Darnielle began the new millennium with The Coroner's Gambit for Absolutely Kosher before signing to 4AD for the release of the surprisingly polished Tallahassee in 2002. We Shall All Be Healed followed in 2004, and one year later, Darnielle was back with The Sunset Tree. Remaining as prolific as ever, Darnielle turned away from the intensity of The Sunset Tree for a calmer, more reflective set of songs on 2006's Get Lonely. The accessible and assured Heretic Pride appeared in 2008. Next up was the Bible verse-inspired The Life of the World to Come, the group's sixth album for 4AD, in 2010. Switching to Merge Records in 2011, Darnielle released All Eternals Deck, which was recorded in four different studios in Brooklyn, Boston, North Carolina, and Florida with four different producers -- John Congleton, Scott Solter, Brandon Eggleston, and Morbid Angel guitarist and Hate Eternal frontman Erik Rutan -- helming various tracks. That year the band was also handpicked by Jeff Mangum of Neutral Milk Hotel to perform at the All Tomorrow's Parties festival that he was curating in Minehead, England, but they were ultimately unable to appear due to scheduling issues.
Black Molly
The Mountain Goats Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
darting back and forth as though an earthquake were certain
and I, turned up the heater
and I ripped off my shirt
and I grabbed hold of my stereo
and I threw it out the window
you were in town again
you'd come around again
siamese fish flashing like sparklers
it started to rain
and the telephone rang a couple of times
I put a bullet through its cold dead brain
and I got out my photographs of you
and I put bullets though all of them too
you were in town again
you'd come around again
you were dragging me down again with you
yeah
The lyrics of The Mountain Goats’ track “Black Molly” depict a person’s escalating frustration and anguish, symbolically represented through the image of black mollies in an aquarium. The aquatic creatures dart back and forth in their tank, anticipating an impending earthquake, while the singer turns up the heater and rips off his shirt. The destructive impulse reaches its peak when he grabs hold of his stereo and throws it out of the window. The sense of agitation and turmoil is compounded by the arrival of someone who has been dragging him down repeatedly whenever they’re in town. The singer suffers a palpable sense of being overwhelmed by this individual’s presence, indicated by the refrain that repeats several times throughout the song: “you were in town again/you’d come around again/you were dragging me down again with you”.
As the song unfolds, the singer’s desperation continues to mount. He visualizes the siamese fish in the aquarium flashing like sparklers, providing a vivid contrast to the inanimate objects that lie destroyed in his wake. The lyrics then take a dark turn as the singer puts a bullet through the phone’s “cold dead brain” after it rings a few times. He continues to act out against objects that remind him of the person who has caused him so much distress, destroying all of his photographs of her with bullets. The song concludes with a repetition of the refrain, emphasizing the cyclic nature of the singer’s troubled existence.
Line by Line Meaning
black mollies in the aquarium,
darting back and forth as though an earthquake were certain
The singer watches his black mollies swim in their tank with great anxiety, seeing their frantic movements as a prelude to disaster.
and I, turned up the heater
and I ripped off my shirt
and I grabbed hold of my stereo
and I threw it out the window
The singer seeks physical release from his mental turmoil, attempting to distract himself with sensory stimulation and heedlessly destroying his personal possessions.
you were in town again
you'd come around again
you were dragging me down again with you
The singer feels emotionally trapped by someone from his past who keeps returning and causing him distress.
siamese fish flashing like sparklers
it started to rain
and the telephone rang a couple of times
I put a bullet through its cold dead brain
The artist's Siamese fish catch his attention with their bright colors, but even this beauty is disrupted by the dreariness of rain and the unwelcome interruption of phone calls which he responds to with destructive violence.
and I got out my photographs of you
and I put bullets though all of them too
The artist resorts to destroying his photographs of the person who haunts him, hoping that this will help him move on from the pain and turmoil they cause him.
you were in town again
you'd come around again
you were dragging me down again with you
yeah
The singer reiterates the sense of being burdened and weighed down by an unwanted and distressing presence in his life, indicating that this struggle is ongoing.
Contributed by Jayden C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.