The Mountain Goats are an American band formed in Claremont, California, by… Read Full Bio ↴The Mountain Goats are an American band formed in Claremont, California, by singer-songwriter John Darnielle. The band is currently based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. For many years, the sole member of the Mountain Goats was Darnielle, despite the plural moniker. The Mountain Goats are, for all practical purposes, the endlessly clever and prolific John Darnielle and whatever musicians he surrounds himself with, which means that while the soundscape may change from project to project, the overall tone and feel of Darnielle's work remains remarkably consistent. At his best, he writes finely observed, slightly surreal, impressionistic vignettes that manage to mix life as we live it with life as we wish we could live it, and as such he has more in common with a novelist than he does with the typical singer/songwriter, which is fitting, as he's also a published author. Darnielle's early Mountain Goats releases were lo-fi, cassette-recorded efforts cut with a rotating lineup of musicians, such as 1995's Nine Black Poppies and 2000's The Coroner's Gambit. By 2005's The Sunset Tree, his recordings had become cleaner and less cluttered, but his characters studies were just as vivid, and as the Mountain Goats finally cohered into a stable lineup (with Darnielle joined by Peter Hughes, Matt Douglas, and Jon Wurster), they recorded tuneful, thematically unified albums such as Beat the Champ (2015) and Goths (2017) that ranked with their finest work.
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.

I Think I'll Just Stay Here and Drink
The Mountain Goats Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Could be holding you tonight
Could quit doing wrong,start doing right
You don't care about what I think
I think I'll just stay here and drink

Hey, putting you down won't square the deal
A least you'll know the way I feel
Hey, take all the money in the bank

I think I'll just stay here and drink

Hey, listen close so you can hear

That loud jukebox playing in my ear
Ain't no woman gonna change the way I think
I think I'll just stay here and drink

Hey, hurtin' me know don't mean a thing
Since love ain't here I don't feel a thing

My mind ain't nothing but a total blank
I think I'll just stay here and drink

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of The Mountain Goats's song, "I Think I'll Just Stay Here and Drink," present a scenario where the singer is struggling with the idea of making things right, but ultimately decides to give in to his desires and continue his self-destructive habits. The first verse introduces the possibility of having a romantic partner but suggests that it would require the singer to change his behavior, which he is not willing to do. Instead, he chooses to stay where he is and drink.

The second verse continues with the singer acknowledging that he has been putting the other person down, but he claims that this won't change how he feels. He then goes on to say that he would rather let the other person take all the money in the bank than change his ways. The chorus reinforces the notion that he plans to stay where he is and drink.

The final verse emphasizes the singer's disinterest in changing his mindset, claiming that no woman can change the way he thinks. He then states that despite the other person hurting him, he doesn't feel anything because love is no longer present. He concludes by saying that his mind is blank and he will continue to drink. Overall, the lyrics depict someone who is resigned to their self-destruction and unwilling to make necessary changes to heal themselves.

Line by Line Meaning

Could be holding you tonight
I could be with you right now, but I'm not because I've been making bad choices.

Could quit doing wrong, start doing right
I should stop making bad choices and start making good ones instead.

You don't care about what I think
You don't value my opinion or feelings.

I think I'll just stay here and drink
I'm going to cope by drinking instead of dealing with my problems directly.

Hey, putting you down won't square the deal
Insulting you won't make anything better.

At least you'll know the way I feel
I can at least express my emotions openly to you.

Hey, take all the money in the bank
Money doesn't matter to me right now because I'm feeling down.

I think I'll just stay here and drink
Drinking will help me numb my emotions.

Hey, listen close so you can hear
Pay attention because I'm about to tell you something important.

That loud jukebox playing in my ear
I'm using music as a distraction from my problems.

Ain't no woman gonna change the way I think
No one else can truly change me or my thoughts.

I think I'll just stay here and drink
I'm going to continue to drink instead of facing my problems head-on.

Hey, hurtin' me now don't mean a thing
Even though I'm hurting now, it doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things.

Since love ain't here, I don't feel a thing
Without love, I don't have any real emotional connections or feelings.

My mind ain't nothing but a total blank
I can't think clearly or focus on anything.

I think I'll just stay here and drink
Drinking is my go-to coping mechanism, and I'm not ready to face my problems yet.

Contributed by Joshua F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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Comments from YouTube:

Anton

11y↑16

"Never mention it again, thank you, good night." What a gem

sam Pasinski

12y↑7

I do love Merle and John Darnielle.... this is a great song.. I need a copy of this somehow!!

JDBlessin

11y↑26

Remember when this picture was on the front page of The Mountain Goats website? Along with a story of how they had stolen all of their recording equipment? I had a serious nostalgic reaction to that picture.