| The Mountain Goats – Broom People Lyrics | 16 years ago |
|
I write down good reasons to freeze to death In my spiral-ring notebook But in the long tresses of your hair I am a babbling brook This verse makes the song explicit for me. Seen in the greater context of The Sunset Tree as an album, we see that John's relationship with this girl was the only thing that kept him sane through his teen years. She is referenced in a number of songs, and you can easily see the shape of his relationship with her, but this verse is the most important. You see, John has never disclosed to anyone about his abuse and been taken seriously. He's turned inward, away from his anger and sadness, and 'frozen' himself to keep it bottled up within. But when he meets Cathy he finds a kindred spirit and can finally talk about his feelings - he becomes a babbling brook when in the long tresses of her hair. Here's where she appears in other songs... "This Year" and then Cathy showed up and we hung out trading swigs from a bottle all bitter and clean locking eyes holding hands twin high maintenance machines Cathy and John both had been abused or at least had a terrible home life, hence the "twin high maintenance machines" "Dance Music" okay so i'm seventeen years old you're the last best thing i got going but then the special secret sickness starts to eat through you what am i supposed to do? no way of knowing so i follow you down your twisting alleyways find a few cul-de-sacs of my own there's only one place this road ever ends up and i don't wanna die alone He follows Cathy though she is as damaged as he is, and finds out more about his own situation. But he knows the relationship is doomed (also, see Dinu Lipatti's Bones, which is entirely about their relationship) "Lion's Teeth" I am dreaming of you He's thinking of Cathy. That's why this lyric only makes sense in the greater context of the album. Also, one of the greatest albums of all time. Just sayin'. |
|
| The Mountain Goats – Cotton Lyrics | 16 years ago |
|
This song is for the rats Who hurled themselves in to the ocean When they saw that the explosives in the cargo hold Were just about to blow There are numerous reference on We Shall All Be Healed to the friends that John lost to addiction, and how Darnielle himself escaped the death sentence of these drugs. John is one of these rats - he saw where Meth and Heroin, possibly among other drugs, were leading him and he jumped ship before things got too bad. This song is for the soil That's toxic clear down to the bedrock Where no thing of consequence can grow Drop your seeds there Let them go Plants growing up in harsh conditions are a recurrent theme in Darnielle's work (see Pale Green Things, Wild Sage and In The Hidden Places). It represents his difficult upbringing in the clutches of an abusive Stepfather, a toxic man by all accounts. John is also one of those seeds, feeling like he can become nothing of consequence. Let them all go Let 'em all go This song is for the people Who tell their families that they're sorry For things they can't and won't feel sorry for This verse needs little explanation; this is John, again, who apologizes to his family in the throes of his addiction, yet it is something that he desires, that kind of escape and oblivion. Also his home situation no doubt in some sense led to his substance abuse problem, so how can he apologize for something to the people partly responsible? And once there was a desk And now it's in a storage locker somewhere And this song is for the stick pins and the cottons I left in the top drawer Let 'em all go Let 'em all go Here he can finally show that this song is all about him, in every verse. He's chosen to leave his addiction behind him. He has to let it go. I wanna sing one for the cars That are right now headed silent down the highway And it's dark and there is nobody driving And something has got to give Again, this is him - aimless, starting again, alone, afraid, and feeling like there's nobody in control. Feeling like something is going to give. But always moving forward. I saw you waiting by the roadside You didn't know that I was watching Now you know Let it all go Let 'em all go Let it all go And John knows that when you feel this way, alone, directionless, and wrapped up in your own hurt - someone understands. Hell, he understands, he was there, even though you didn't know he was watching. Now you know. Let it all go. |
|
* This information can be up to 15 minutes delayed.