Goodnight Elisabeth - Guess it's Christmas alternative and Adam explanation

Song: Goodnight Elisabeth
Where: Bimbo's 365 Club, San Francisco, CA
When: October 27 , 2003 (time mark 15:20)

From Adam Duritz from a concert at Bimbo's 365 Club in San Francisco, October 27, 2003

"I should tell you this story, because it has to do with this song because

I had this friend Betsy and I had been begging her to go out with me for like a year, 

and every time I saw her I'd ask her "come on" and she said no.

and then we had this gig here that night.

and her friends were leaving and she decided to stay

and we went up to her house in Berkeley 

she had a big, a big boulder behind the house

and we went up and sat on the boulder all night long, and any ways.

It was very nice, I was just remembering a really dumb joke she told me

It was like two in morning and we were sitting on this enormous rock behind her house

and I said man this is so cool, I wanna rock

and she goes Adam, you do rock

So anyways she ended up being my girlfriend, not because of jokes like that

and I thought that my life had just completely come to fruit

you know we had a successful band 

we had signed a record contract

our record was coming out

we went out on tour

I had a great girlfriend

but Christmas it was all, it was all gone

being away on the road just screwed the whole thing up

and so I came home at Christmas, very bitter and wrote this song

I think it was the first song written for Recovering the Satellites 

but I wrote it that Christmas

and its called Goodnight Elisabeth"

Goodnight Elisabeth - One Of These Days alternative

Song: Goodnight Elisabeth
Where: Wiltern, Los Angeles, California
When: November 24, 2012

Goodnight Elisabeth - Pale Blue Eyes alernative

Song: Goodnight Elisabeth
Where: LC Pavilion, Columbus, Ohio
When: July 15, 2014

Goodnight Elisabeth - Broadway alternative

Song: Goodnight Elisabeth
Where: Traveling Circus Tour
When: 2009

Goodnight Elisabeth Versions

The single guitar  introduction to Goodbye Elisabeth is unmistakable. The band plays numerous alternative lyrics for the song however it is difficult to find the versions on albums and performances that I can point to for you folks to look at it. These  below are the exception.

Traveling Circus 2009:

"All of the lights on Broadway go down 

and I watched the rain that fell down upon her face 

I saw the rain fall down through the lights of Broadway 

and I walked around at my pace

And I seen the snow fall down through the lights 

a millions stars reflecting on that sky 

All of the lights on Broadway light up for me 

sometimes I thought they would be mine 

I wanted the lights to light up for me

Someday the lights on Broadway might say my name 

just like the people on TV

So hey Ma, so hey Ma, 

hey Ma, look that's my name in lights

All of the lights on Broadway light up in my name starting across the New York sky

Me and my boys we rode the bus straight down Broadway in the village and I got off

I stayed up all night until the lights on Broadway faded away 

I knew the lights that lit up on Broadway just for me

They lit up just for me today 

So hey Ma, look at all the lights

hey Ma, look at all these lights 

hey Ma, look at my city lit for me"

Pinkpop 2003:

Waiting for summertime coming along

Wait for summer in this town

Got mysummertime coming long

Ain't no summer this time

All the leaves are brown

and the sky is gray

I went for a walk

on a winter's day

You know I would be safe and warm

if i were in LA

So I am California dreaming

I am California dreaming

I am California dreaming

So I am California dreaming

I am California dreaming

I am California dreaming

on such a winter's day".

Finally, an alternative can be found on the album New Amsterdam: Live at Heineken Music Hall:

"Come on down, cover me with your eyes

You used to come on cover me with your eyes

and now you tell me everything is going to be all right

Now you tell me everything is going to be all right

You wanna make me think this its alright, while you're

Why can't it wait

You wanna tell me everything all right, while your're

Why can't it wait

You make me think that is all right, while your're

Why can't it wait

You wanna tell me tell me its alright for you  to treat me this,

Well it is not all right with me

Well it is not all right with me

No, it is not all right with me

No, it is not all right with me"