Elvis Perkins - While You were Sleeping

[JazminAntonietti]

HOW DARE SOMEONE DISLIKE THIS SONG.

[flameboy1217]

Dude has a strange facial resemblance to john travolta. Very cool and killer song glad I found it while I couldn't sleep

[thechefcaca]

who is olivia wilde?

[ThaisTesch97]

the indie coloring book bring me here... am i the only one?

[chantiquoi]

i donated 1170 grains of rice while watching this. dftba. freerice(dot)com

[theonlydode]

Just watched Psycho for the first time so I did some research. Anthony Perkins is a film legend, and his wife Berry was killed on flight 11 which was highjacked into the World Trade Center. Bless Elvis and his music. What happened to his mother and all 9/11 victims will never be fully avenged.

[stilldasayme]

EXPELLIARMUS!!!

[justpaula100]

Why are the likes of Bruno Marrs and Justin Beiber known but this talent is over looked. Proof that the Grammies are based on popularity and NOT talent.

[CnutStolen]

Ths is truly the most talented of all the Elvises. You heard me, I'd much rather listen to Perkins than Presley or Costello.

[iHeadmind]

@CnutStolen same!

[afroxilanui]

11 people can't sleep

[xiaojay888]

Wow, he got his daddy's singing genes (:

[xiaojay888]

@mmetruffle100 If you do some research, Anthony Perkins had a singing career before an acting career. He came out with three albums -__-

[chasethomasangelo]

Why is Olivia Wilde being discussed more than the wonderful artist in this video?

[ansley1082]

i like what olivia likes now. i'm her no.1 fan. i like her kindness and humility. very cool too! hope ste'll stay the same forever.

[Catyrina13]

Olivia is the best actress ever!! She's so real interpreting her characters!! The Best! XD

[VivaLaBender]

Who is Olivia Wilde?

[jboy4493]

@VivaLaBender actress. but i do not know what she has to do with this video.

[JulianBelgium]

@jboy4493 She twittered about her love for Elvis Perkins and this song and, as such, sent a lot of people here.

[phillmcgrath]

Does anyone have any recommendations for a song like this cause I'm sick and sad

[mrcoreygriffin]

@phillmcgrath I'm sorry to hear about your illness but shampoo by elvis is really somber too

[bumbawumbawumba]

@phillmcgrath tiger mountain peasant song fleet foxes, world spins madly on weepies

[djkazone]

This is quite Belle and Sebastian-esque :)

[FlyEmilyFly]

Tony Perkins was so cute haha but he's a lil cuter :)

[boogietowny]

If Olivia Plain Jane Cockburn brought you here, don't hesitate to give a thumbs up out of pity. You may also give a thumbs down or simply do nothing.

[NGC3370JT]

Fantastic! One thing that amuses me is that he reminds me of Haley Joel Osment in Sixth Sense! :D

[StaceyWinter93]

Thanks, Olivia! :) 

[bojan93k]

Thumb up if Olivia Wilde sent u here.

[StriderEstel]

@bojan93k She brought me here too.

Seriously, that's a great tune.

[billyboblingwa1]

@bojan93k who ?

[Kaffyboy]

Gee, he looks like his dad Tony "Norman Bates"Perkins!

[riingard]

simple lyrics, simple song.....i really like it!

[SkateFareAndCoolWare]

Elvis Perkins is the best artist ever.........

[polarene]

8 people don't like Music.

[Tarheelz2011]

absolutely poetic and amazing.

[obedientguillotine]

Such a beautiful memento, fashioned out of melody and words. I just want to hug him and tell him I'm so sorry about his mum.

[Cheezfosho]

8 people accidentally hit "Dislike".

[mahgeeetah]

saw him open for my morning jacket at the nyc terminal 5 show, sad he didn't play this song :(

[TheAnciraKid]

His glasses remind me of John Lennon :) Both amazingily talented of course!

[theantiboop]

simply beautiful : )

[Chubigans]

when i heard this song, my mind was blown. And it was on a random mix CD that I didn't care about. I had to do a double take. NMH anyone?

