Smashing Pumpkins Song Secrets
1979 (CD version)
-2:07 you may hear what sounds like a helicopter. a DJ says the echoing is a burp
that is reversed and then screwed around with.
-The infamous drum beat at the beginning and the end.
-Also, at 1:03, you may hear a jingle of a bell or something.
-At 4:08 there's some beeping or something -SPKristy@aol.com
-There is a "whistling" noise in the background at 2:55-2:58 (left channel). -Benoit The
Sad Wizard.
1979 (Grammies '97)
At the very end of the song when the crowd is cheering you can hear Billy play the
intro for Today.
- A -
An Ode to No One
If you play the "and coil my tongue around a bumblebee mouth" backwards, it sounds
like: "I am evil". -Jeff Khan.
-You can hear chimes 0:03 and 0:22, also 1:21-1:23 there is a wowowo sound.
-The guitars squeak before they stop at 2:19-2:21. 3:01.
-There is a crack in the background and another one at 3:18, 3:30-3:31.
-There is an errie echo in the background at 4:04, 4:06, and 4:08.
- In the left channel there is another click at 4:42.
Apathy's Last Kiss
At the end of the song, there is an "ooo eee ooo eee ooo eee" noise. could be some
weird distorted guitar effect? -Chris Taylor.
- B -
Believe
very soft beeping noise at 2:18... and throughout song.
Beautiful
Not really a secret sound, but if you listen carefully you'll notice that in the second
verse, "wonderful, it's wonderful, to know that you're just like I", at the "just like I" on
'like' it goes too low for Billy, and he just speaks the word. However, D'arcy (who
sings backup) is singing higher, and has no problem with the note. -Nellie Rash.
You hear this best with headphones, but through out the entire song, theres a
'beatbox' that goes along with the drum beat, you know a 'beatbox' is when rappers
make drum sounds with their mouths, like The Fat Boys did. So ya, i would guess
Billy sampled some guy doing a 'beatbox' to the drum beat and and looped it for the
entire song. It's there, when you hear it once, every time you hear the song after that,
your ears will automatically focus on that sound. -Edwin Maldonado.
Blank
Before song, it sounds like Billy is setting up, opening a water bottle.
Bodies
during the second "love is suicide" verse, Billy mutters in the background: (list
courtesy of Mark Gillies)
"destroy, despise, distrust, disobey, distrust, disarm, destroy, dispise,
dissect, deny, destroy, despise, distrust"
Bullet with Butterfly Wings
If you play the "rat in a cage" part backwards, it sounds like: "here are my abs!"
Bury Me
Song opens with James saying something of continuous debate. Most popular ideas
being "Boys, let's do it" and "Poised like an angel". Other ideas that have been sent
to me are: "Boys, let me lead you", and "Boys, let's get in tune". My Personal belief
is "Poised like an angel".
By Starlight
It sounds like running water in the background, most notable 0:26-30, and 0:35-1:11.
These effects are caused by the flanger and reverb effects that Billy used on this
song -Kelly
- C -
Cherry
At beginning, you can obviously hear some studio talk:
BC: "listen, just wanna start it?"
JC: "Ready Flood?"
F: "Yeah."
BC: "1, 2, 3, 4." (and then the song starts)
Cupid De Locke
The shaking sound used for the drum part is actually an aspirin bottle.
At 0:52-1:04, and 1:37-1:49 there is a weird chime in the right channel. At 2:30-2:34
there is talking in the background.
- D -
Daydream
At 1:10 you can hear a click from the cello player's bow hitting the wood of his cello.
Also, at 1:20-21, you can hear jingly noises, probably someone's bracelet.
Destination Unknown
At about 3:16 you can here something like "I love my sister" coming from the right
speaker.
Disarm
-If you play "send this smile..." backwards it clearly says "send this"
-jason@texas.net
-At very end, you can hear opera singers (turn it up very loud).
- E -
Eye
Somewhere in the middle of eye played backwards it sounds like James James.. why
did you go
- F -
- G -
Galapogos
Billy mutters the following in the background, from 3:16-27:
"Sorry I had to put you through this sh*t, I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry,
wishes." -Listessa
Geek U.S.A.
During the first drum part, you can hear a man talking (turn it up).
Glynis
At very beginning, there is a robot-like "hello", which comes from a Red Red Meat
song.
God
-Played backwards, it says: "love is lost to you make it feel if we want to lost never
try behind the scene ooh, i win your..." (never finishes)
-If you play the chorus backwards, you hear "I am helpless, I want to die."
-You can hear D'arcy say something, sounds like "help".
-You can hear guitar effects at 2:08, 2:09-2:10, 2:13, 2:15, 2:19-2:20. -Benoit The
Sad Wizard.
- H -
Hello Kitty Kat
At very end, Billy says:
"Song's over."
-From 3:29 to 3:50, you can hear a kind of "sucking-wind" noise in the back. -Benoit
The Sad Wizard.
-A siren in the background in the middle of a silent part and a heavy part. -Vince
Horst
Here is No Why
At 0:56 there is some clicking or cracking.
Honey Spider I
On some versions, you can hear Billy say at the very end: "aha, that's everything,
haha!"
Hummer
-At the very end, you can hear a few notes of classical music.
-In the quiet part of "Hummer" (the outro)...when he's saying "Ask yourself a
question.." and so forth....if you play it backwards, it sounds like "You have no
meaning"...and something after that, but I can't make out what he's saying. -Chris
Gormer
- I -
I'm Going Crazy (after Daydream)
If you play the entire song of "I'm Going Crazy" backwards...he keeps saying
something like "He is here...He is white" (not sure about the "He is white part"
though) -Chris Gormer
In the Arms of Sleep
There is a "woo woo" noise at 2:06, 2:12-14, and at 2:30-40, where it sounds like
someone sobbing. Also of course the weird breathing at the beginning.
- J -
- K -
- L -
La Dolly Vita
You may hear: an "ooh" at 3:33, and a "cuckoo" at 3:44
Lily
-Note that sounds like a "synth horn" at 2:34.5
-At 1:53, real softly, billy goes "yeah" or something to that effect. -Lia
- M -
Marquis in Spades
In the beginning you can hear some studio talk:
Mole: "Rolling."
JC: "I was just on another planet for a sec."
BC: "Run it back Mole. (amp on) ... Fucker."
-At about 2:44 (where Billy sings "let's see where we can go..") he growls right before
the "go". -Julia W.
-Guitar effect at 1:42 (right channel).
-At 3:13 there is a "click" sound.
-At the very end of the song (3:16), there is a "zap" sound. -last 3 by Benoit The Sad
Wizard.
Mayonaise -StarlaDear
I remember watching the MTV VMA in 1996, and they did a small 1 minute clip of an
old interview they had with Billy Corgan- they asked him what made that strange
"wheezing" noise in the song, Billy said that the guitar he used in recording that song
was a piece of junk, whenever, he would stop playing for a second, the guitar would
make a loud noise, so when they played Mayonaise and he had to stop strumming
for a second, it would make that loud noise, so eventually that noise got incorporated
into the song!
Medillia of the Gray Skies
You can hear a high-pitched noise at 0:16 (right channel). -Benoit The Sad Wizard.
Meladori Magpie
At 0:02, you can hear the slide object touch the strings of the guitar
Muzzle
During the verse 'for thinking that i'd last forever', right when Billy sings the word 'last'
you can hear D'arcy sing 'die' in the background, also on the last line, when 'and i
knew the silence of the world' is sung, you can hear a really high pitched voice sing
the 'and i knew' part along with Billy. (Edwin Maldonado) Also at the beginning, Billy
takes a big breath.
My Blue Heaven
-At 0:17 in the right channel, you can hear a slide sound (probably the cello).
-At 3:16 there is a noise in the background. -Benoit The Sad Wizard.
- N -
- O -
Obscured
At 0:11, Billy says "yeah" or "ooh".
- P -
Pastachio Medley
At 13:44-13:45, in the left channel, you can hear Billy who says "Yeah" and he also
sings at 13:47 (I think the song at that time is Porkbelly). -Benoit The Sad Wizard.
