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.
Did my 'pregnant BYWY' theory inspire you? I think it all sounds right to me.
I had a feeling you'd like Last Words. 'Cos I remember you said you liked My Eyes and for some reason I think there are similarities between them. I don't know why, I just kinda connect them. :P
I like the Long Way Down idea of J trying to commit suicide but kinda chickening out too.
Jesusaremus, just because J. never told her he loves her doesn't mean that they can't have a baby together. Like Fran said, J. is a "rat"...he's not a good guy. He cares about himself and not his girlfriend. So, he could have done it with her and took off. People with depression are very self-absorbed. They have a problem where they can't think about anyone else and their needs because they don't even care about themselves. I think the girl loves him, and he likes her, but J. is too suicidal to care about anyone but himself.
If you don't think that there's a baby involved in this story, then what's BYWY about? Before who was young??
He doesn't know that he got her pregnant...so he thinks about killing himself in "J. Smith" by jumping out the window. But then, like Fer Fer said, he gets his 'new plan' and decides he won't kill himself but accidentally dies from the radio falling into his bath.
Fer Fer, I also really like your idea about "Long Way Down" sort of being set in the middle of "J. Smith"...it makes perfect sense to me because the "they're not taking me alive" line was sort of confusing if it was placed after "J. Smith" as he'd already be dead. I think you're spot on with that one.
Before I heard the song, I thought Before You Were Young was going to be a Bob Dylan "My Back Pages" type of thing; like being old first before you were young.
"Ah, but I was so much older then,
I'm younger than that now."
maybe it was neither an accident nor suicidal....what if this girl, he was rude to, killed him? ;) kinda?
Well the phrase "knife in the back" - ok bus coming= accident...but knife in the back - could be a sign of betrayal. "you too, my son Brutus"? ;)...
Do you know what I mean? It's one thing to get a knife in the back -another - why did you get it?. Maybe the "busdriver" or "knife-owner" does actually matter....
Can someone already tell a ready story? With all the songs in it?
maybe it was neither an accident nor suicidal....what if this girl, he was rude to, killed him? ;) kinda?
Well the phrase "knife in the back" - ok bus coming= accident...but knife in the back - could be a sign of betrayal. "you too, my son Brutus"? ;)...
Do you know what I mean? It's one thing to get a knife in the back -another - why did you get it?. Maybe the "busdriver" or "knife-owner" does actually matter....
Can someone already tell a ready story? With all the songs in it?
Fran said he dies by accident, the radio falling in the bath.
maybe it was neither an accident nor suicidal....what if this girl, he was rude to, killed him? ;) kinda?
Well the phrase "knife in the back" - ok bus coming= accident...but knife in the back - could be a sign of betrayal. "you too, my son Brutus"? ;)...
Do you know what I mean? It's one thing to get a knife in the back -another - why did you get it?. Maybe the "busdriver" or "knife-owner" does actually matter....
Can someone already tell a ready story? With all the songs in it?
Fran said he dies by accident, the radio falling in the bath.
Yeah? Is that so..then we've got another fact...
we really should do a list....
but radio in the bath? what a waste - but can happen to anyone... kinda scary - imagine yourself in the middle of your life - not expecting to die - right now...
Ok folks. I've spent one wonderful weekend with Ode To J. Smith and have not listened to anything else but this album, lol. First of all, I just want to say I think this album is brilliant, from the songwriting to the rockin' new sound, it's simply amazing and I'm so in love with it! Now, I'm sure everyone is going to have very different interpretations and storylines, but this is my song order and reasoning...(and thanks to the many boardies who helped contribute and work out these ideas along the way).
1.) Chinese Blues: As Fran said, this is the first Chapter in the Ode To J. Smith story. When I hear this song, I think of it as a grand introduction or overture to the opera, in which a narrator tells the story of a lonely town with millions of people, just struggling to get by "waiting on somebody just to give them a hand," one of which is J. Smith. The song foreshadows what is to come for J. The line “It’s the gun in your back, it’s the heart attack, it’s the way you look back before you step out in time to see the number of the bus that’s running you down” is very important to the overall theme of the album, one of having a lack of control over your own existence. A gun in your back and a heart attack aren't things you can control, just as we'll find out that J. is unable to control his fate. Also, seeing the number of the bus that’s running you down is a metaphor for J.’s death. Death ran him down…it wasn't self-inflicted, even though he has suicidal thoughts. This is first revealed in the last line of Chinese Blues - "There was nobody keeping him here."
