The lyrics are a section from a suicide note; See I thought I wasn't mad... but I lost what I had... realizing the speed of life as it passed... oh. A Short melodrama about a depressed psychiatrist who is driven to suicide from hearing, through his thin apartment walls, the endless cries of a neighbor's baby.

Notes on the positive effects of depression on music by Steven (from the Boom-Box Experiments program):

"I’ve often read about 'artists' who claim that DEPRESSION is an effective catalyst for the spark of creativity. I’m not so sure this is true. With every human being there are varying degrees of depression, the most SEVERE cases obviously resulting in SUICIDE. I’ve never been that far DOWN THE HOLE, or maybe I was so depressed that actually doing anything seemed impossible. Know what I mean? Well, the point I’m trying to make is that being depressed did not inspire me to create music. That is to say that grabbing a guitar or sitting at the piano and trying to use the depression as INSPIRATION does not happen.

Read More of Steven's Notes

Maybe it works for other folks. You know, say if you were a writer you could sit down at the typewriter and just start…uh…typing. Then I thought that if the depression were brought on by some real thing- loss of a loved one, a failed romance, withdrawing from HEAVY, mood altering drugs- something tangible, then writing about it, or through it, could prove to be successful in both the creation and the getting over it. Does that make sense? Well, the depression I’m talking about is not brought on by anything tangible. I might just wake up one morning and realize that well, uh, mmm…Or, say you are driving home as the sun is going DOWN on a day like today when the sun goes DOWN at 5 o’clock. Something prevails that seems hopeless and pointless. This is the sort of depression that is harder for a person to get over, at least it is for me.

Only when the FOG is lifted, the misery diminished and I feel half alive again- that’s when even the slightest desire to create music returns. As the depression itself seems to get farther away, it turns into a pleasant MELANCHOLIA. As I remember this, I realize- AND THIS IS WEIRD- I like it. So, though I don’t like being depressed, I certainly like making depressing music, especially when I’m no longer mired in the actual depression................phew!"

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The Lips would use part of "Realizing The Speed Of Life" in making the Soft Bulletin outtake, "1000 Ft. Hands."