Pissant
At the very end, Billy yells "whooo!".
Porcelina of the Vast Oceans
-At 0:09 there is a click.
-At these times: 4:37, 39, 41, 42, 44, 46, 54, 58, and 59, sounds like a weird raygun
effect.
-Also at the beginning, the intro, from about 0:32-2:12, it sounds like steam being
released from a tea kettle.
Pulseczar
At the end, Billy whispers "I know what you mean" -GEFQ05A@prodigy.com.
- Q -
Quiet
-At about 2:40 in quiet you can hear Billy mumbling in the background. It sounds like
he says "Word Up".
-At the very end, you can hear "cartoon noises" played sorta fast and warbly.
- R -
Rocket
When you play "i shall be free" backwards it sounds like "hail mutilation"
-jason@texas.net
- S -
Set the Ray to Jerry
-At 2:36, you can hear what some are calling a "horn, or duck noise".
-There is a kind of bip noise at 0:35. There is muttering at 1:01-1:03 (left channel).
-Benoit The Sad Wizard.
Siamese Dream (the song)
At the beginning:
Jimmy: "Flush the toilet?"
Producer (Butch Vig?): "No, it's done by now. Go ahead."
(song starts)
Silverfuck
At very end, Billy says "Alright, this take, don't give a fuck" and plays a few notes.
Siva (Peel Sessions)
At 4:09, D'arcy says "Wait, I just stepped on my ?" then Billy counts to four for the
loud re-entry.
Soothe
Lyrics clarification: this is old but its a response to something some guy had on his
site saying it was hung me, but it really is hungry. If you stick your ear right next to
the speaker you can hear the faintest trace of his tongue reverberating off the r.
Also you can hear "the 7 am buses slithering by" from the liner notes at 2:18-21.
Soma
You can hear crickets at the beginning, and the weird TV voice at the end that says:
"And you need to resist the devil, so that he will flee."
Spaceboy
There's an odd conversation at the end of Spaceboy... On some CDs, it appears at
the beginning of Silverfuck,
although the Siamese Dream tab book makes it clear that it belongs at the end of
Spaceboy...
"Now it's, uh, kind of strange, and, uh, kinda hard for me to talk about, but I
thought maybe you could
help- um, when we start getting physical, rather than having intercourse, he ends
up just masturbating
himself, and I end up feeling very alienated and unsatisfied, and it's really come
between us"
Well, that's a rather candid monologue... [!] This seems to be from some talk show or
something- in the tab
book, Billy said it was from an anonymous source, and that he couldn't say where it
was from, for fear of being
sued. I hear from Wendy, that this dialogue came from HBO's Real Sex program.
Spaced
At 1:44.5, in the background, you can hear James cough (turn it up).
Starla
5:27-5:30 "listen for the police car go by" as mentioned in the liner notes.
Stars Falling
At the end of the song, Billy says "Okay". -Chris "Chill" Hill.
Stumbeline
At 0:03 Billy licks his lips or something.
I believe that at the end of Stumbeline, if you turn it up very loud and put your ear up
to the speaker, you can hear people moving insterments, and Billy begin to say
something, but then it skips to the next track.
- T -
Tales of a Scorched Earth
-At 0:17 there is an "uh"
-At 3:36, the "Dragon Noise" is actually another sound effect from DooM, the effect
when the player is hurt. -Bruce McDiarmid
-The "missing lyrics" are: "'cause everyone's lost just waiting to be found, everyone's
a thought just waiting to fade."
The Aeroplane Flies High -George Klosko.
First spoken part:
-I really don't wanna look stupid when I'm sleeping. I never really liked sunny days.
The black wings just reach out to me over a distance... and i can feel the wind from
the wings... I see the clouds, i feel the ocean with my feet, and I'm home again. It
requires an ability to judge distance. The aeroplane flies high, turns left, looks right.
Second spoken part:
-If i knew where I was going, I would already be there (laugh). I wish I had more time---
judicious, beautiful, augmented, whatever. I've always been afraid to die, but I think
now I'm more afraid to live.
