Everybody Cares, Everybody Understands
Status
Elliott Smith Song
Alternative Version/Title
Catholic
Written By
Elliott Smith
Recording Sessions
March-April 1998 (Sunset Sound Studios; Sound Factory Studios - Brion XO Sessions)
April 1998 (Sunset Sound Studios; Sound Factory Studios - XO Strings Sessions) - additional tracking
July 8, 1998 (KBOO Community Radio Studios, Portland, OR - Drinking from Puddles)
Availability of Official Release
XO
Drinking from Puddles: A Radio History
Lyrics
XO Version
Everybody cares, everybody understands
Yes, everybody cares about you
Yeah and whether or not you want them to
It’s a chemical embrace that kicks you in the head
To a pure synthetic sympathy that infuriates you totally
And a quiet lie that makes you wanna scream and shout
So here I lay dreaming looking at the brilliant sun
Raining it’s guiding light upon everyone
For a moment’s rest you can lean against the banister
After running upstairs again and again
From wherever they came to fix you in
But always fear city’s finest follow right behind
You got a pretty vision in your head
A pencil full of poison lead
And a sickened smile illegal in every town
So here I lay dreaming looking at the brilliant sun
Raining it’s guiding light upon everyone
Here I lay dreaming looking at the brilliant sun
Raining it’s guiding light upon everyone
You say you mean well, you don’t know what you mean
You fucking ought to stay the hell away
From things you know nothing about
XO demo:
Everybody cares, everybody understands
Yes, everybody cares about you
As a matter of fact I’m sure they do
But if you don’t act just right
They kick you in the head
But I wouldn’t take it offensively
They’re doing it out of sympathy
And you’re the one who’s bringing it all about
So here I lay dreaming
Looking at the brilliant sun
Raining its guiding light upon everyone
For a moment’s rest I leaned against the banister
After running upstairs again and again
From a place you people you’ve never been
With all of Fear City’s finest following behind
Who with a greatest skill and resourcefulness
After putting me under a wrongful arrest
Stuck me out to the desert to dry and die
So here I lay dreaming
Looking at the brilliant sun
Raining its guiding light upon everyone
Here I lay dreaming
Looking at the brilliant sun
Raining its guiding light upon everyone
Here I lay dreaming
Looking at the brilliant sun
Pushing its guiding light upon everyone
The dream-killing doctor says to describe my dream
Some things are for no one to know
And for you, twelve-stepping cop, to not find out
January 1998 live versions lyrics:
Everybody cares, everybody understands
Yes, everybody cares about you
As a matter of fact I’m sure they do
But if you don’t act just right
They kick you in the head
But it isn’t a real offense you see
They’re doing it out of sympathy
And you’re the one who’s bringing it all about
So here I sit dreaming
Looking at the lazy sun [Looking at the brilliant sun -1/24/98 version]
Raining its guiding light upon everyone
For a moment’s rest I leaned against the banister
After running upstairs again and again
From a place you people you’ve never been [From a place you people never been - 1/24/98]
With two of Fear City’s finest following behind [With all of Fear City’s finest following behind - 1/24/98]
Who with the greatest skill and resourcefulness
After putting me under a wrongful arrest
Stuck me out to the desert to dry and die
So here I sit dreaming
Looking at the lazy sun [Looking at the brilliant sun -1/24/98 version]
Raining its guiding light upon everyone
Here I sit dreaming
Looking at the lazy sun [Looking at the brilliant sun -1/24/98 version]
Pushing its guiding light upon everyone
The dream-killing doctor says to describe my dream
Some things are for no one to know
And for you, twelve-stepping cop, to not find out
Note
In the album version of the song, Jon Brion contributes Vibraphone and Chamberlin keyboard.
Audio/Video
January 4, 1998 live acoustic version with early lyrics:
XO version: