Elliott Smith - Baby Britain Lyrics

Couldn’t feel any better only if this feeling was forever

Britain looks a lot like Portland, Oregon. :)

lot of love for this guy's music ♡
(btw i made an acapella cover of 'between the bars' ^^)

sucha nice song man i wish i could see elliott live :(

Nothing resinates with me more than, "fights problems, with bigger problems"

man elliott smith was/is good

'98 and I'm just now hearing this?! Damn. Well, better way late than never!

This was his way of saying "It's getting better all the tiime"

I wish he was alive, today would be his 50th anniversary

I miss you so much MAN

Miss Elliott so much. Saw him daily in NYC way back. He knew this world suxxxx

His music resonates with my soul when I'm not feeling good. Like alone, i don't feel like i was meant to be alone.

"Robot Hand is the Future"? Lol....21 years later & this is just about the reality they are continuing to force on us...and the things going on in Portland today...if Elliott were still around I can't imagine he would be writing too much upbeat music - he could never fake it that hard and I bet he would be cranking out amazing truth bomb music calling the bullshit for what it is.

Grateful for the songs he made, but still a little pissed at the songs he denied himself, and us.

Floating over ah, sea of vodka

Love this song

I've always shrugged off Elliott Smith but just heard this song today and already on my 4th listen

who the hell dislike this justin fann

Mum: Thinking about baby names
Dad: Walks in with an Ellliott Smith CD How about Elliott?


And thus I was named

right there on my resume

Wow ... Be proud for that homage to elliott . So cool.

wait how old are you. how old were your parents when they had you HAHA he's only been around for a while.

@J G He was around a lot longer than you think, i'm guessing.

Jeremy Nothing i know he's been around since the early 90s. but damn his parents must have really liked elliott from the get go.

Amazing

Letting go. He's so cute here. And ok with fame? For someone half as smart youd be a work of art. Oasis suck a fart

this song is obviously about elliott loving the uk its a known fact he was a beatles and oasis Fan and hes in london in in the vid makes sence

we shot it in New York

Elliot Smith sometimes remind me of the Lefte Bank, sounds similar to singer.. Is it Michael brown? Love it!

this sounds like getting better by the beatles

r.i.p elliott. 15 years without you...

I'd like a reupload of this one, the audio is flawed

Can't believe it's been 20 years since this album dropped.

Até hoje não acredito que existiu Elliott !

Thanisftavares Tavares agora que ele se foi, ele parece um sonho distante...

Miss you Elliot, you music always helps me to face this world. Rip

All his melodies are very similar. They have the same phrasing and this sounds like LA

One of those songs you can't skip, Ricky Gervais is a huge Elliott fan and it's easy to see why, r.i.p

Such a treat to see him sing and play live, he had a really passionate relationship with his music,

ᕙ(■v■)ᕗ

Very Beatles sounding

vodka yippy

Joanna is so beautiful

This video is perfection.

Shame on you Vevo. This recording sounds like it was sent through time on a radio wave from a gramophone.

There is a great tribute to Elliot Smith by Jacqueline Francis with something of a "Baby Britain" vibe - "The End Of Your Story"

writing, singing, playing multi instruments ... Elliott was a one man band .. such a great talent :)

i love you

My hero!

You got a look in your eye when you're saying goodbye like you want to say hi.

^_^

Anyone notice the robot setting fire to the napkin with Miss Misery on it? He was probably so tired of that song, ahah.

his smile is so precioous i

Reminds me a lot of Beatles' Getting Better!

I know Elliott was a huge Beatles fan and in my opinion this is the closest he ever got to sounding like them. And this is a hell of a good job

@Beautiful Zero not to mention the 'Good Day Sunshine' piano flourishes in the 2nd and 3rd verses

I think he's better than the beatles

Also very Beatlesque on the brilliant “Bled White.”

Chris Higgins stupidity tries

@Bruno Jimmy
Yep. And Strung Out Again and various others.