[greazelightning16]

if i could marry this man right now, i could die young

[LibbyBarcel2]

I love this song. It's so pretty and perfect. I listen to it daily! I just think it's such pretty song! Love it, never heard until my older sister called me up and told me to listen to it and sang it to moe!haha

[pt1gard]

@LibbyBarcel2 .... try SEND MY FOND REGARDS TO LONELYVILLE, if you havent already, another awesome song by Elvis, i also love "123 Goodbye" :)

[Musica12Practica]

@Melora72: You are absolutely correct about the nature of the lyrics for "While You Were Sleeping;" Elvis wrote this song for his mother post-9/11. About half of the songs on the Ash Wednesday were written prior to 9/11, which may be the cause for that debate; the other half, however, were completed following events (and, in my opinion, really impact the material: "Ash Wednesday," "It's a Sad World After All," "Good Friday" and "While You Were.." Hope you enjoy the whole album; it's amazing!

[orionova89]

Saw Elvis in concert a couple years ago. I'd never heard of him before, never heard his music until that night. I immediately bought his album, and have never regretted doing so. I love this man's voice.

[eheffelf]

They should have never made a dislike button...if people dont like it they can move on

[pictureframethis]

this song was on the oc and this weeks episode of this american life. it has to be cool

[melora72]

This song is amazing. It sure seems to be about his mother, but people have said it was written before that. The phone rang...like they got the news.

A really sad thing is that she was returning to LA at that time so she could see Elvis perform. This would have been one of the songs she would have heard if it was pre 9/11.

[wtfEPILOGUE]

find this lovely i do.

[mrgreynomore]

Wow that's beautiful...

[sentimentalhygene]

Proof that not all new music is commercialized and contrived.

Absolutely Fabulous - I bought the CD to support the artist. :)

[Muirmaiden]

Those poor boys! They lost their father to AIDS and they lost their mother to a terrorist attack. Brilliant, Oz and Elvis! I wish you both all the best.

[knallicalli]

i love

[jaclynsorese]

song of the day!

i love elvis perkins, i stop at nothing to see him in concert - he's incredible and such a romantic. my favorite line is "i'll never catch up to you/you sleep so sound".

[bociferousmimi]

great music , unfortunate hair.

[sookie1127]

I wonder if this is another song about his mother who died in one of the planes that went into the World Trade Center

[Katastrophiies]

Amazing song. Amaaaaazing song.

[TH3G0DF4TH3R]

first comment...

[flashingheadlights]

Sheer beauty

[Ticklishlittlefellow]

who does he think he is? john lennon? gtfo

[NICKMAN112253]

@Ticklishlittlefellow Why? because he's wearing coke bottle glasses? or because he's brilliant? Why don't you gtfo? Clearly you lack taste as you have failed to differentiate between two very different musical geniuses. Keep your foolish comments to yourself; you're making the planet dumber.

[Ticklishlittlefellow]

@NICKMAN112253 Ha, ok. Whatever dude. I'm sorry that you have nothing to offer the world, and that your life hasn't turned out the way you wanted it to. Maybe you should adopt Elvis' mood and mellow out, i mean you're only displaying social idiocracy while you vent your frustrations at me. And yes, it was the glasses. Ok, we're done. No difFeRentTiaTing here :D.

[Witchire]

@Ticklishlittlefellow troll

[rwperrone]

Very Nice song and what a great writer!

[Runtograce]

He sang along as this played and as I cried. He took my hand. He wiped away my tears and kissed my cheek and told me he loved me. Now this song is forever in my head, forever reminding me that I deserve better, according to him.

[anklesoft]

amazing

[robocopx93]

For a snowy Toronto night...

[melonberryproduction]

He has a John Lennon influence.

[tmfpesq]

Miss you Toni. Deez.

[prophetOfAnime]

definately Nom0retrolling4U. DEFINATELY

[Nom0retrolling4U]

May we never forget all those poor souls that died on September 11. Thank you for this beautiful tribute, Mr. Perkins.

