January 14 - Going To Norwalk

This is a vignette with a ghost in it, a delightful and time honoured musical tradition. A slice from John's life from which he has removed himself and added another.

Musically this is about as simple as most of the early Mountain Goats material: a repeating refrain over which a small scene plays out. A lonely figure (because they always are, even when surrounded by others) stops late at night and a clear spoken confessional describes the moment as two raccoons cross his path.

What I get from the simple expression in this song is the fact that loneliness is never about being on your own. You can be on your own and be entirely content. You can be in a crowd and be desperately lonely, because it's not about where you are, it's about who (usually from a very small list) isn't there.

Empty buildings are made emptier because you're one of the people not in there. The sight of two raccoons moving together is a reminder that I'm moving alone.

I don't know this narrator, but I hope that one day he learned how to stand it.

This is the first song I've been able to post about on the correct day. I'm caught up, whatever that means. See you tomorrow.