[John spoken]
Hi, it's the Mountain Goats
It's the seventeenth of december
at nine thirty four in the morning
And this is called 'No, I Can't.'

You bought me some candy.
And you bought me some flowers.
And you bought me a sofa.
And you bought me a radio.

Thank you for the candy.
Thank you for the flowers.
Thank you for the sofa.
Thank you for the radio.

(Now I have everything I need.) x4

You brought me a puppy.
And you brought me a lamp.
And you brought me some books.
And you brought me a filing cabinet.

Thanks you for the puppy.
Thank you for the lamp.
Thanks for the books.
Thanks for the filing cabinet;
I don't know what I did without it.

(Now I have everything I need.) x4

You came by. And you came in.
And you let the wind in.
It must be cold outside.
We looked out, through the sliding glass door.
But I'd forgotten what we were looking for.

Thank you for coming by.
It's nice to see you once in a while.
Thank you for the coat I forgot to mention.
I've been freezing in here.
I've been freezing in here.

(Now I have everything I need.) x4
Yeah!


Lyrics submitted by sendthestars

No I Can't song meanings
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    General Comment

    I've always thought this song talked about a superficial relationship/friendship. You can't really find anything to talk about besides material things, and conversation sometimes ends up just looking into space, pretending to be engrossed in something else. "thank you for coming by/it's nice to see you once in a while" seems so forced and formal when something like that should be natural and actually happy.

    darneeon March 30, 2006   Link

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