[Nom0retrolling4U]

I think this is one of the best songs from the past 30 years.....

[poetalien17]

have it on replay :)

[jiniton]

this song is about his mom who died in the 9/11th. this song made me cry numerous times.you can hear so much emotion coming from his voice.

[capadocciana]

I´m inlove with this song..

[weteyemoon]

I spoke to this man last night.

[killtheidealist]

0:34 looks like he's wearing the glasses from the Transformers movie

[dcopi]

I just noticed that this version of the song is about 2 minutes shorter than the one on the album. In fact, at the 1:58 mark it skips over one of the best stanzas of the entire song. It's too bad since the buildup of the album song really attributes to its beauty which you don't you get with this version.

[melora72]

@dcopi

I don't have the album yet, but I looked up the lyrics. The missing verse mentions his father's widow, doesn't it? If it was pre 9/11 why did it take so many years for it to be on the album?

[dottyrebel]

such a beautiful song, really touching, i cant stop listening to it lately..

[LightJehuety]

Sooo saad );

[amycurtis12]

such a ridiculously good song. probably listen to this 5 times every day.

[aldoneversmiles]

Great song!

[PeripheralSenses]

I can see why he gets compared to Jeff Mangum so much, but he sounds more like the equally talented Leonard Cohen to me.

I think Paul Baribeau sounds more like Jeff vocally, though.... but Paul doesn't use all the crazy instruments.

[whatplacidsky]

i thought the NMH parallels were so strong particularl near the end of the song that perhaps it was an intentional homage? The introduction of the horn and the singing saw + themes like

"thank god you're up now/

let's stay that way"

dude. NMH.

[whatplacidsky]

every time i listen to this song some new beauty in it is revealed to me.  these lyrics haunt me:

time flew, the phone rang

there was a silence when the kitchen sang

its songs competed like kids for space

we stared for hours in our maker's face

how endlessly beautiful

also, to address the NMH discussion, I'm glad somebody else heard it.

[GTADIFF]

season 3 episode 8

[annabanana14ily]

this song was to elvis perkins mother...who died in 911...he is saying that he wished she was sleeping and missed her flight that dreadful moring....R.I.P people who died in 911...

[zent311]

i feel like it is impossible to not like this song and not be moved by it. i mean im sure it is possible, but wow he must have been in a trance when he was writing it. he had to know this was pure genius as he wrote it. unbelievable

[WickAwes]

I LOVEEEE this song! :)

[BCNLyla]

Me too!

[GTADIFF]

the oc

[swayluss]

where in the oc?

[SchrodingersMutt]

Elvis Perkins looks pleasingly like Jemaine Clement, and his music too, is pleasing.

[joandino]

i make love to courtney playing this song....i tought i fell in love with her....but no...i just love this song...and i love to think i love her...bummer

[teddy5549]

Story of my fucking life.

[Double0Panda]

Powerful and moving.

[matbgood]

marvelous

[SnoozeIRTL]

First time hearing anything from this guy... I watched the whole thing.. Ill say that much. ; )

[LittleMissPollux]

i may have commented this before but, i really feel like "while you were sleeping" is the current generation's folk anthem. like s&g's "sound of silence" and "america" were for my parents' generation. and i mean "folk" in the sense that it is telling our story, one that should survive and be handed down to future generations, like a singular time capsule. i feel it captures our sadness and our undying hope.

[darkenspawn9769]

this was used in a halo3 commercial

[AznANG37Bubbly]

I'm in love with this song :P

the lyrics are very immaginative/ poetic, it's wonderful :]

[HottBeeotch]

im practically begging for my grampa to get me his new album, gah!!!!! i wanna listen to it soo bad! his music just calms me down and i stop and think about the world and slows it down every now and then, which is genius!!!!!

[0SourPatchKid0]

This is a wonderful song, he has a very soothing voice. His lyrics are also excellent. I''m looking forward to seeing him at the Newport Folk Festival in August!! :o)

[outoflove]

newport folk festival? which newport, or rather, which country? i'd really like to go =]

[0SourPatchKid0]

August 2nd Newport, Rhode Island. It's Elvis Perkins in Dearland!! I could listen to this song all day

[NellieForbush]

he's kinda dressed like his dad from Psycho. He even looks like him sometimes. Excellent singer!

