The Goldheart Mountaintop Queen Directory
Guided by Voices Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Don't hide - the snake can see you
Old friends you might not remember
Fading away from you
The goldheart mountaintop queen directory
The goldheart mountaintop queen directory
and we looked
And we passed
Through the hallways of shatterproof glass
she runs through the night as if nobody cares
She screams and she cries and ignores all the stares
She wants me to come, but I'm never going there
The goldheart mountaintop queen directory
The goldheart mountaintop queen directory
The song The Goldheart Mountaintop Queen Directory by Guided by Voices is a slow rock ballad that narrates the internal conflicts and desperation of the singer. The opening line "Cold hands touching my face" signifies the eerie and unsettling feeling that the singer experiences. The succeeding line "Don't hide - the snake can see you" further emphasizes the paranoia and the feeling of being watched or hunted. The lyrics "Old friends you might not remember fading away from you" suggests that the singer is reminiscing about past relationships or connections that are slowly disappearing or forgotten.
The recurring line "The goldheart mountaintop queen directory" implies that the singer is searching for an ideal or a purpose in life, represented by the queen directory. The impact of the search is underlined by the second verse, which represents the singer's encounter with a desperate woman running through the night, screaming and crying. This woman represents the singer's own internal demons that he himself is trying to run from.
The chorus melody of the song is catchy and memorable, and the repetition of the line "The goldheart mountaintop queen directory" adds to its gravity. The overall tone of the song is melancholic yet hopeful, a longing for something better and a hope that it can be achieved.
Line by Line Meaning
Cold hands touching my face
My hands are so cold that they are causing my face to feel frigid
Don't hide - the snake can see you
Do not conceal yourself, as the snake can easily perceive your presence
Old friends you might not remember
There are friends from the past that you may no longer recollect
Fading away from you
Those old friendships are diminishing in significance in relation to you
The goldheart mountaintop queen directory
The subject of the song, whose identity is set to be revealed to the listener
The goldheart mountaintop queen directory
The subject of the song, the Goldheart Mountaintop Queen Directory, is reiterated
and we looked
We gazed intently
And we passed
We walked through
Through the hallways of shatterproof glass
We passed through an area that is typically transparent, but indestructible
she runs through the night as if nobody cares
The subject of the song is sprinting during the night as if no one is watching or attending
She screams and she cries and ignores all the stares
She is disregarding every gaze pointed her way while shrieking and weeping
She wants me to come, but I'm never going there
The song's narrator is hesitant to accompany the Goldheart Mountaintop Queen Directory to wherever she is inviting him
The goldheart mountaintop queen directory
The song's central figure, the Goldheart Mountaintop Queen Directory, is mentioned again
The goldheart mountaintop queen directory
The song's central figure, the Goldheart Mountaintop Queen Directory, is reiterated for the final time
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Robert E Pollard Jr
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@mwhit34
Waaay too early for you to love it yet. This is one of the greatest rock records of all time, and possibly the best among the lo-fi GbV classics. Consider yourself fortunate to have found this and good listening.
@yuliag1501
Sometimes I forget how much I love this song.
@jakke007
Being honest, a great drunk-shouting song this is. Unfortunately, i'm always ending up alone, singing this song. Great song, fell in love with it years ago and it's one of those...........; 'she wants me to come but i'm never going there" gets me everytime. Great sentence i think. THX GBV
@joshuawestlund
And imagine 12 years later I walk down Lincoln Avenue in Chicago and hear the beginning of this song and I run there is GBV playing my favorite song of theirs and there’s a giant crowd, diverse, young and old. Singing along. I wish you could have been there, Jakob. I’m sober now but drinking or not we all were drunk-shouting.
@MyDigitalJourney
This song is so much more real now that I'm over 40.
@Mysoulshine1
I just heard this for the first time...beautiful...absolutely fabulous video footage!
@longbeachdave1
"...and we looked / and we passed / down the hallways of shatterproof glass." Oh yes we did! 13.5 years of intoxicating bliss with a soulmate.
@jondd87
This song sounds so fucking EPIC! Love that part when they both join in to sing loud
@XFondueX
this song makes me think so vividly of the childhood i spent in the little society of neighbors and friends that used to be beside the river where i live, until all the houses were knocked down. i miss that feeling
@spirallemniscate
Saw them perform this at their first Los Angeles show ever at Jabberjaw in the early 90s. From then on I knew that these guys were something really, really special.