[Em7]baby britain feels the [Am7]best [G]floating over a [C]sea of vodka [Em7]separated from the [Am7]rest [G]fights problems with [C]bigger problems

[Em7]sees the ocean fall and [Am7]rise
[G]counts the waves that somehow [C]didn't hit her
[Em7]water pouring from her [Am7]eyes
[G]alcoholic and [C]very bitter

For [Em]some[Em/F#]one [Em/G]half
[Em/A]as [C]smart,
you'd [Em]be [Em/F#]a [Em/G]work [Em/A]of [C]art, you [Em]put [Em/F#]your[Em/G]self [Em/A] a[C]part
[Am]and I can't help until [C]you start

[Em7]we knocked another couple [Am7]back
[G]the dead soliders lined [C]up on the table
[Em7]still prepared for an [Am7]attack [G]they didn't know they'd been [C]disabled

[Em7]felt a wave a rush of [Am7]blood
[G]you won't be happy til [C]the bottle's broken
[Em7]you're out swimming in the [Am7]flood
[G]you kept back kept [C]unspoken

For [Em]some[Em/F#]one [Em/G]half
[Em/A]as [C]smart,
you'd [Em]be [Em/F#]a [Em/G]work [Em/A]of [C]art, you [Em]put [Em/F#]your[Em/G]self [Em/A] a[C]part
[Am]and I can't you help until [C]you start

[C]you got a look in your [A/C#]eye
when you're saying good[D]bye
like you wanna say [B/D#]hi

Instrumental: [Em Em/F# Em/G Em/A C (3X)
Am C

[Em7]the light was on but it was [Am]dim
[G]revolver's been [C]turned over
[Em7]and now it's ready once a[Am7]gain
[G]the radio was playing [C]crimson and clover

[Em7]london bridge is safe and [Am7]sound
[G]no matter what you keep [C]repeating
[Em7]nothing's gonna drag me [Am7]down
[G]to a death that's [C]not worth cheating

For [Em]some[Em/F#]one [Em/G]half
[Em/A]as [C]smart,
you'd [Em]be [Em/F#]a [Em/G]work [Em/A]of [C]art, you [Em]put [Em/F#]your[Em/G]self [Em/A] a[C]part
[Am]and I can't help until [C]you start-- x2

この曲はとてもビートルズっぽいですよね。
マルチプレイヤーなところがポールを連想させます。
最後らへんのエリオットの笑顔が素敵でした^ ^

Happy Birthday, Elliott.

Getting a Beatles vibe here. I'm supposing it's the rhythmic guitar on the back during the verses

Even name drops Revolver!

only half of the views son of sam has...well...i guess i can live with that....but i never thought of this song as HALF of sam...

third comment: this song is great!!

first comment omg

Baby Britain feels the best
Floating over a sea of vodka
Separated from the rest
Fights problems with bigger problems

Sees the ocean fall and rise
Counts the waves that somehow didn't hit her
Water pouring from her eyes
Alcoholic and very bitter

For someone half as smart
You'd be a work of art
You put yourself apart
And I can't help until you start

We knocked another couple back
The dead soldiers lined up on the table
Still prepared for an attack
They didn't know they'd been disabled

Felt a wave a rush of blood
You won't be happy 'til the bottle's broken
And you're out swimming in the flood
You kept back you kept unspoken

For someone half as smart
You'd be a work of art
You put yourself apart
And I can't help until you start

You got a look in your eye
When you're saying goodbye
Like you want to say hi

The light was on but it was dim
Revolver's been turned over
And now it's ready once again
The radio was playing "crimson and clover"

London bridge is safe and sound
No matter what you keep repeating
Nothing's gonna drag me down
To a death that's not worth cheating

For someone half as smart
You'd be a work of art
You put yourself apart
And I can't help until you start

For someone half as smart
You'd be a work of art
You put yourself apart
And I can't help until you start.

---------------------------------------------------

you're welcome.

la ptm, como que esta muerto :/

I miss him

Lovelace me too..

Same here...

me too...

Great song. But is it just me or is the audio quality poor. Man VEVO SUCKS!

Damn....I just realized how underrated Elliott Smith is.

I hope there's an afterlife for this man. We'll meet one day I hope

Heard this on the radio last summer and have been hooked on his music ever since ✌

This guy was such a fucking genius...

I dont know if im the only one who sees the plane taking off and think that its a reference to his previous bands Heatmisers album Mic City Sons

" BURN " I want to run wild in the city with others in a narcotic driven madness so tuned up nothing but truth is reveled... Free thinkers who embrace the shadows to who normal is boring, trivial dribble that falls from the mouth of cattle... Morphine running between my ears, Sax Bass and Drums so clear... Sit in the dirt with wineo's and crash party's of the privileged in their monkey suits... Gather all the mad ones create a written soup... My soul's on fire and I want to burn, flame to flame the only way to learn............. Ryder.

