Lyric discussion by heroinhotwater 

Cover art for The Mess Inside lyrics by Mountain Goats, The

"looked hard for what we'd lost. it was painful to admit it, but we couldn't find a thing."

This kills me. I feel like those two lines sum it up. This song also feels like an early version of what became the "Tallahassee" album, with the metaphor of a broken house and a broken relationship. Mm.

@heroinhotwater Very similar to the Alpha Couple but I think it is a different couple. It seems to be the Alpha Couple never had a phase where they were truly in love because they were so self-absorbed in their alcoholism. This relationship is almost more painful because they genuinely loved each other at one time, and both want desperately to get back to their earlier love, and yet they can't, they have lost it and once it's lost you can't get it back.