[michelemisha]

Saw him live two days ago, terrific performance, highly recommended.

[reptarhouse]

The lyrics to this song remind me of a beautiful poem by Joseph Brodsky entitled "the fly" It begins:

While you were singing, fall arrived.

A splinter set the stove alight.

While you were singing, while you flew,

the cold wind blow.

I agree Elvis Perkins is a wonderful lyracist and this is one of the best songs I've heard that was written during my lifetime.... thats a weighty claim and I'd probably take it back if pushed on it, but this is a beautiful song.

[kimmykamma]

Is there anywhere online I can read that poem?

[aielaiel]

"and i'd probably take it back if pushed on it, but this is a beautiful song"

best flowing comment ive ever seen in this god forsaken internet

[mgb11271950]

The new Elvis is Perkins. His new album "In Dearland" is the most remarkable release of the current year and he's the best lyricist since the golden age of L. Cohen and that Zimmerman fellow. The comparisons to Nuetral Milk Hotel do neither Jeff Magnum or Mr. Perkins justice.

[datsundavey]

maNGum, not maGNum.

same to you, BriToTheGuy.

show some respect.

[BriToTheGuy]

You people gotta stop comparing Perkins to NMH, just cause he reminds you of Jeff Magnum doesn't mean he's unoriginal or uncreative... This poor guy made 'Ash Wednesday' after his very own mother died on the AAF 11 during 9/11.... almost exactly 9 years after his fathers death... so let's think before we make silly arguments, give credit to great songs, think before we act and really appreciate the music we're given...

[colbruce]

Great vid, Elvis and Osgood. I would like to have Elvis Perkins play live on my radio show -YouTube podcast series @ KXUA Fayetteville. D. G.

[jdizza]

i'm gonna go see him in austin

[skatesector9]

i saw elvis in a crowd of prolly 20 people and i will never forget that day. so memorable.

[DMKPDX]

Just found this song on Pandora and can't stop listening to it. <3

[twosisters9]

A great song.

[MountainGoatt]

Well, i like NMH and this song... :)

[breeeegs]

While you were sleeping

I fucked your wife 

I drank all your rare French wine

And drove your car into a pole

[cellardoor70]

LOL u missed the daughters too were kinda witing for some action there hahahaha

[muzzickman]

LOL

[935662]

lol?

[ToGroundControl]

Beautiful song. Charming good looking man.

[BuddyWillis]

wtf is NMH?

[w3stfa11]

Neutral Milk Hotel (a band)

[snosk8s55]

i was at the blonde redhead show last night and saw elvis play and it was not a good performance whatsoever. he was wearing a stupid indian headdress had some girl tripping on acid singing with him. he sucks

[liliapealia]

i don't think it's a rip off and i think it's rude to presume so. If you know his history, listen to the lyrics, the changes in verse, it's obvious. I don't like NMH either, and I like him.

[breeeegs]

I love Neutral Milk Hotel, and this song

[kratosaurion666666]

You don't like NMH, but you like this song? This is like a more upbeat version of Oh Comely. I have yet to find anyone who even remotely likes this sort of thing that doesn't like NMH.

[falego89]

que bueno!!!!!!!

[birdmoore]

good song but such a blatant rip off of NMH

[racacala]

I love the theremin :)

[54spiritedwill54]

beautiful song

[courtneyxcore14]

great song, great guy.

hes really cute too.

:]

[Anthobean]

norman bates lol! I think he looks a bit like a grown up harry potter!

but hell, this song is incredible!!!!

[tomboshoff]

Is that Norman Bates?

[3saints9]

His son, or os I hear.

[tomboshoff]

Haha I have negative two, does that mean that I'm not funny or that people don't get it?

[wtcba08]

I got to hang out with Elvis and the rest of Dearland this weekend. Great guys, Elvis played his first game of beer pong with us!

