If the strain proves too much
Give up right away
If the light hurts your eyes
Stay in your room all day

When the room fills with smoke
Lie down on the floor
In the declining years
Of the long war

Well the blood’s in the water
And the shark’s gonna come
And we swim in the dark
Until our bodies are numb

Blind desert rats in the moonlight
Too far from shore
In the declining years
Of the long war

Empty room with a lightbulb
Where the phone starts to ring
Everybody gets nervous
Nobody says anything

The next day someone’s initials
Show up on the door
I think I’m gonna crack
Can’t live like this anymore

Ugly things in the darkness
Worse things in store
In the declining years
Of the long war




Lyrics submitted by mdon06

In the Craters of the Moon song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

7 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +1
    General Comment

    In March in New York, Darnielle told a story that, to paraphrase, "sometimes you just don't want to leave the house for days... and your friends come over and say they brought groceries. Don't let them in! It's a trick! They're not really your friend. When you lock yourself in your house and all you need is daytime TV, and a pencil, to keep track of the days that you've been locked in the house. This song was written, with that pencil."

    deevoon August 16, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Small point, but it's actually "In the Craters ON the Moon."

    PureSophiston February 19, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Best song on the album.

    Code_Jon February 20, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Code J, Agreed.

    WantedManon February 20, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    john darnielle and jeffery lewis made a comic explaining each song on the new album, you can look at it here:

    thejeffreylewissite.com/Mt-Goats-Press-Kit-08.html

    Sunset Rubdownon March 09, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I just saw John Darnielle live in portland and he told us about how this song was about a hotel his friends lived in that was notable for "its remarkable power to destroy" he said he doesnt remember where it is but it was in a broken down neighborhood in portland OR.

    benthebeardedon October 25, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    just saw the MG live in Melbourne he intro'd the song as "for people for when you look in the mirror and you think 'who has stolen my mirror?' then you go to find medicine in your medicine cabinet and you dont really mean medicine, i do know what you mean and thats why i wrote this song"

    pickingpocketson December 10, 2008   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
Fortnight
Taylor Swift
The song 'Fortnight' by Taylor Swift and Post Malone tells a story about strong feelings, complicated relationships, and secret wishes. It talks about love, betrayal, and wanting someone who doesn't feel the same. The word 'fortnight' shows short-lived happiness and guilty pleasures, leading to sadness. It shows how messy relationships can be and the results of hiding emotions. “I was supposed to be sent away / But they forgot to come and get me,” she kickstarts the song in the first verse with lines suggesting an admission to a hospital for people with mental illnesses. She goes in the verse admitting her lover is the reason why she is like this. In the chorus, she sings about their time in love and reflects on how he has now settled with someone else. “I took the miracle move-on drug, the effects were temporary / And I love you, it’s ruining my life,” on the second verse she details her struggles to forget about him and the negative effects of her failure. “Thought of callin’ ya, but you won’t pick up / ‘Nother fortnight lost in America,” Post Malone sings in the outro.
Album art
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Album art
Cajun Girl
Little Feat
Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve. The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future. Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere" The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
Album art
I Can't Go To Sleep
Wu-Tang Clan
This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
Album art
No Surprises
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.