All I want now is happiness for you and me.

<3 <3 <3

No matter if its sad, happy or depressing; it's genuine, it makes a difference. RIP beathiful Elliott.

Everytime that I try to get someone into Elliott, they always say that his music is sad or even depressing. Fuck, that people don't even know how happy this music makes us the fans feel. After a tough day, I can listen to his music and relate my problems to his, and feel that I'm not alone on this cruel nonsense world where the most sensitive ones get pissed off constantly. The relief I feel with his tunes is almost insane. Like experiencing the nirvana.

here here... or is it hear hear? Anyhow I find myself relating to this too

His music is about sad things - feeling sad and struggling and failing and trying to keep going. But it's never depressing. Most things in life are depressing - Elliott Smith's the opposite.

Nietzsche wasn't a nihilist. Nietzsche was trying to find an antidote to nihilism - the destruction of all values. What Baudrillard called "the hell of the same" - where nothing means anything or has any purpose. It's all just flat and dead. Nihilists are people who say "whatever." They're internet trolls who are deliberately cruel to people who do care about other people. Elliott Smith was definitely not a nihilist.

I agree his music makes me happy

@curiosofsigns hey i'm sorry i'm r 1 year late but just found out this old thread and i realized i had totally missed your last comment on Nietzsche. I can agree Nietzsche wasn't a Nihilist. However he made an interesting point on setting a difference between active and passive Nihilism. The one you describe as "internet trolls who always say whatever" i think would be passive nihilism. On the other side, an active nihilist is the one who recognizes the death of values, pretty much like the passive, but rather than leaving it all there, goes further and creates his own values and sense of existance. Active nihilism is what he then defined as the Overman. And that was the kind of Nihilism I was talking about. So, from the "active nihilism" point of view, I'd say Nietzsche and Elliott were nihilists. You know "everything meant nothing to Elliott" but he then clearly set his own way of perceiving life.

Please sign this petition into the death of Elliott
https://www.change.org/p/lapd-homicide-detective-jay-king-we-request-the-lapd-to-either-close-the-elliott-smith-murder-inquiry-or-resuscitate-it-after-more-than-11-years-of-negligence?just_created=true

Elliott is the cutest

And cleverist

+Ian Torre most clever* ftfy

Will A cleverest* it was just a typo

Lemon Ste *smartest

Chesie 3636 "was unfortunately "

2:03 i've totally been there. idk seeing elliott there basically validates my association with it. these elliott youtube binges are getting unhealthy?

yes but it doesn't stop anyway

Just remember, you get what you want to get out of it.

Sea of Vodka, Johnny Walker Red, Between the Bars or some other high octane booze issues. Was this dude a heavy alcoholic? Don't get me wrong, IMO he was a very good artist.

+ALLinALL-Good
He had multiple substance abuse problems before his "suicide" yes

he used to have serious problems with alcohol and drugs.

Yeah I think his biggest problems was with alcohol and Heroin. The entire album From A Basement On A Hill is about Heroin and depression atleast that's what I get out of it. Especially the songs Kings Crossing and a Distorted Reality Is Now A Necessity To Be Free.

Robot hand is the future

Human hand was the past

both, and neither

Crimson and Cloverrrrrrr

Shit, I can so relate to this song. I know others can, too...

Love the "Getting Better" sounds similarities, Beatles and Elliott forever <3

Anybody else notice this channel has 1337 subs (as of now at least)

what bass is that ??

Is baby britain the name of a drink? I know dead soldiers are a nickname for empty beer bottles, but I could never find out to what Baby Britain was referring.

It may have multiple meanings but seems to refer to America in my reading.

That is smart I like it.

My name is Britain. Maybe it was a girl he knew

Happy 46th aniversary Elliott

Portland seems like such a nice city

It used to be before it got over run with hipsters from LA and NYC. Now its just Poser City USA. And the cost of living is out of control.

it is a nice city

A must see for Elliott Smith fans.

