that the loop sequence is influenced by a neighbor of Elliotts’ that played reggae music.

[@fricfrac]

jesus christ how was he this good

[@lucassmith4524]

Not just now when it's easy to stay clean when nobody sees where I'm bleeding. Shit, man.

[@tommacmahon6522]

that's so deep...

[@davebosworth1778]

that's the money line to me too brother

[@jsmcdona]

I never knew he recorded an acoustic of this. wow

[@janetwebster5099]

love this version - Elliott really does know......

[@Ben-qp3ii]

the harmonies at 2 min mark...........

[@JamesDel]

very 'beatle-esque'. Beautiful

[@JamesDel]

The maraca and the first couple of chords are so like 'A Day In The Life'. Whether or not thats intentional its still really cool.Today is an #ElliottSmith kinda day. And before someone else says it - EVERY DAY is an Elliott Smith kinda day!

[@JamesDel]

It was mentioned in the book Torment Saint: The Life of Elliott Smith by W.Todd Schultz.

[@Cj-fc9yg]

It remind me of first day of my life

[@lazyfun]

Thank you Elliott

[@junkdna383]

crying to this in class

[@ianevans157]

keep yo head up. You'll get through it

[@carlhewitt5958]

Hate when that happens

[@einalteshemd]

wait till you start work (lol)

[@jimmylyback1]

This song is so very important

[@YogiBearTruthbetold]

This is my happy song

[@rsmania01]

What other artists do you listen to?

[@luisjaramillo856]

I sit here shooting blanks Out at emptiness Ain't nothing I really want to kill Maybe time, I guess I sit and spin the world on its flip side And I listen backwards for meaning 'Cause I'm a stickman I live with one dimension dead Trying not to think too many moves ahead I draw from memory The stillest kind of life Slide after slide Mental pain's the sharpest knife Project what's done for everyone to see To me it's just a reversal And I'm a stickman In frames that go one by one If I sped it up, you'd see I'm on the run From some monster off-screen Killing sons Lonely makes me blue Envy turns me green Hate might paint me red If I load my magazine But not just now when it's easy to stay clean When no one sees where you're bleeding And I'm a stickman Stickman

[@SchlafAroundTheBend]

incredible song, lyrics and all

[@mandarian87]

I’ve never heard this version before, it’s great, and I love the addition of that last verse.

[@JW18245]

“Sit and spin the world on its flip side and listen backwards for meaning”

[@boonesboroughbeachboy9341]

That line is so cool. I'd forgotten what he said. One my favorites of all of him. I hope in like 300 years, people will still be listening to Elliott Smith and by then, every one will have realized his music was one of coolest gifts this world has ever received.

[@lucassmith4524]

Boonesborough Beach Boy agreed. 300 years from now when 2020 is a bad memory they teach in high school.

[@konstantinuzhinsky6494]

a beautiful song

[@cameronsharples5514]

awesome pic of elliott. guitar players know..

[@mr.anonymous4243]

Context aside, i can not help but question why and HOW this fckin track was not on Basement... Please i understand everyone assumes its all about suicide. even so. No way he’d want it scrapped like so

[@John-cq4xp]

It's not "all about suicide" in any case and he didn't kill himself anyway. Fuck anyone who says he did - including and especially the LAPD.

[@kingdavid3366]

John come on dude, not everytime a great suicidal male artist dies it’s their girlfriend actually murdering them. Those are mother issues talking .... It’s just a really sad thing. I wish he could have got his happiness back - but he got behind and he got down and then he got way behind (in addiction) and way down and then there wasn’t really anything he could do about it. It is sad - this song is so beautiful though.

[@joeyjo-jojuniorshabadoo5412]

The last couple of verses might have bothered his family. : Some Monster offscreen killing sons."

[@itsgonnbeok7249]

​@@kingdavid3366 Except there is a lot of evidence pointing away from the suicide theory.... There are entire blogs about it. She pulled the knife out, and she was a trained medical professional.

