The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived

You know? Yeah.

And I guess I went a similar direction 'cause I, it makes me think of "The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived" because- Mm-hmm ... that song is, like, the anger and the realization in the immediate aftermath of being in a relationship like this.

Mm-hmm.

And then "Patient Zero" is the song about her commiserating with the next victim.

But also probably some inspiration from her friends' relationships as well.

Mm-hmm, yep.

But like, just to give you an example of the various songs that we're going to reference today in this episode that point to various relationships that she's had: Dear John, Would've, Could've, Should've, All Too Well, Getaway Car, Down Bad, LOL, So Long, London, How Did It End, The Black Dog, and The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived.

[laughs] So I mean, that's, a lot of that is like- Yeah ...

Lover is kooky.

My Mount Rushmore of songs on Tortured Poets, Smallest Man Who Ever Lived.

Honestly, that had, is up, for me, that's up there with one...

I don't wanna say it, 'cause people get so mad.

Whatever.

Smallest Man Who Ever Lived is a piece of art.

It sh- it shouldn't be on Spotify, it should be in a museum.

And So Long London, The Prophecy, um, Florida.

Yeah.

I will say, I think the smallest man who ever lived, L-O-M-L and this one live in a very similar place in my head.

And they're about very similar things, right? Yeah.

But this one, for some reason, is the one that stuck out.

And that is something Steph and I talked about in our early text messages.

But I do still love it.

I think Smallest Man and L.O.M.L. have... surpassed it a little bit for me because I think they say the same thing in an even more cutting and like digging way for me this is maybe like third out of those three but I still freaking love it and like need to even for myself remind myself that when this first came out like this was a big deal to me like this was my like this was the smallest man who ever lived before the smallest man who ever lived before that really hit me like I was enjoying this on that level So just getting into the lyrics that I'm someone who until recent events you shared your secrets with and your location and you forgot to turn it off.

I like that she's just like I know enough about your life to torture myself with it is pretty much what she's saying.

Um, and then I, you know, I think it also, we keep going with like more anger too, like as my timeline of the album progresses, obviously not as the actual album progresses, 'cause I find it to be very out of order, which is fine.

Um, so you know, if Loss Of My Life mourns the relationship, I feel like The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived like puts him on trial for it.

[laughs] Like-

Yes

...

they, like it, it, it is kind of tied to Loss Of My Life in my opinion of seeing like, um, the different comparisons, like, uh, in The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived, "Was any of it true, gazing at me starry-eyed?" And then-

Oh

...

Okay.

Oh, like I, I could have be having the best day ever, and I'll be listening, listening to The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived.

Oh.

Like, crying, and I'm like, "My life is so great, but also I wanna listen to the song." Like, I listen to that song while I'm lifting weights.

Because ground zero-

... is a term used for-

...

the entry point or the level way for everything.

How everybody else loves him.

[laughs]

these sound like the next song on this album

that's see that's what i was gonna say i don't think again how i texted you like when this first came out and i was like yeah you gotta put it in a playlist and but i don't feel that way at all anymore no like i said if anything i just get a little antsy by the end of the album but yeah yeah i guess Some of the early fan favorites, The Black Dog, Guilty as Sin, Who's Afraid of Little Old Me, The Prophecy, So Long London, and The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived were kind of near the top of what fans were praising.

One 2024 fan competition ultimately narrowed it down to a final two of The Black Dog and Guilty as Sin.

Interestingly, later rankings changed substantially.

i like it it's just yeah fuck you maddie it

seems to align with that lost my twin like in writing does it hit on a different level for her and he took that away by being a fuck so yeah

right try to outright me try to out pop star me you can't i put i did put this god tier also oh wow oh so then we have the smallest man who ever lived wait this is shocking to me it's swift and desner that just hit me because this is i'll just give away the ending this is one of my favorite tracks i can't believe it's not jackie it's not what the fuck

that's in points for desner and you're got one over me sorry okay whoever wants to go We all know how I feel about this song.

...

The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived.

[singing] But could someone give a message to the smallest man who ever lived? Yeah, but I think But Daddy I Love Him is, is the one that I would choose.

I think it's just more, like, I think in particular because it's about the fans.

Yeah.

Yeah

... it's just a remarkable song for that reason.

And I also, like, I love Smallest Man Who Ever Lived, but I do feel like it went to another level for me with the live show.