Fights problems with bigger problems

Best lyric

My life story

About someone who doesn’t see the good in life or herself: “counts the waves that somehow didn’t hit her” & doesn’t want to get hurt again by others...”you’ve got a look in your eyes when you’re saying good bye like you want to see hi” & obviously only thinks the creme de la creme’s opinion matters: “For someone half as smart...you’d be a work of art.” At least that’s how I see it. Other interpretations are certainly welcome.

@Elaine Snow Good interpretation, I just see it as a reference to self medicating with drugs and alcohol because of depression, anxiety etc..

Kevin Thomas oh, I’m overinterpreting, probably. He could very well be singing about himself or drugs/alcohol. Magnificent tune.

He makes me smile.

You'd think they could upload this in a higher quality :/

It's old but yeah, the audio is a bit fuzzy

So this was on geffen records, the same label that released Hayden's everything I long for. Awesome.

The channel name! fucking stupid Vevo wanks!! two Ts in Elliott

+Josie Ouiri LMAO!

I'm going to imagine that my comment caused them to correct themselves

Josie Ouiri it probably did tbh

He's so freaking good.

I picked up a biography of him and thought I'd give him a listen. Not sure what the hype is all about. His tone is very dull and his lyrics hard to grasp. Does not have the deep affect of a Kurt Cobain, Morissey or Lou Reed. I found him boring, sorry!

@fiddle glee Glad you're not on here just spam/trolling. How is it that you find Kurt Cobain's lyrics easy to grasp? I can't really understand most of what he's saying. I believe that he's been known to have said that he's more interested in the sound, cadence, and catchiness of the vocal style he was trying to use. He didn't care if they had any meaning or were just non-sense words (as many of his lyrics seem to be). Some of his fans have told me that he wanted his vocals to be an accompanying instrument. I don't care for Nirvana, they're not bad or anything. I just really don't see how one could favor their lyrics or find them difficult to comprehend. Especially when compared to Elliott Smith.

@fiddle glee you have no idea, you have your opinion. no...im sorry!

Sorry to break it to you, music is not all about the lyrics (even though I think Elliott's are brilliant anyway)

Fair enough. He's great though

+Med Otaku Well, musically Elliott is infinitely more complex than Kurt. It's well known that Kurt could only play the basic chords, and his songs are pretty much the same chord shape. Anyway, I personally love both of them so much. At the end of the day, the sense of melody is what really makes you feel connected with a musician, and not the technique. If you check Kurt's solo acoustic demos, as well as the MTV Unplugged show, or even some Nirvana punk rock tunes, you realize how Kurt and Elliott had a lot in common. Both of them had the ability to create very deep and catchy melodies, with a lot of intensity and feeling on them. Obviously Elliott's lyrics were brilliant, but so were Kurt's. It's true that he seemed not to care too much about them, but he was so talented at it. Yeah, he got some kind of strong accent and at some points his lyrics seem to not have so much sense. But if you think of his entire work, that's not true. If you check other songs than the most famous ones, you'll realize how his lyrics were avtually very ironic, smart and spread the feeling that a whole generation couldn't explain with words. Nirvana's most famous songs are the cachiest ones. The ones whose lyrics are pretty much irrelevant. But if you check Bleach, Incesticide, In Utero and the less known songs on Nevermind, you'll realize what I'm talking about.

How I wish he could be still here.

Thainá Guerra he is though, he just got real good at hiding

@Ben Phone Lol, you think so? Another faked death disappearing act like so many of them do, like Prince, Michael Jackson, Chris Cornell, David Bowie, mmmm, not sure about Cobain and don't really care. Would be lovely to know he was still out there somewhere - the world would feel less evil.

I'd give him a hug and never let him get with that half japanese bitch

It's funny to see him running with a shovel. I don't know why though.

most of this video is from a very strange interview he did before he started recording super 8. The interviewer asked elliott what he wanted to do and elliott being elliott he was like were just gonna fuck around and do weird shit. its up on youtube somewhere and the interviewer commented on the video telling the story.

I can watch this video all day long. And I'm not even lying.

You gotta look in your eye when you're saying goodbye like you wanna say "hi"... 

total contradiction!  sweet get!  this is the shit for which I live!

Cheers!

he looks so happy in this video. one of my favorites of all time.

so true.

his happiness in this vid betrays his depression.

complicated, talented dude; gone way too soon.

Cheers!

Depression has no face, as they say