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Old College Try Lyrics

From the housetops to the gutters
From the ocean to the shore
The warning signs have all been bright and garish
Far too great in number to ignore

From the cities to the swamplands
From the highways to the hills
Our love has never had a leg to stand on
From the aspirins to the cross-tops to the Elevils
But I will walk down to the end with you
If you will come all the way down with me

From the entrance to the exit
Is longer than it looks from where we stand
I want to say I'm sorry for stuff I haven't done yet
Things will shortly get completely out of hand
I can feel it in the rotten air tonight
In the tips of my fingers
In the skin on my face
In the weak last gasp of the evening's dying light
In the way those eyes I've always loved illuminate this place
Like a trashcan fire in a prison cell
Like the searchlights in the parking lots of hell
I will walk down to the end with you
If you will come all the way down with me
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Cover art for Old College Try lyrics by Mountain Goats, The

It's about the determination to see this ugly, broken, fucked-up thing through to its bitter, hateful, pointless end.

Cover art for Old College Try lyrics by Mountain Goats, The

I think what's really missing from the prior interpretations is that this song really is not hopeful. This is the Alpha male's absolute last attempt to make this irreparably broken thing work. It's not a compromise. It's a fatalistic acceptance that their love is more important than their lives.

"But I will walk / Down to the end with you / If you will come / All the way down with me"

It's important to note the use of the word "down" in relation to where their going and to know what the Alpha male is referring to by "the end." Many songs relating to the Alphas refer to them moving either up or down vertically (or pretending to move up while actually moving downward). In this song, the end of their relationship is worse than where they are now, as denoted by the downward movement.

"From the entrance to the exit / Is longer than it looks from where we stand"

He's pleading a bit. The end of the marriage (or more likely, their lives) is farther away than she thinks it is.

"In the weak last gasp of the evening's dying light In the way those eyes I've always loved illuminate this place Like a trashcan fire in a prison cell Like the searchlights in the parking lots of hell"

Here he compares the marriage and/or his life to both a prison and the entrance to hell. However, he compares her eyes to two things that are in some way hopeful or welcoming: fire and searchlights. These things both point upwards to a place that he values as being better than where he is.

My Interpretation

I agree with you, but when ARE the Mountain Goats "hopeful." LOL

Not Valid
Cover art for Old College Try lyrics by Mountain Goats, The

I have a bootleg of a concert where John introduces this song and tells us all its meaning:

"This is a song about two people who love eachother very much, but accept their lot in life to torture eachother to death".

Song Meaning
Cover art for Old College Try lyrics by Mountain Goats, The

"In the way those eyes I've always loved illuminate this place Like a trashcan fire in a prison cell"

Best simile ever :D

Cover art for Old College Try lyrics by Mountain Goats, The

"You know how in some operas, usually not the good ones, there'll be some sort of… guy'll come out and basically tell you what to expect… Guy comes out and says "Well, you'll be seeing me and I'll be divorcing my wife and then by the end of the play we'll all be quite miserable and I hope you enjoy it and pay us afterwards." … This song is sort of like that moment from Tallahassee where everybody is announcing that, you know: "Looks as though divorce is what's next for us, eh? Let's get everything lined up for the big ugly divorce, shall we?" And they sort of look each other in the eyes and say "Yes, let's!"

-John Darnielle, Remis Auditorium, Boston, October 27, 2005

Song Meaning
Cover art for Old College Try lyrics by Mountain Goats, The

the whole song is just very tender, i think. very sweet, very sad, but also very beautiful. to be in love and deseprate and sad, but determined to work ith this one person.

Cover art for Old College Try lyrics by Mountain Goats, The

"In the way those eyes I've always loved illuminate this place Like a trashcan fire in a prison cell Like the searchlights in the parking lots of hell"

I cannot imagine a better simile existing. Ever. Each time I hear this song, that line makes me stop short. Beautiful.

Anyway, this song is sad. But so, so hopeful. It's about a couple that's falling apart but determined to stay together. They love each other but can't help fighting constantly because they're both so messed up. Yet they love each other.

Cover art for Old College Try lyrics by Mountain Goats, The

Next goddamn hipster I hear say "I want this played at my wedding! It's hilarious!" is going to get punched in the nose.

Dismissing anything on Tallahassee as light-hearted satire is proof that you're too shallow a human being to understand the depths of what John's dredging.

PS - the organ is ironic, not satirical (you dumbasses). The organ gets played at both weddings and funerals. The Alpha's relationship has been one long wedding/funeral since the day it started.

My Opinion
Cover art for Old College Try lyrics by Mountain Goats, The

"I want to say I'm sorry for stuff I haven't done yet Things will shortly get completely out of hand "

i feel like that alot.

Cover art for Old College Try lyrics by Mountain Goats, The

Beautiful song, very very...

It rather amused me when I was playing the old Sam Cooke Song "Wonderfull World" and I found that its chord progression is Identical to this song as well...hmm.