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.
Hair Match
The Mountain Goats Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
No one anticipates the sunset flip
The referee and your opponent will hold you there
And we're gonna bring in a folding chair
We'll stipulate that there will be no cameras filming
But of course there will be several in the building
And if by chance somebody hits "record"
Cheap electric razor from the Thrifty down the street
Two guys down around your ankles so you'll stay put in your seat
Buzzing razor held aloft and just about to strike
I loved you before I even ever knew what love was like
Some people leave before it's over, but most of them stay
Some hide behind their programs, some turn away
Out in the parking lot you look up at the stars
And all the cheap cars
The Mountain Goats' "Hair Match" is a song about the spectacle of professional wrestling, specifically focusing on the titular hair match - a match stipulation where the loser has to have their head shaved. The chorus describes the actual hair shaving process, with the singer potentially lunging for the bad guy's hip before the referee and opponent hold them down and bring in a folding chair. The second verse anticipates the presence of cameras despite the stipulation against filming, and the third verse involves the actual hair cutting with a cheap electric razor. The final verse after the chorus describes the aftermath of the match, with some audience members leaving and others looking up at the stars in the parking lot.
The central metaphor of the hair match is obvious - it represents a literal stripping away of someone's identity, as their hair is often seen as a defining external characteristic. More broadly, the song can be seen as a commentary on the nature of performance and the ways in which we present ourselves to the world. Professional wrestling is an artifice - a deliberate and choreographed manipulation of reality designed to entertain and evoke emotional responses from the audience. In this way, the hair match can be seen as symbolic of the ways in which we are all performing our identities on some level - while we don't necessarily engage in physical battles for them, our hair and appearance more generally are still a part of the carefully constructed image we present to the world.
Overall, "Hair Match" paints a vivid picture of a specific cultural phenomenon while also raising broader questions about performance and identity. The song is emblematic of The Mountain Goats' ability to craft complex and nuanced narratives with only a few well-chosen words.
Line by Line Meaning
You'll be maybe lunging for the bad guy’s hip
You might be trying to grab your opponent's hip
No one anticipates the sunset flip
No one expects the sunset flip move
The referee and your opponent will hold you there
The referee and your opponent will keep you in place
And we're gonna bring in a folding chair
A folding chair will be brought into the match
We'll stipulate that there will be no cameras filming
We agree that no cameras will be allowed to record the event
But of course there will be several in the building
Despite the agreement, there will probably be cameras present
And if by chance somebody hits 'record'
If someone manages to secretly record the event
And stands real still somewhere back behind the soundboard
And stays hidden behind the sound equipment
Cheap electric razor from the Thrifty down the street
A low-cost electric razor from a nearby store
Two guys down around your ankles so you'll stay put in your seat
Two people will hold your legs to keep you in your seat
Buzzing razor held aloft and just about to strike
The razor is being lifted and is ready to shave your head
I loved you before I even ever knew what love was like
I had feelings for you before I even understood love
Some people leave before it's over, but most of them stay
Some people leave the event early, but most stay until the end
Some hide behind their programs, some turn away
Some people try to avoid watching the head shaving
Out in the parking lot you look up at the stars
After the event, you go outside to the parking lot and look at the stars
And all the cheap cars
And all the inexpensive cars in the parking lot
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Joey JoJo
I feel like it's less of an allegory and more about the resignation of seeing someone you look up to not only be defeated but humilliated.
They are stripped of what made you idolize them, knocked from the pedestal and beaten with it. Your love for them takes on a mournful, worried tint, but remains strong despite it all.
Andrew Graham
"I loved you before I even ever knew what love was like."
kamalmanzukie
7juuuj
Matt S
I confess, I've never been able to shake the sense that this is an (eerie) allegory about dying. Maybe that's a stretch -- but it's the only way I've been able to bring the story into focus.
Hoi Ting Wu
the winds following "and all the cheap cars" really hits me
plantpot shoes
I feel this is about people you trusted taking your dignity and whilst people may know whats happening, nobody does anything to help, something they were proud of (their hair) or their accomplishments, their innocence, being ripped away or degraded
Either way, love the song
Gamer Gril
@danillo Gonçalves lmao
danillo Gonçalves
@Gamer Gril no, its about a hair match
Gamer Gril
@danillo Gonçalves there is a concept known as 'allegory' and 'interpretation'
danillo Gonçalves
A hair match its wrestling match i witch the loser is forced to cut his hair