[@knuckle12356]

@@joeyjo-jojuniorshabadoo5412 murder/suicide theories aside, this (monster off-screen,) always struck me to mean heroin, or addiction in general. And to the rest of you, Police have not signed off on either murder or suicide as the cause of death. And while its super suspicious, 2 things I remember to temper myself from accusations; a suffering soul is capable of incredibly unlikely things in the course of relieving their pain. And I wasn't there. I am not advocating that it was suicide. Im not going to state my opinion; its not educated and is just that - my opinion. But those 2 things are facts. Some of the only ones we are likely to have. I'm going to focus on his music, that I love. Which never struck me as filled with "condemn another" -type messages.

[@TheMattcaleb1]

Love this version

[@ethanfarris8570]

I feel kind of like disappearing after hearing this

[@Kleasone]

Empty in fact but for a fact I'm here

[@SunFrog_]

Hate might paint me red

[@dersolipsist3079]

He channels Orpheus, after that whole viper business.

[@hardfolk]

My favorite version, no puedo encontrarla en ningún bootleg why

[@braulioacosta6816]

Está en Sickle Cell

[@JohnnyDalle]

*gross sobbing*

[@tanyatomasch9208]

❤

[@ryanmurphy9355]

Thank you.

[@fricfrac]

does anybody know how to play the riff at 0:55? I've got pretty much the whole song down except that part.... It defies comprehension by ear

[@nebuliac]

Is there a banjo in this or just altered audio?

[@nigelthornberry5375]

oh my god... I think Fred Again interpolated the first part of the song (before the guitar comes in) on the song Heavy... I mean shit, the music video's of fred drinking the nerves off as he waits by the phone for multiple nights in a row, taking breaks to record the song... fuck man, 17 seconds in and I'm already teary-eyed

[@frullmusic]

took a listen to the Fred Again track and it's not interpolating this, but funnily enough I do know what the sample is: Arthur Russell's Soon To Be Innocent Fun

[@frullmusic]

heavily filtered and chopped mind you obviously, but you can hear Arthur's unmistakeable cello as well as some of his vocalisations

[@nigelthornberry5375]

@@frullmusic no kidding! Fred's unfiltered source signal is probs synthetic, but ends up in a weirdly similar timbre to Elliott's sample. Never heard a cello sound like that! raspier than a guitar

[@frullmusic]

@@nigelthornberry5375 Russell was a very unique musician for sure, his album World of Echo is well worth listening to! I definitely get what you were getting at though, whatever effect it is on the opening bit on this version of Stickman is a strikingly similar effect to what Fred used

[@Jess_1999]

This is so fucking depressing... But also very very good... :/

[@nsazure6878]

it's weird i liked you since 19, but i'll be the same age with you soom

[@StruggleoftheOutsider]

I remember an old demo acoustic version of this that didn't have all this stupid "Ooom-Pah" thump a dump production on it, but I can't find it on here now.

[@Kleasone]

i've got this version as well, Just one guitar, his voice - even if the end of this version is pretty similar to the reversed drums one. But I don't know what to think about the drums in this one. Did he do it on purpose ?

[@jmpsthrufyre]

I would think so since he took the time to create the loop and other tracks. Did he mean for it to be released? (or leaked) Who knows. I'm glad it was though.

[@SmittenKitten.]

Where'd you find this copy? I'd love to have it. ETA: Also, what are the lyrics for the last verse? Can anyone correct/confirm these: I'm a stickman in black and everything is clear/ Indian(?) (In deed a(?)) fact but for the fact I'm here/ Loading my blanks to make a silent sound/ So make me smile that make a cruel clown Who drew me this way frown(?)

[@leerylifeform]

empty in fact but for the fact I'm here.

[@nunyab8972]

Erin got it right. "Empty in fact but for the fact i'm here". I see that as kind of meaning "Outside of existing, I'm empty". Being nothing more than being alive. Also I think the last two lines are "So make me smile that('ll) make the cruel clown who drew me this way frown" I think if you replace "that" with "to" it makes sense. Not quite sure about that one though.

[@unknownpresences5627]

Hey anyone know the chords on guitar by chance??

[@porkchopexpress6969]

55k viewers.. 2 dislikes. Amazing

[@matthewhart1855]

Other version way better IMO