End:
-And in my heart i know you're there. And in my heart i know you're here. And in my
heart i know you're gone.
-During some chorus, you can hear a very loud noise in the background: 2:31-2:36
and 4:14-4:17.
-During the "I've always been afraid to die..." you can hear strange voices in the
background.
-There is a little bip noise at 3:16 (be close)
-You can hear Billy talking in the background from 4:54 to 4:57 (be very close).
-At 7:32-7:35, there is a strange "ooooohhhhh!" sound.
-At 8:28-8:29 you can hear voices in the back. -i think last 6 from Benoit The Sad
Wizard.
The Boy
At 2:57-59 (pratically the end of the song), the producer (maybe even billy) is talking
in the background. Sounds like:
'person': "you really love her don't you? [something something] (starts laughing)" -Lia
Thirty-three
That's not really a secret thing but throughout the whole song, the main melody is
oddly echoed in the background. -Benoit The Sad Wizard.
To Forgive
At 0:59 there is a wail in the background. The "stormy" ending to the song is due to a
broken amp.
Today
-In Today there is a "sucking" sound coming from the left speaker at 2:39. -Jake
Riley.
-If you listen very closely, you can hear the sound start in the right speaker at about
2:37, and gradually grow a bit louder and fade to the left speaker. -Will Shaw
Tonight, Tonight
If you listen to the song backwards, this is what you may hear:
ask master vegsley (all i could get) what am i my little aeromaid oh i been
dreaming sleepily slash the rope that ties yes we win the battle be home if we
sell against been believe in me it'll be yes who are you now are you i aint
much dare to survive me aeromaid ahhh yeah i just need it was eeee (and on)
ahh yeah i was... honey i still love you while you sit ill be there now you
believe me too much i love you never lie to (your) baby that ill be this never
said all the world believe believe in me (run together) it'll be will you marry me
says not if i eat fashion arms'll be with me i'll just be yeah it was i deny this i
deservei just necessary (sounds like necessie) guards the men that i just
wanna believe you forget (?) yeah when i i want all of my i want you for all my
life it just wont save me your decision wont defy i just wont defy cause i
believe in me believe in me i dont want this stand behind this i lose it hurts
night
At 0:07, 0:13, and 0:19, there is a very noticeable click from the drums.
Transformer
-You can hear guitar slides effects at 0:14-0:15, 1:35-1:36, 2:40-2:41, 2:56-2:57.
-At 1:42-43 in the left channel, it sounds like "baby" sounds. -both by Benoit The Sad
Wizard.
- U -
- V -
- W -
We Only Come Out at Night
There is a high-pitched noise in the background throughout the whole song.
Where Boys Fear to Tread
-You can hear an explosion from the computer game DooM mentioned in the liner
notes at 1:20, 1:55, 2:29, 3:01, 3:44
-1:58, 2:03, 2:07, 3:06, 3:10, 3:14 there is some backup vocals by either James or
D'arcy?? At 3:03 Billy groans. At 3:15 Billy says "uh". At 4:17 there is a very loud
high-pitched noise in the right channel that probably makes your ears hurt!
Window Paine
In the acapella part of "WindowPaine"...when he's saying "Do what you gotta do",
and all that....played backwards, he says "God is not safe", and some other stuff that
I'm not sure of....my girlfriend and I thought he was saying "I wish I was pissing in a
shower"...but that isn't it =) -Chris Gormer
- X -
x.y.u.
-There is a siren that sounds like it's at 6:50 till the end. -Keith Jarrel
-Another sound effect from DooM is the prolonged roar of a demon which can be
heard on X.Y.U from 4:46-50. -Bruce McDiarmid
- Y -
- Z -
Zero
Played backwards, says:
I always knew(lose) if ever all my life shed the burners (something "burn".not
quite sure) it would not save me god says this not send me life send me life
send me love send me love or descend me high descend me high descend me
low descend me low
-At some parts it sounds like "she is god."
-During the "emptiness..." part, when the instruments pause, you can hear them ring.
there is a "rocket" sound from 2:26 to 2:28 (right channel). -Benoit The Sad Wizard.