[xGambitx]

the saw is gorgeous. very nmh esq.

[goat321hotmail]

this is pretty good. nice work elvis. i don't match my socks either.

[HottBeeotch]

WOOT ELVIS PERKINS!!!!!!!!!

[musicandguitar123]

It's wonderful... Absolutley wonderful. His voice somehow strikes me as Rufus Wainright, but it's pretty amazing.

If it was written post- 9/11 it really strikes me as being like his mothers death, if it was written before then... eerie.

[TheSKeB]

Since I had first heard it, the common theme seemed to be that the song was written about his mother and how he wished she had kept dreaming, instead of going to work that day...

[orion588581]

I love this song.

[Gi020890]

Were you falling, were you flying, were you calling or were you dying...

Great artist are never ment as they should....

You are something new and pure in a world with no feelings, thanks elvis...

[TheSKeB]

I love it, and I wish that people would stop referring him to other musicians.

Listen everyone!!!!

You don't have to compare him to others, he is Elvis Perkins, and he is himself, and it just sounds great. I can't stand music with boundaries, like, oh, this guy sounds like that guy, so lets say he's in this genre.

Genre's ruin things, and distract from the artist himself/ herself.

[zupernena89]

his voice seems bob dylan's voice

but is good ;)

[glukkan]

I was a little disappointed they didn't play all 8 or so glorious minutes.

Thanks for mentioning Jeff Mangum- his voice sounded so familiar but I couldn't put my finger on it.

[davidlovett]

I was thinking this today. Sounds very much like the quieter bits of NMH. Would love to hear Elvis tackle Oh Comely or something.

[ryanreacher]

I thought it was NMH when I first heard it, had to check!

This song is great!

[GrandeJade]

Superbe...

en plus, ils nous a offert des places pr le concert des inrocks :lors je l'adore :D.

[FreshmanThesis]

I listened to this song in alot of airports. To and from someplace that I really miss now. I'm off to be there again tomorrow, so I decided to check back in on it...

To me, it's always been a bittersweet song. Quirky, sad and soulful. Beautiful, too. Simple, pure beauty.

[VanillaandLavender]

My, I was going to just comment that "How come this song can make me happy and nostalgic all at the same time?" I wonder if Elvis Perkins meant to do that, but 'tis absolutely true!

[nyxetera]

...goosebumps. o_o

[Crazyeye44]

I'm pretty sure, seeing as this was written pre-9/11 and the death of his mother, that this song was regarding the death of his father. It oddly fits both losses though. Eerie.

[deltajin]

i love this song.i met him in scotland at a record shop and he invited me to his show, it was amazing. willy mason also played.

[Korellianus]

Das muesch!

[inisis7]

leider,(kleider)

[ladiessteveo]

don't get me wrong i love this song, but i liked it more when he did it on letterman...more personality in the song then on this video

[inisis7]

ok,das muessi mälde...

[juopperiman]

beautiful song

[antithesisofmagc]

amazing amazing amazing musician

[LittleMissPollux]

i thought i knew every fabulous singer/songwriter out there - with a broken voice and a musical saw (or is it a theremin?), but i heard this playing on the local college radio station on a particularly bad day and thought perhaps neutral milk hotel had put out something new! ah, no. but! i had the rare joy of finding a new artist to love. to me, this is a defining ballad of my/this generation. like "the sound of silence". love it. to pieces.

[rachlyn87]

LittleMissPollux - I never noticed until you said that, but his voice does sound somewhat similar to Jeff Mangum. However, if NMH released something new, I think I'd die from shock and delight.

[hovhaness]

This is what's so great about contemporary music done with care.

There are elements of so many great genres within the structure of this one track, i hear everything from classic folk to The night they drove old dixie down, to elements of Johnny Cash..

This is what's lost in so much of todays over-produced, formulaic music.

On the upside though it becomes a breath of fresh aire in comparison.

[zenthia]

actually this cd was done in order from when the ong weer written and this one was written before 911 took place from what I've read. beautiful none the less