On a side note, Fran mentioned that these songs can be listened to individually and still make sense and this is why the album isn't considered a full on "concept" album. I think Chinese Blues may have another more politically-driven meaning aside from it's importance to the J. Smith story. I think that it has to do with the state of China's government and rule over it's people and I'll leave it at that. I could be wrong.
2.) Quite Free: In this song we learn a little more about J. and find out that he really has some problems. Some people took the line "he hides inside his padded cell" literally, like he was in a mental institution. To me, the padded cell is his mind. We also find out that he has a girlfriend (let's call her Sarah). The reason I put this song second is not just because it introduces the characters, but also because it's sort of has a naive tone about being "free to chose your own fate"...when in reality, J. finds out the hard way later in the story that he doesn't get that opportunity.
3.) Something Anything: This song is all about J. trying to find "something, anything just to keep believing" and "just to keep him breathing for a moment longer." Pretty straight forward. He's feeling suicidal and he's just trying to grasp on to anything he can in his life that's good, but can't really find anything. He even feels distant from Sarah - "In my memory there's a part of you that's gone away."
4.) Get Up: This song is similar to "Something Anything" in that it's an attempt by J. to hold on to his life and not give up when he really feels he has nothing to live for. He sings "I wish someone would write me a song," which is his way of saying he needs someone in his life. In "Song To Self"...he obviously feels there is no one there for him and he has to sing his own song. Another important line in "Get Up" is when J. says "I wish someone would answer the phone, stop leaving me hanging on." I picture J. calling Sarah over and over and she's not picking up.
5.) Song To Self: Here J. is feeling at his loneliest and remembering all the memories he had with Sarah, although they're just distorted pictures in his mind now - "out of focus and unkind." He's calling Sarah over and over and she's not picking up the phone. So, he decides to leave a goodbye message and says "bye the time you hear this I'll be gone." This song is like his suicide note to Sarah. He's finally decided he wants to kill himself because the feeling is "strong and getting stronger" and he can almost "see the light" on the other side.
6.) Broken Mirror: Here J. is about to kill himself. He steps in the bathroom to get one last look at himself before he commits suicide. He's so disgusted that he smashes the mirror out with his fist and sees "a hundred shattered eyes in the looking glass staring back" at him. He also says "inside tolls the bell"...in his mind the time has come for him to finally end it all and he ends it by saying "this I know for sure."
7. & 8.) I totally agree with what Fer Fer said about this part of the storyline. It get's a little tricky because if this were a movie, "J. Smith" and "Long Way Down" would almost play out like a quick flash back and flash forward sequence. In "J. Smith," J. starts out by looking out of the window and has suicidal thoughts about jumping, but then he gets his "new plan" and decides he won't kill himself, but then he accidentally dies from the radio falling into his bath. This is fate taking over. The choir signifies that J. has entered heaven, but he's not wanted there and is sent back to Earth, I think, as a ghost/ spirit.
In "Long Way Down," like Fer Fer, I thought it was J. traveling back down to Earth as a ghost, but I like her idea of "Long Way Down" being like a chapter placed within the song "J. Smith." This is what Fer Fer said: First J.'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. -- cut back to "J. Smith" and it's too late because the radio's in the bath.
9.) Friends: This song is sung by Sarah. She hasn't been able to get a hold of J. and doesn't realize what's happened to him. She thinks he's ignoring her and has left her, so she's singing about all of the good things that she's done for him and how sad she is that he's not around.
10.) Last Words: After wondering what's happened to J. in the song "Friends," Sarah finally decides to listen to her answering machine and discovers the suicide message ("Song To Self"). She's playing his last words to her over and over on her phone. She's so upset, she feels like giving up, maybe even 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.
11.) Before You Were Young: This is the grand finale of the story in which J., as a ghost, finds out Sarah was pregnant and had their baby. He sings to his baby about the days before it was young and how much better things used to be back then. He knows "he'll never get a second change" at life, but tries to tell his child that he'll always watch over him/her and tells Sarah and baby how very sorry he is and that he loves them. :*(
THE END!
