Ok! Listen to Chinese Blues now with this new idea that J. Smith was having suicidal thoughts, but his death was accidental.
So J Smith dies by accident AND not suicide.
I wonder where Something Anything fits in then, "give me something anything, just to keep believing, just to keep me breathing for a moment longer".
He's fearing suicide. He doesn't wanna feel suicidal. He wants to escape these feelings and he is running away from death, but being the tragic figure he is, he dies anyway, by radio in the bath or hit by a bus.
He'll "never be Quite Free" from death.
His life is empty, "begin to fill the space you're living in" so that his mind is preoccupied away from suicide, but the "Last Words" prevail.
He needs pre-occupation, that is why he is always hangin' on the phone in "Last Words" and "Get Up". He's gotta "get up (mood)", but his mood "don't wanna get up"
I still think the "number" of the bus is his age, and it's running him down (depressed), because he doesn't wanna die so young, yet has his suicidal tendancies.
I don't know, but if it's possible that J. Smith could realize that he had to get uo to situation? And maybe J. Smith wouldn't be that negative, but become to a frustrated plan.
J. Smith had suicidal thoughts, but maybe is on J. Smith the part when he decided to change, to become a new man and he tells it "take a leaf from his book take a thread from his suit his a new man" maybe he was about to change everything in his life, and he even put the radio on the bath, to sing while the shower, maybe doing it for the first time, 'cause he's a new man, singing, changing. But then the accident happened, and his plan was frustrated, de died. He even said "and he prays to his god that he reps his reward for his new plan" maybe he has a plan and was no to kill him self.
I agree. He was just about to turn his life around and then WHAMO! It would also go along with the poem...I can't remember the exact words, but just when you grasp the poppy, it falls apart.
i think i have a little theory about Long Way Down.
As was said here, this song to be after J. Smith, and this song been the return to earth. And yes, in this song, J. sees people as a fall in the gutter, he has a different vision now, 'cause he's not looking with the eyes. And as he said, how can he breath? 'cause now is dead.
So, i think that in the end, he might see his parents, maybe they're on hospital, or somewhere, where J. can ses his own dead body, and maybe doctors trying to revive him. So, he sees his parents: his mother "mama, an eye for an eye..." he sees his father, and his own body "papa, i'm too young to die" then doctors trying to revivie him, and... "they're never taking me alive...." it's too late.
"they're never taking me alive...." it's too late.
Btw, I hadn't realised how cocky and defiant that line is, it's much more of a threat than a fear. Imagine he's about to be taken away by the police; he's got his hands on his hips, staring them in the eye. He's not going easily.
In the song J. Smith he dies, goes to heaven and is sent to hell. But for J, earth is hell so that's where he ends up at the end of the song.
I think it's time y'all got busy with your personal story lines.
I am absolutely loving "Last Words"...not only is it a beautiful song, but I think it's a really important song to the album's story.
I think it fits in somewhere after "J. Smith" -- and I think I now understand the "nick of time" part. It's not J. that she saves and finds out about in the nick of time....but herself and her unborn child.
J.'s girlfriend discovers J.'s dead and she's playing his last words to her over and over on her phone. She's so upset, she feels like killing herself, but "in the nick of time," before she does it, she finds out she's pregnant with J.'s baby...and so she tries the best she can to pick herself up and carry on...even though she's standing on her own. -- what do you think?
This also helps to clear up the confusion with the "before you were young/before you were born" theory as well. I was talking to Luke in the chatroom and he also thinks that it's J. singing as a ghost to his child.
Nice ideas Nikki. I think they sound quite likely. Though, Fran, if you're reading, I think it's time we were given just a few hints to ease us in the right direction... maybe. Because I think Nikki is doing well. :)
Always said I was useless at working this stuff out. I think that has been proven in this thread. :)
I've read this entire thread this morning and am very intrigued. So now I'm going through every song and I have another idea about Long Way Down and J. Smith.
In J. Smith he starts out by looking out the window and has these suicidal thoughts. But then in the same song he gets his 'new plan' and decides he won't kill himself but accidentally dies from the radio.
Then i listened to Long Way Down. At first i thought it was him going back to earth. But maybe that whole song is like a chapter placed within the song J. Smith. First he's at the window, and he's looking out into the city and seeing it's a 'long way down'. It also works with the seagull swooping past the steeple, because then he would be at the same eye-line. And it's there that he changes his mind about killing himself and runs back to his hole in the ground. So he says they're never taking him alive (his new plan, will to live) and decides he's too young to die.
With this theory it's impossible to give it an official order listing, but it also kind of goes with the weird timing and everything from Slaughterhouse 5 and the whole Kurt Vonegut connetion. I haven't read it in years, but it jumps around all over the place with the time line, right? Maybe it could be that way with the songs as well.
i don't know i don't know, i mean, we don't know haha. All is just opinions.
My opinion is, that i don't think they had a baby :s. That doesn't mean you're not right.
But i think they never said each other they love each other.
The girl (still don't know if it's Sarah) says on Friends "whatever makes you love me" that for me is like they wanted him to love her. and J. never said that to her.
In other hand, Quite Free, for me could be like J. changing, wanting to be free, i think this is before he dies, like he's about to say to here "i like you, and i'd like to be free be free" and in BYWY, he say to her finally in a non directal way "i love you fovere".
I think they always been friends, never loved each other, no directly, but that's just my opinion :)
I'm sorry if this has been mentioned before (I've been sort of following this thread, and can't read it all!), but I think Fran said in an interview that Song to Self is a farewell message to the wife of the character (J).
I've read this entire thread this morning and am very intrigued. So now I'm going through every song and I have another idea about Long Way Down and J. Smith.
In J. Smith he starts out by looking out the window and has these suicidal thoughts. But then in the same song he gets his 'new plan' and decides he won't kill himself but accidentally dies from the radio.
Then i listened to Long Way Down. At first i thought it was him going back to earth. But maybe that whole song is like a chapter placed within the song J. Smith. First he's at the window, and he's looking out into the city and seeing it's a 'long way down'. It also works with the seagull swooping past the steeple, because then he would be at the same eye-line. And it's there that he changes his mind about killing himself and runs back to his hole in the ground. So he says they're never taking him alive (his new plan, will to live) and decides he's too young to die.
I listened again the other day and thought exactly the same thoughts. The "They're never taking me alive" line seems to be the complete reversal of the suicidal mentality.
You can read the second half of this article, about the proposed net under the Golden Gate bridge.
sorry you wrtoe so much I couldn't read it all....
Did you figure it out by now?
I keep thinking about "before you were young" : that would me - before birth - did J.Smith leave a pregnant girlfriend?
But then - in Chinese Blues...and so - it seems to me - that he's about to die - or dying - and first is shocked about realising - there's nothing left to do(bus coming, knife coming) - but then - kinda wants to die - or doesn't belong here anymore ---
And J.Smith as a rollercoaster - ride between heaven and hell...
Can someone please bring me up to date, if you've found anything?
We know Chinese Blues is first, Before You Were Young is last.
We know that J Smith himself dies during J Smith, gets sent back to earth which for him is hell.
We know that Friends is sung by a girl.
We know that J Smith sings Before You Were Young.
I think that is all we know for sure. :)
we only know that we don't know nothing...
and we're broken our minds trying to understand the history... it's better than play sudoku!! lol
You forgot that we know for sure that J.Smith is not 2nd...(as Fran said)...
so - you know - someone could make a math-game out of it..how many possibilities are left then?
