Do You Realize?? that this is one of the saddest songs ever 

This song isn't a sad song; it's the song that accompanies you on your journey through sadness/pain/despair-not trying to take it away, but being that presence that keeps you afloat as you wade through it, reminding you that you are NOT alone in this, and that there IS comfort and hope on the other side. May we all be that for someone who needs it. I've been blessed by such angels in the past; I try to pay it forward when I can.

The Soft Bulletin by The Flaming Lips was my easy choice for album of the year in 1999. A masterpiece.

Do You Realize? always makes me so happy and grateful.

Ixi do you realize we all fall in love with you when music moves you to tears?? ❤️ You have such a good heart!

A few days late, but I'm finally ready for this vid... Tissues at hand, and ready to learn more of what Wayne and Co were doing musically. Thanks in advance (of watching this late) for making videos like this, Ixi!

"Do you realize That everyone you know someday will die?" Yup, and it can happen at any moment too. It's my 2023 theme.

This evokes a soaring sadness.

oh man just missed this. I just saw these guys do Yoshimi like 2 weeks ago with my son... it blew his7 yr old mind. he loved this song. I was thinking about the earlier. total kismet I'm watching this right now. thanks again iXi!

It’s beautiful, ixi. I cried with you 🥺❤

It does express an emotion we don’t yet have a word for. Both lyrically and musically - It’s in no way sad :) The major D chord that should be minor keeps it wonderfully uplifting. Then the key change up a minor third then back to E-flat major and back to C major messes with what should be minor again but keeps it happy and major. Does some crazy variations in the phrase lengths too. My band toured with the Flaming Lips, so lucky - a life changing experience! Uplifting every night, even though Steve Drozd was struggling wearing a pink bunny suit on Australia’s Gold coast in the peak of summer!

So cool, one of my favourite songs of all time, from one of my favourite albums of all time! Have to say though, I dont find it sad at all. It's uplifting to me, reflective for sure, but ultimately uplifting.

For me the song brings to mind David Foster Wallce's speech "This is Water" particularly what he described as, "...the constant gnawing sense of having had, and lost, some infinite thing." So like nostalgia? A nostalgia of how I once may have been. More present. More innately aware of the people I love and who love me. I will always appreciate this song for the faces that pop in my head the moment the first bell chimes.

Such a great song from such a great album! A walk down memory lane hearing this song! Excellent choice ixi! I wish i could type out my favorite synth sound from this track and if i did itd sound like breewwwwweeeewwwweeewwwwewwwwwww right at the intro after the guitar starts. Your microphone is cool, haters gonna hate! lololol

Flat 6 as a T-shirt would definitely get people talking. I think it's a great idea. Or would you actually use the musical symbol for "flat"? That would be hardcore. My dad and I saw the Lips last week in Missoula. It was amazing. He's the one who recommended I watch this. Thank you for posting this amazing tutorial! I got so sick of studying theory I gave up on it. Thanks for inspiring me to keep studying. Just hearing you utter the words "secondary dominants" made me swoon.

The Sharon Van Etten cover of this is probably my favorite song of all time

I always miss these streams due to being at work. It’s the problem with being half a world away. Simply one of the best live bands I’ve ever seen. Soft bulletin is one of my top five albums. I saw them at Glastonbury in 2000 (first of seven times) in the new band tent, (new in the UK anyway!) The bass was so massive the girl I was with had to hide behind a pillar to get away from it 😂 never mind the chest mounted strobe light during Lighting Hits the Postman… Bloody awesome.

One time, Rick Beato said ixi is cool as hell.

Thanks!

After a minute I was like "hmm this reminds me of the song Drive by The Cars." Looked up the chords- it's centered around A major 7 😎 Guess I can hear what major 7 chords sound like now 🙌🏻

flaming lips have an AMAZING christmas record called “atlas eets christmas.” replaced “a charlie brown christmas” as my favorite christmas album ever. sounds like middle-eastern jazz. so, so good.

yeah when my kids ask me what the saddest song is this is high on the list

I'd buy the crap out of a b6 ixi t-shirt

I don't know if the formatting will work properly here, but these seem to be pretty accurate guitar chords for this song from Ultimate Guitar: [Intro] C Em Am D7 [Verse] _______C______Em_________Am____________G_________F Do you realize__that you have the most beautiful face? _______C______Em__Am___________________D7 Do you realize_______we're floating in space? _______Fmaj7__Em______Am__________________G____F Do you realize that happiness makes you cry? _______C______Em______Am___________F________Fm_______C___Cadd9__C__Cadd9 Do you realize___that everyone you know someday will die? ______F_______________Am______________G And instead of saying all of your goodbyes __________________C____________F Let them know you realize that life goes fast _____C________________G It's hard to make the good things last ____C_______________Em You realize the sun doesn't go down _____G________________Fmaj7_________G_______________C______Fm It's just an illusion caused by the world spinning 'round Bb_____Eb________Gm____Cm____G#m Do you realize? G______C______Em_______Am___________F________Fm_______C___Cadd9 Do you realize____that everyone you know someday will die? ______F_______________Am______________G And instead of saying all of your goodbyes [Interlude] __________________C6 Let them know you realize that life goes fast _____F6 (xx323x) It's hard to make the good things last ____Am You realize the sun doesn't go down _____F6 (xx323x)______Fm (xx3111)___Fm6 (xx3131)______Am____G It's just an illusion caused by the world spinning 'round F______C______Em__________Am____________G_________F Do you realize that you have the most beautiful face?? Fm______C Do you realize? _____(sweep pick)

you gotta see them live

GOSHDANGIT I missed another one

The Fm - Bb - Eb is just a 2-5-1 into the key of Eb. Lots of pop songs do this so the singer can show how high they can sing the original melody, which, in this case, was in the key of C. Some songs would do a 2-5-1 into Db or even D. But Wayne went ONE STEP FURTHER 🙂. Loved the analysis, btw.

Hearing you play the song on piano makes me think of Pink Floyd.

Es una de las mejores canciones que escuche en mi vida, de uno de los mejores discos de todos los tiempos. Es una obra conceptual y emocionalmente tan profunda, hay algo espiritual profundo allí. Por otro lado; creo que podría enamorarme de usted muy fácilmente 😅 It's one of the best songs I've ever heard in my life, from one of the best albums of all time. It's such a conceptually and emotionally deep work that there's something deep spiritual there. And I would like to add this; I think I could fall in love with you very easily 😅

The way I've always played it on guitar is: C Em/B Am D7 | C Em/B Am G F | C Em/B Am D7 | Fmaj7 Em Am G F G | C Em/B Am F Fm.

i like the key change in the middle, but then they bail on it and go back to the original key.

Do you realize i love you ? :))

I have to say it's a problem that the production is so busy/messy that at times you can't possibly hear what the chord is. Bands like RH or SP often have massive soundscapes that are arranged to still be intelligible. That said, masterpiece and the source of my senior quote.

I don't think this is a sad song at all. This is especially true after the line: "you realize the sun dont go down. It's just an illusion caused by the world spinning round."