Even if this is a bit off, or maybe way off, I don't know, lol...what an amazing album...for all these songs to fit so beautifully together. It's just genius. I love it. Thank you so much, Travis.
Fran, please tell me what you think of these theories we've put together. I'm looking so forward to hearing YOUR version of the J. Smith story. :)
Nikki, I really liked your version of the order of the album. I can't say that it's totally correct and it's what they had intended, but I think it's good :) However, I still can't get myself to believe that there's a baby involved :s I dunno, i'm still a little stumped with the whole 'before you were young' line. I mean, it makes sense that he's talking as a spirit to his child or to 'Sarah', but it's like I need more proof or something that there's a child there. Maybe instead of a child being born someone could be re-born. Ach, who knows :)
But yeah, I agree, I would also like to hear Fran's thoughts on all our theories and what his intended story was :) And I have to say that the more I listen to the album and try to work things out for myself the more I fall in love with it.
hallo Nikki! Great the story, as i said before, still i'm not convinced about the baby of Sarah and J. Though i repeat, it's your storyline and it's quite great :), 'cause mine don't think is as close as the true one. And your could be
In quite Free, i'm quite agree XD, that padded cell, doesn'¿t mean to be in a mental clinic, but it's a padded cell on the mind, i mean, he's to close, that he never says what he thinks, and on his padded cell, he knows that he want to be free, he likes sarah, and he wants to be free, even if he knows that he will never be quite free.
So, in my storyline. Still don't know where to put each song, though i have a storyline i'm agree that chinese is the first, and BYWY, but in my storyline, Quite Free, is a little before J makes a new plan. And here, J. and Sarah used to be friends, just friends, J. love here on his padded cell. And sarah love him secretly. But yes, J. is a rat, he's selfish, he's suicidal, he feels, he is a human on his padded cell, but outside his cell, he just sees that hell of life. In my storyline, In my story too, J's on bathroom, he looks his own reflection. and is here when Song to Self started. He's talking to himself, to his own reflection. He's singing a song to himself, here, is confusing, is like two J's, the J. inside the padded cell, and J. outside the cell. He's looking at himself, thinking that he has no direction, suicidal thougts, and saying goodbye to himself. He doesn't belong any longer, he knows it. The other J. is saying thing to the other J. too, the other version of Song to Self let me say this, but sorry if i don't get that lyrics that well, 'cause my english is bad and my ear capted that, So, the other J's wants to be free, wants to get out of that padded cell. But the other J. sings "i have no direction, tonight is no exception. no life no reflection" that J. reflected, is like nothing to him. But the other J. is trying to fight, not to giving up to J. to kill him, and he says by the time you hear my words i'll be gone. That reflection is J. shadow. and that J. even says "you see the light? tell me you se the light" again, he's fighting, and the're some issued here, and J. got frustrated, and broke that mirror.
And broken Mirror begins, the other J. is now, a hundred shattered eyes, looking at J. though, i need to change a little now, i'm thinking while i'm writing, and i think the one with the padded cell, is the J. outside the mirror. Inside the mirror, is the suicidal J. but it's not quite importan, 'cause at the end, is the same J.
In my story, is very importan Brokem mirror and Song to Self, in this songs, J. knows more about himself than ever.
He never want to be alone, he never ever want to go home.
Last Words, is about J. For me this is when the new plan, started on J.'s mind. He's between Life or Death, living or killing himself. In my story, J. took the phone and called sarah, without answering, and somehow, he called her, just to find a reason, like finding something to keep believing, he's thinking to kill him self, he's decided. Sarah pick up the phone, and..that's the last words J. gonna listening. But maybe there's something in that words, that still on his mind, even if he standing on his own, and so, the last words are lying on his floor, the broken mirror. And he feels afraid, he wants to change, and he create a new plan, he wants to be a new man, that was when a light shines on his mind and heart, and he ask to his own reflection if he sees that light. Then he's decided to change, he needs to reap it all and star it all again. and J. Smith starts here, he prays to his god that he new plan will reach his reward, he want to se sarah again, as other option, could be that he pick up his phone, called sarah, and is the answer machine, so, he decided to see her personally, he showered before he meet her, he want to say how he sorry. But then the accident happened. Now the last words, are sounding on the phone, on his floor, and he tried to stand on his own, but it's too late.
