Drunk Walk Home

This song means so much to me and so many people in general. Mitski has a way of writing lyrics and hiding meanings in those lyrics. The song drunk walk home, in my opinion, highlights the emotional state of a young struggling women. The first line of the song states. "I will retire to the Salton sea, at the age of 23" I think this line holds so much symbolism because the Salton sea was once aluded to as a tourist attraction, a natural wonder of the world. Now people who live In the area classify it as an agricultural disaster. It is full of waste and full of dead fish. And our narrator young and presumably at her peak, wishes to retreat and retire in it, eternally decaying with the fish carcusses. In the next line of the song, we then see why our narrator feels this way. The second line says "For I'm starting to learn I may never be free But though I may never be free Fuck you and your money I'm tired of your money". This line from the song holds so much meaning in the overall context of the song. It shows the frustration and sadness that the narrator feels, trying just to make ends meat in todays society. See, the narrator knows even with a good paying job, they will never have the same financial security as their parents or even grandparents did, and they are frustrated. They are filled with agonizing anger and realization that they will never financially succeed in life and they figure that they'd rather forever lay and decay in the Salton sea, rather than repeat the agonizing process of over working just to make bearly enough to survive. In the second half of the song, it shows a more vulnerable side of the narrator. The next lyrics say "And I sit on the curb 'cause it's the prettiest night With no one else in sight you know I wore this dress for you These killer heels for you See the dark, it moves With every breath of the breeze" I think that this line shows the overwhelming loneliness and Solitude that many mitski songs share. I think that those lyrics showcase the loneliness that the narrator feels, staring into the beautiful night, with no one else to share the beauty of the world with. The lines show her anger and possible signs of betrayal as the lyrics hint at a possible romantic rejection. WIth all this anger and sadness that the narrator has built up inside her, they have nothing more soothing to do then to scream their sorrows into the dark beautiful night.

The start of the song maybe refers to her frustration. She keeps working and it seems life is all about making money. "I will retire to the Salton Sea": the Salton sea is toxic, riddled with pesticides and unsafe to swim in, yet despite it's toxic state, its better to retire there young than working away at a normal corporate job. She will never be free, so she might as well decay beside the Salton Sea. The second half is a definite reference to her frustration, trying to find freedom in night life, she's left abandoned on the side of the street despite having dressed up specifically for this occasion. Having her romantic advances rejected, she has nothing more to do than look into the night, screaming out of frustration. At its core, Drunk Walk Home is all about rejection.