Lyric discussion by louisjoe 

Cover art for Fault Lines lyrics by Mountain Goats, The

I believe that this is the outcome of the couple in Jenny after their trip. If you see these lyrics from Jenny as he keeps mentioning the Kawasaki motorbike that drove them away to fulfill 'their dreams'.. "how much better, how much better could my life get? nine hundred cubic centimeters of raw whining power" You can see that he associates already the idea of leaving with this girl and being free, with a material good. He then goes on to sing about how there is a crack in the engine in Fault Lines and the Italian racecar. "I got a cracked engine block both of us do got a house, the jewels, the italian racecar they don't make us feel better about who we are" After associating the feeling with the material good, perhaps along the way of their relationship, he forgot what the meaning of it was. And so he starts to buy more and more stuff and starts to become aware of it happening. To put it to more simple words... their relationship used to be about driving away and being free, but now it's just about the bike. Also, dreaming about times that could have been/could be and hopefulness that soon crumbles seems to be a theme through AHWT.

My Interpretation