the Mountain Goats - Getting Into Knives (Jordan Lake Sessions)

[@lucasreid4443]

The face he makes whenever he says “getting into knives”

[@HolaHola-tq8xx]

This starts to become a highlight of my week.

[@ItTakesTwoReviews]

These sessions have my favorite versions of my favorite songs. Thanks for keeping the videos coming!

[@DredFonnelly]

It's a gift to be simple, it's a gift to be free my friends

[@kaderobinson8671]

This one of my favorite mountain goats songs

[@oyoystein]

I think it's pretty clearly a song about revenge. Or maybe more about the FEELING of wanting revenge, and how it lingers and you're never fully able to shake it off and let go. Even if whatever wrongdoing you suffered was a long time ago. (Now here we are thirty years later.) At the surface it's a pretty straight forward story about someone tracking down someone who burned down their childhood home to stab them. But I dunno, the lyrics and metaphors are in a way that makes me think it isn't to be taken literally. And the would-be killer seems ambivalent to what they are about to do, when they find their target and the song ends. John Darnielle has written several songs about the struggle of balancing being a good person and wanting to do bad things, especially if said bad things are justified. To me, this song feels like a more mature and dreamy version of Up the wolves from The Sunset Tree (2005), an album solely about dealing with childhood abuse. Of that song, he's said: "I'm always trying to figure out what to say about this god damn song. Part of me wants to say look it's about revenge, but as soon as I say that... no, that's not quite it. Part of me wants to say it's about the satisfaction of not needing revenge... and I say no, that some new age stuff. I think it's a song about the moment in your quest for revenge when you learn to embrace the futility of it. The moment when you know that the thing you want is ridiculous and pompous and a terrible thing to want anyway. The direction in which you're headed is not the direction in which you want to go, yet you're going to head that way a while longer anyway cause that's just the kind of person you are." In this song he explores that direction. IMO.

[@ArmorArmadillo]

You have an amazing write-up of what this about, and I think, taking what you say and my own thoughts, this is the song about the journey of what you learn on the path to a revenge you can never really get.

[@inquisitiveterrestrian]

I’ve never known what to think of this song, thank you so much for writing this, it’s added some great perspective

[@Da_Roach_Dogg]

I honestly love your voice man, it’s so mellow

[@Dragic27]

Congrats on 25 million streams for This Year JD!

[@jrresttucherweizen639]

Gorgeous song guys. Just discovered you in 2021 and can't find enough good things to say about your music. This is one of the highlight of your careers. Pure perfect.

[@whatifgaming1661]

Imagine if this song was just one line *long guitar intro* "Im getting into knives." *song ends*

[@joelmiddaugh8229]

Will always remember these guys from Weeds. I've heard like 10 of their songs on that show.

[@siralexander3359]

John explained that the song was inspired by a particularly eloquent spam email which he had received from a purported purveyor of high-quality knives, at 2022-05-18 - Thalia Hall - Chicago, IL

[@dms5341]

this is real nice

[@obi1988]

First!! ⛰ 🐐's rule!!

[@2Stripez]

How many people has John Darnielle killed

[@wirecrossing2198]

So many

[@playasadonejoe]

@@wirecrossing2198 And he's only just getting into knives!

[@MarshallPust]

​@@playasadonejoeWell, he has graduated from foreign objects!

[@dwindlebunny]

Thanks auto captions. I have also been up and down the buffet several different times and adjusted my focus.

[@dwindlebunny]

I'm getting into nights/nice.

[@hcos8139]

What is the meaning behind this song?

[@rubiconsrundry7765]

bro is getting into knives