Miss Misery

An awesome singer, Elliot Smith was an American singer-songwriter and musician. His primary instrument was the guitar, but he was also proficient at piano, clarinet, bass, harmonica and drums. Smith had a distinctive vocal style characterized by his "whispery, spiderweb-thin delivery" and use of multi-tracking to create vocal harmonies. Smith rose to mainstream prominence when this song "Miss Misery", written for the film Good Will Hunting, was nominated for an Oscar in the Best Original Song category in 1998. More than three-quarters of that soundtrack was written and sung by him.

Smith battled with depression, alcoholism and drug addiction for years, and these topics would often appear in his lyrics. At age 34, he died from two stab wounds to the chest. The autopsy evidence was inconclusive as to whether the wounds were self-inflicted.

In any case, this is a great song. Just ignore the visuals, if you like.

Miss Misery - Elliot Smith

I'll fake it through the day
With some help from Johnny Walker red
And the cold pain behind my eyes
It shoots right through my head

With two tickets torn in half
And a lot of nothing to do
But it's alright cos some enchanted night
I'll be with you

Tarrot cards
And the lines in my hand
Tell me I'm wrong
But they're untrue

Got plans for both of us
That involved a trip out of town
To a place I've seen in a magazine
That you left lying around

I can't hold my liquor but
I keep a good attitude
Cos it's alright some enchanted night
I'll be with you

Though you'd rather see me gone
Than to see this
Come the day
I'll be waiting for you anyway

Next door the tv's flashing
Blue frames on the wall
It's a comedy from the 70's
With the lead no one recalls

To vanish into oblivion
Is easy to do
And I cry to see when you talk to me
The day you said we were through

But it's alright some enchanted night
I'll be with you