I think that at the end, i think they never say each other their feelings. But if she's really sarah, after his death, Sarah spent so much bad times, she was very sad, he wrote some letter in the name of J. and send her to herself. She couldn't accepted J.'s death, In friends, she accept his death, but she's still sad he's not around anymore, but even J. never said sorry, never said goodbye, and leave her all alone.
Well, this is kind of my incomplet story line of J. Smith.
Nikki, I really liked your version of the order of the album. I can't say that it's totally correct and it's what they had intended, but I think it's good :) However, I still can't get myself to believe that there's a baby involved :s I dunno, i'm still a little stumped with the whole 'before you were young' line. I mean, it makes sense that he's talking as a spirit to his child or to 'Sarah', but it's like I need more proof or something that there's a child there. Maybe instead of a child being born someone could be re-born. Ach, who knows :)
But yeah, I agree, I would also like to hear Fran's thoughts on all our theories and what his intended story was :) And I have to say that the more I listen to the album and try to work things out for myself the more I fall in love with it.
but a baby of them could be a posibilitie, though, i don't like quite that idea, and somehow i don't think so, at least on my theory :) but it's really good Nikki's story :)
So, that could be a posibilitie, but i don't know :S could it be that in the end, J. could have a second chance in a new life? He says finally goodbye to Sarah, and felt sorry for everything, time wasted, words never told, he never dance with her, and he would like to have a second chance with her, but that wil nver be a second chance.
So option i coud find:
- a baby of Sarah and J.
- J. newborn soul
- J. newborn life
Ok folks. I've spent one wonderful weekend with Ode To J. Smith and have not listened to anything else but this album, lol. First of all, I just want to say I think this album is brilliant, from the songwriting to the rockin' new sound, it's simply amazing and I'm so in love with it! Now, I'm sure everyone is going to have very different interpretations and storylines, but this is my song order and reasoning...(and thanks to the many boardies who helped contribute and work out these ideas along the way).
1.) Chinese Blues: As Fran said, this is the first Chapter in the Ode To J. Smith story. When I hear this song, I think of it as a grand introduction or overture to the opera, in which a narrator tells the story of a lonely town with millions of people, just struggling to get by "waiting on somebody just to give them a hand," one of which is J. Smith. The song foreshadows what is to come for J. The line “It’s the gun in your back, it’s the heart attack, it’s the way you look back before you step out in time to see the number of the bus that’s running you down” is very important to the overall theme of the album, one of having a lack of control over your own existence. A gun in your back and a heart attack aren't things you can control, just as we'll find out that J. is unable to control his fate. Also, seeing the number of the bus that’s running you down is a metaphor for J.’s death. Death ran him down…it wasn't self-inflicted, even though he has suicidal thoughts. This is first revealed in the last line of Chinese Blues - "There was nobody keeping him here."
On a side note, Fran mentioned that these songs can be listened to individually and still make sense and this is why the album isn't considered a full on "concept" album. I think Chinese Blues may have another more politically-driven meaning aside from it's importance to the J. Smith story. I think that it has to do with the state of China's government and rule over it's people and I'll leave it at that. I could be wrong.
2.) Quite Free: In this song we learn a little more about J. and find out that he really has some problems. Some people took the line "he hides inside his padded cell" literally, like he was in a mental institution. To me, the padded cell is his mind. We also find out that he has a girlfriend (let's call her Sarah). The reason I put this song second is not just because it introduces the characters, but also because it's sort of has a naive tone about being "free to chose your own fate"...when in reality, J. finds out the hard way later in the story that he doesn't get that opportunity.
3.) Something Anything: This song is all about J. trying to find "something, anything just to keep believing" and "just to keep him breathing for a moment longer." Pretty straight forward. He's feeling suicidal and he's just trying to grasp on to anything he can in his life that's good, but can't really find anything. He even feels distant from Sarah - "In my memory there's a part of you that's gone away."
4.) Get Up: This song is similar to "Something Anything" in that it's an attempt by J. to hold on to his life and not give up when he really feels he has nothing to live for. He sings "I wish someone would write me a song," which is his way of saying he needs someone in his life. In "Song To Self"...he obviously feels there is no one there for him and he has to sing his own song. Another important line in "Get Up" is when J. says "I wish someone would answer the phone, stop leaving me hanging on." I picture J. calling Sarah over and over and she's not picking up.
5.) Song To Self: Here J. is feeling at his loneliest and remembering all the memories he had with Sarah, although they're just distorted pictures in his mind now - "out of focus and unkind." He's calling Sarah over and over and she's not picking up the phone. So, he decides to leave a goodbye message and says "bye the time you hear this I'll be gone." This song is like his suicide note to Sarah. He's finally decided he wants to kill himself because the feeling is "strong and getting stronger" and he can almost "see the light" on the other side.
6.) Broken Mirror: Here J. is about to kill himself. He steps in the bathroom to get one last look at himself before he commits suicide. He's so disgusted that he smashes the mirror out with his fist and sees "a hundred shattered eyes in the looking glass staring back" at him. He also says "inside tolls the bell"...in his mind the time has come for him to finally end it all and he ends it by saying "this I know for sure."
7. & 8.) I totally agree with what Fer Fer said about this part of the storyline. It get's a little tricky because if this were a movie, "J. Smith" and "Long Way Down" would almost play out like a quick flash back and flash forward sequence. In "J. Smith," J. starts out by looking out of the window and has suicidal thoughts about jumping, but then he gets his "new plan" and decides he won't kill himself, but then he accidentally dies from the radio falling into his bath. This is fate taking over. The choir signifies that J. has entered heaven, but he's not wanted there and is sent back to Earth, I think, as a ghost/ spirit.
In "Long Way Down," like Fer Fer, I thought it was J. traveling back down to Earth as a ghost, but I like her idea of "Long Way Down" being like a chapter placed within the song "J. Smith." This is what Fer Fer said: First J.'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. -- cut back to "J. Smith" and it's too late because the radio's in the bath.
9.) Friends: This song is sung by Sarah. She hasn't been able to get a hold of J. and doesn't realize what's happened to him. She thinks he's ignoring her and has left her, so she's singing about all of the good things that she's done for him and how sad she is that he's not around.
10.) Last Words: After wondering what's happened to J. in the song "Friends," Sarah finally decides to listen to her answering machine and discovers the suicide message ("Song To Self"). She's playing his last words to her over and over on her phone. She's so upset, she feels like giving up, maybe even 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.
11.) Before You Were Young: This is the grand finale of the story in which J., as a ghost, finds out Sarah was pregnant and had their baby. He sings to his baby about the days before it was young and how much better things used to be back then. He knows "he'll never get a second change" at life, but tries to tell his child that he'll always watch over him/her and tells Sarah and baby how very sorry he is and that he loves them. :*(
THE END!
Even if this is a bit off, or maybe way off, I don't know, lol...what an amazing album...for all these songs to fit so beautifully together. It's just genius. I love it. Thank you so much, Travis.
Fran, please tell me what you think of these theories we've put together. I'm looking so forward to hearing YOUR version of the J. Smith story. :)
Wow! :)
i really like it, it makes sooo much sense now.
Ok folks. I've spent one wonderful weekend with Ode To J. Smith and have not listened to anything else but this album, lol. First of all, I just want to say I think this album is brilliant, from the songwriting to the rockin' new sound, it's simply amazing and I'm so in love with it! Now, I'm sure everyone is going to have very different interpretations and storylines, but this is my song order and reasoning...(and thanks to the many boardies who helped contribute and work out these ideas along the way).
Whether you're 100% correct or nowhere near the truth, it doesn't matter. Your story just makes logical and chronological sense. Quite Free and Last Words are more difficult to decipher, and I have my doubts about your positioning, but it still makes sense.
I wonder what is meant by "check your notes" in Get Up. Just seems a very random lyric. Only Franny Knows.
Also, as one of those who are yet to listen to Used To Belong, Tail Of The Tiger, Locked Up and the Ballad Of J Smith, I wonder if these lyrics also fit in with the story of J Smith.
I was thinking in Song to Self.
Maybe this song is sung by the girl.. She just knew J. had dead and she got depressed (deeply). She asks J. if he see the light.... and wants to kill herself (she loved J. very much) and then last words comes in...
I think it all sounds right to me.
