In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
Don stepped outside
It felt good to be alone
He wished he was drunk
He thought about something he said
And how stupid it had sounded
He should forget about it
He decided to piss, but he couldn't
(A plane passes silently overhead)
The streetlights, and the buds on the trees, and the night, were still
It finally came, he took a deep breath
It made him feel strong, and determined
To go back inside
The light
Their backs
The conversations
The couples, romancing, so natural
His friends stare
With eyes like the heads of nails
The others
Glances
With amusement
With evasion
With contempt
So distant
With malice
For being a sty in their engagement
Like swimming underwater in the darkness
Like walking through an empty house
Speaking to an imaginary audience
And being watched from outside by
Someone without a key
He could not dance to anything
Don left
And drove
And howled
And laughed
At himself
He felt he knew what that was
Don woke up
And looked at the night before
He knew what he had to do
He was responsible
In the mirror
He saw his friend
It felt good to be alone
He wished he was drunk
He thought about something he said
And how stupid it had sounded
He should forget about it
He decided to piss, but he couldn't
(A plane passes silently overhead)
The streetlights, and the buds on the trees, and the night, were still
It finally came, he took a deep breath
It made him feel strong, and determined
To go back inside
The light
Their backs
The conversations
The couples, romancing, so natural
His friends stare
With eyes like the heads of nails
The others
Glances
With amusement
With evasion
With contempt
So distant
With malice
For being a sty in their engagement
Like swimming underwater in the darkness
Like walking through an empty house
Speaking to an imaginary audience
And being watched from outside by
Someone without a key
He could not dance to anything
Don left
And drove
And howled
And laughed
At himself
He felt he knew what that was
Don woke up
And looked at the night before
He knew what he had to do
He was responsible
In the mirror
He saw his friend
Lyrics submitted by a thousand leaks, edited by cosmicsea, daveizloud
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I relate to Don on many levels in this song, and it really speaks to me. Social anxiety, feeling alone and creepy around couples "romancing" while you're just there.....peoples' stares begin to take a toll on the psyche....feeling smothered and trapped like you need to leave right away and take comfort in your own solitude....talking to yourself under your breath and laughing lightly along the way.....all to an imaginary audience. Slint is such a great band. They truly know (knew) how to capture true, honest, and RAW emotion, while still keeping you at the edge of your seat.
@GrungeRock1991 exactly. I felt the same
This song strangely reminds of the film Donnie Darko; "He knew what he had to do/He was responsible/In the mirror/He saw his friend". Especially as he is saying this part, he speaks in the same manner in which Donnie spoke. Also, the name of the song. Perhaps the film was inspired by Slint?
now that you said it, it's very clear that connection
@slintway such a great movie, i've never heard any creator address it but it would be really cool if there was a connection.
@slintway such a great movie, i've never heard any creator address it but it would be really cool if there was a connection.
It sounds to me like he has a split personality. In the mirror he saw his friend.
this song, i think, is about a party and feeling sort of out of place...and like people have been saying, social anxiety. about how hard it is to deal with situations where you feel like an outsider and can't at all relate to the situation or to the people, and you realize for the first time..maybe, how hard it is to fit in, when you're thoughtful and you can't have fun being vapid and worthless, but its hard to feel accepted when that sort of "fun" doesn't interest you.
This song has wonderful imagery, which is what I look for in a song. A chill and unsettling masterpiece, this one. Don reminds me of myself. "His friends stare with eyes like the heads of nails."
This is so amazing live. (I saw Slint on their reunion tour last night and it was so unbelievable).
Sounds very much like Don has social anxiety. I used to have it, and still do to an extent. This song manages to pin it down quite well.
i got to agree with snapman. my name is don AND i have social anxiety.
This song is about an alienated person, disconnected from all around him. However he wakes up one day and has a moment of self-realization.
the guitars that start at "the light / their backs" show what don was feeling upon re-entering the party.