Saddle Creek also released Letting Off the Happiness in November 1998, a ten-track record that boasted a much more focused and clear sound than the previous album. According to the Saddle Creek press release, it features members of Lullaby for the Working Class, Neutral Milk Hotel, and Of Montreal. It was predominantly recorded in the Oberst family basement in Omaha on an analog eight track reel to reel; with some work also done at keyboardist Andy Lemaster's Athens, GA studio. Although almost all of the tracks feature a full band, June on the West Coast is performed with only acoustic guitar and vocals. Padraic My Prince gives a dramatic fictional account of the death of Oberst's imagined baby brother.
In 2000 Bright Eyes released Fevers and Mirrors, a demonstration of the immense improvement in production quality and musical vision of the band. New instruments such as flute, piano, and accordion were introduced into the song arrangements. After An Attempt to Tip the Scales, a mock radio interview takes place. The mock radio interview features Todd Fink of The Faint doing an impression of Conor Oberst while reading a script that Oberst wrote. The man interviewing is Matt Silcock, a former member of Lullaby for the Working Class. In this interview, the fake Oberst intentionally presents a strange, contradictory explanation of his attitude towards his music. The interview acknowledges criticisms of his lyrics as overblown and insincere, which had begun to appear as the popularity of the band increased, but responds by stating that the lyrics are meant for personal interpretation. In a 'real' interview with KittyMagik.com, Oberst stated about the mock one: "It was a way to make fun of ourselves because the record is such a downer. I mean, that's one part of who I am, but I also like laughing and fucking around."
2002 saw the release of Lifted or The Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground, and since then Oberst has released an almost constant stream of new material on collaborative EPs, split singles, tribute albums, and charity records. He ventured into the studio with Nebraska folk-pop outfit Tilly And The Wall, co-producing their debut album Wild Like Children and released it on his newly established record label, Team Love.
January 2005 saw the release of two albums: I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning, which is a country-tinged mélange of Conor’s finest acoustic songs, featuring guest vocal appearances from Emmylou Harris and Jim James of My Morning Jacket; and Digital Ash In A Digital Urn, which is a more produced, electronic album featuring cameo appearances by Nick Zinner of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
One single from each album, Take It Easy (Love Nothing) from Digital Ash and Lua from I'm Wide Awake took the top two slots on Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart, the first time for any artist since 1997.
As had become expected of Bright Eyes recordings, the albums feature an array of talented comrades including members of Rilo Kiley, Tilly And The Wall, Cursive, Now Its Overhead, The Good Life, Azure Ray, The Faint, The Bruces, Neva Dinova, The Postal Service and Audrye Sessions.
In October 2006, Bright Eyes released a compilation of rare tracks called Noise Floor: Rarities 1998-2005.
Bright Eyes released their sixth studio album called Cassadaga on April 9, 2007, preceded by an EP entitled Four Winds on March 6, 2007.
A further 25-30 tracks have been recorded in Portland, Oregon and New York City, with another session planned in Omaha, Nebraska. Some of these tracks had already been performed at live shows.
On February 15, 2011, the band released their seventh studio album, The People's Key.
On June 22, 2020, they released Down In The Weeds Where The World Once Was, their first album on Dead Oceans after a long history with Saddle Creek.
Biggest lie the
Bright Eyes Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Subway that only goes one way
Stupid thing that will come, pull us apart
Make everybody late
Well, you spent everything you had
Wanted everything to stop that bad
Now I'm a crushed credit card registered to Smith
You turned white like a saint
I'm tired of dancin' on this pot of gold flake paint
Oh, we're so very precious, you and I
And everything that you do makes me want to die
Oh, I just told the biggest lie
Oh, I just told the biggest lie
The biggest lie
The lyrics to Bright Eyes's song "The Biggest Lie" depict a sense of entrapment, loneliness, and the inability to escape from what seems like an inevitable fate. The first lines "I'm waiting for the train, subway that only goes one way," convey a sense of helplessness as the singer waits for something that will only take them further from where they want to be. The reference to a "stupid thing that will come" implies that the singer has given up control and has resigned themselves to a fate that is beyond their grasp.
