"Needle in the Hay" is a song by American singer-songwriter

Elliott Smith Steven Paul Smith (August 6, 1969 – October 21, 2003), known professionally as Elliott Smith, was an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Smith was born in Omaha, Nebraska, raised primarily in Texas, and lived much of hi ...

. It was released on January 1, 1995, by record label

Kill Rock Stars Kill Rock Stars is an independent record label founded in 1991 by Slim Moon and Tinuviel Sampson, and based in both Olympia, Washington, and Portland, Oregon. The label has released a variety of work in different genres, but was originally known ...

as the sole single from his second studio album, ''

''.

Recording

Trumpet and harmonica were recorded for the song but were omitted from the final mix. A mix featuring the extra instrumentation was released in March 2012.

Release

"Needle in the Hay" was released as a 7" vinyl single on January 1, 1995, by record label

. It is the lead track on the album ''

'', released in May that year.

Live performances

During later shows with a full band, the song was given more of a "rock" arrangement and would feature drums and bass, with Smith also singing the vocals an octave higher.

Legacy

Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog. Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...

placed the song at number 27 in their list of the two-hundred best songs of the 1990s. "Needle in the Hay" appeared in

Wes Anderson Wesley Wales Anderson (born May 1, 1969) is an American filmmaker. His films are known for their eccentricity and unique visual and narrative styles. They often contain themes of grief, loss of innocence, and dysfunctional families. Cited by so ...

's 2001 film ''

The Royal Tenenbaums ''The Royal Tenenbaums'' is a 2001 American comedy-drama film directed by Wes Anderson and co-written with Owen Wilson. It stars Danny Glover, Gene Hackman, Anjelica Huston, Bill Murray, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Stiller, Luke Wilson, and Owen Wilson. ...

'', in a scene featuring a suicide attempt. Smith was reportedly unhappy about the song being used this way. The song appeared on the film's soundtrack. In 2017, Australian music and culture publication, Happy Mag, launched an annual vinyl competition named after "Needle In The Hay".

Cover versions

The song was covered by numerous artists, including

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

band

Bad Astronaut Bad Astronaut is an American indie/alternative rock band founded in 2000 by Joey Cape, singer from Lagwagon. In Bad Astronaut, Joey Cape explores a style of alternative rock, with lyrics often about deep and intricate personal matters. The band ...

for their 2001 album ''Acrophobe'';

drone metal Drone metal or drone doom is a style of heavy metal that melds the slow tempos and heaviness of doom metal with the long-duration tones of drone music. Drone metal is sometimes associated with post-metal or experimental metal. Characteristics Ty ...

duo Nadja on their 2009 covers album '' When I See the Sun Always Shines on T.V.'';

Mélissa Laveaux Mélissa Laveaux (born 9 January 1985) is an independent Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist of Haitian descent previously signed to No Format!. Her music has been described as a mix of roots, folk, and blues using her signature percussive f ...

on her 2006 album ''Camphor & Copper''; and

Juliana Hatfield Juliana Hatfield (born July 27, 1967) is an American musician and singer-songwriter from the Boston area, formerly of the indie rock bands Blake Babies, Some Girls (band), Some Girls, and The Lemonheads. She also fronted her own band, The Julia ...

in 2014's ''I Saved Latin! A Tribute to

'', a

tribute album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records coll ...

of songs used in the films of director Wes Anderson. It was also covered in a

viral video A viral video is a video that becomes popular through a viral process of Internet sharing, typically through video sharing websites such as YouTube as well as social media and email.Lu Jiang, Yajie Miao, Yi Yang, ZhenZhong Lan, Alexander Haupt ...

of a parody of

The Muppets The Muppets are an American ensemble cast of puppet characters known for an absurdist, burlesque, and self-referential style of variety- sketch comedy. Created by Jim Henson in 1955, they are the focus of a media franchise that encompasses ...

character

Kermit the Frog Kermit the Frog is a Muppet character created and originally performed by Jim Henson. Introduced in 1955, Kermit serves as the everyman protagonist of numerous Muppet productions, most notably ''Sesame Street'' and ''The Muppet Show'', as well ...

. In July 2018, singer-songwriter

Vanessa Carlton Vanessa Lee Carlton (born August 16, 1980) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. Upon completion of her education at the School of American Ballet, Carlton chose to pursue singing instead, performing in New York City bars and clubs while ...

digitally released her own recording of "Needle in the Hay"; Carlton selected the track among a variety of songs that were unveiled as part of her 'Six Covers / Six Months' showcase. In reference to Smith's work, Carlton issued the following: "This is one of my favorite songs period. Elliott was a great poet and the metaphors in this lyric split me open. This song is a juxtaposition because the song is about excruciating pain and the brutal moments of an addiction spiral and yet it's formed in this drone-y meditative manner. Such restraint makes the listener have to move in closer. And then it breaks you. I hope I did him justice. He deserves the best."

Track listing

# "Needle in the Hay" – 4:17 # "Alphabet Town" – 4:12 # "Some Song (Extended Intro)" – 2:21

References

{{authority control Elliott Smith songs 1995 singles 1995 songs Songs about suicide Songs written by Elliott Smith Songs about heroin