Waltz #1
Elliott Smith (album) Lyrics

In "Waltz #1," Elliott Smith talks about the memories he has of someone he used to know. The song begins with him telling us that every time it gets dark outside, he begins to reminisce about the past. Pictures open up in his head of the moments he spent with this person. Smith describes these memories as both silent and cliche, meaning that they were typical and predictable moments that they shared but never explicitly spoke about. He feels as though their words were covered up by their actions, and now only the things they did, and didn't do, are left to remember. Smith is trying to go through, but the memories keep pulling him back.

As the song progresses, Smith admits that he used to try and escape these thoughts by filling up every hour of the day with something else. However, he struggled to make the repetition stop. Smith seems to regret how things ended between him and this person. He sings, "What was I supposed to say?" as if he had something to tell them but couldn't bring himself to do so. Now, Smith never leaves his zone, preferring solitude instead of someone else's company. He wishes he had never seen this person's face, indicating that the memories are too painful to revisit.

Overall, "Waltz #1" is a melancholic song that speaks to the regret and longing that one can experience when thinking about the past.