The lyric "Well, you spent everything you had, wanted everything to stop that bad" suggests that the singer is at a low point in their life and has taken drastic measures to escape whatever it is that is causing them pain. The reference to a "crushed credit card registered to Smith" portrays the singer as broken, both financially and emotionally. The line "Not the name that you call me with" hints that the singer is not living up to the expectations of the people around them.
The lines "You turned white like a saint, I'm tired of dancin' on this pot of gold flake paint" suggest a sense of disillusionment and feeling trapped in a world that is fake and hollow. The singer recognizes the preciousness of their own identity and existence but is unable to escape from the crushing weight of their situation. The lyric "Oh, we're so very precious, you and I, and everything that you do makes me want to die" conveys a sense of despair and hopelessness that is all-consuming.
In summary, "The Biggest Lie" by Bright Eyes is a melancholic song that expresses feelings of entrapment, disillusionment, and despair. The singer seems to have given up control over their life and is resigned to their fate, unable to escape the crushing weight of their situation.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm waiting for the train
I'm waiting for a change, for something to happen.
Subway that only goes one way
The change that I'm waiting for is one that will only take me further away from you, instead of towards you.
Stupid thing that will come, pull us apart
The change I'm waiting for will be stupid, but it will still come and pull us further apart from each other.
Make everybody late
The change will not only affect us, but it will also make everyone around us feel its effects as well.
Well, you spent everything you had
You put all your effort and resources into trying to make things work between us.
Wanted everything to stop that bad
You were desperate for everything to stop hurting and to just be okay between us.
Now I'm a crushed credit card registered to Smith
I'm a metaphor for something that has been used and abused, and no longer has any value or worth.
Not the name that you call me with
I'm no longer the person you love or care for, I'm someone else entirely.
You turned white like a saint
You tried to be good and do the right thing for us, but it still wasn't enough.
I'm tired of dancin' on this pot of gold flake paint
I'm tired of pretending that everything is okay when it's not. It's like dancing on a surface that's made to look like something it's not.
Oh, we're so very precious, you and I
We once had something special and valuable, but now it's gone and we can never get it back again.
And everything that you do makes me want to die
Seeing you, hearing from you, or even thinking about you is so painful that it makes me want to give up on everything.
Oh, I just told the biggest lie
The biggest lie is that everything is okay between us, when it's not. We're pretending that everything is fine, but it's far from it.
The biggest lie
The biggest lie we tell ourselves is that we can make things work between us, when the reality is that we can't.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: STEVEN P. SMITH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@milligan277
Two of the greatest artist to ever exist...pure love it!
@mijadreams3486
David Milligan i agree
@fineanwilliams3731
How can the Elliott fans on here not also like conor? They're both pretty similar in their styles and both pretty fucking amazing.
@lexi41269
Beautiful cover - Conor Oberst' voice is so pretty!!! Finally someone who does Elliott justice...
@hippie17
When I read the title, I totally forgot this was an Elliott Smith song. lol.
Than I listened to the intro and started humming and singing along and it clicked. Conor covering Elliott Smith, nice. :)
@championette6957
Rest easy Elliott... miss you. 🖤
@noneofyoucanspell
great song, great artists, great.
@Fishsticks187
As a musician myself, my songs wouldn't be what they are without both Conor Oberst and Elliott Smith. Both guys are (and were, respectively) amazingly talented songwriters even if their musical styles were pretty different. There's a bit in "Torment Saint" (which for those who don't know is hands down the best Elliott Smith biography out there) where the author describes one of Elliott's many concerts where he was strung out as fuck and not playing his best, but Bright Eyes and all the other bands just watched the master at work, no matter how many of his own songs he butchered or fucked up. I know you don't have to like the other just because you like the one, but at least in terms of raw ability, music fans in general should have enormous respect for both of these guys.
@christopherhelling4229
How can anyone take your opinion of song writing seriously, when you can't even write a coherent comment?
@Fishsticks187
What's incoherent about my comment?