Whiskeytown was an alt-country band from Raleigh, North Carolina founded in… Read Full Bio ↴Whiskeytown was an alt-country band from Raleigh, North Carolina founded in 1994 and fronted by Ryan Adams along with violinist Caitlin Cary. The band produced a number of albums before ultimately parting ways in 2000.

Other members of the group included guitarists Mike Daly and Phil Wandscher, bassist Steve Grothmann and drummer Skillet Gilmore.

Adams and Cary have publicly talked of reuniting Whiskeytown on multiple occasions, as recently as 2005, but as of yet, nothing new has materialized. The two did perform together briefly, along with Skillet Gilmore, on June 8, 2005, in Raleigh.

Major recordings include:

Faithless Street (Mood Food, 1995) which was later reissued with additional tracks and a new mix.

Strangers Almanac (Outpost, 1997).

Pneumonia (Lost Highway, 2001) the band's swan song, which Adams labored over for two years before its release, by which time the group had split up.

The EP Rural Free Delivery (Mood Food, 1997) collects unreleased tracks from the early days and is apparently reviled by Adams.

Additionally, the band's music appears on various soundtracks and compilations.

Mirror Mirror
Whiskeytown Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Mirror, mirror
Up on the wall in the back of the room
As I walk down the hall in the house where I stayed
Tell me something about what I saw in the face of a man
Who once felt it all but feels nothing today

Knock knock
Who's there

I don't know, I can't say
Ask me tomorrow
I'll tell you the same

Ooh, I'm telling you now
I'm telling you now
Ooh, I'm telling you now
I'm telling you now

Trouble trouble
Down in my hood where it's well understood
They love when you're bad
And they hate when you're good
Tell me something about who we are at the end of our days
When our souls become one but our lives separate

Knock knock
Who's there
I don't know I can't say
Ask me tomorrow
I'll tell you the same

Ooh, I'm telling you now
I'm telling you now (It's bound to make you smile)
Ooh, I'm telling you now
I'm telling you now (It's bound to make you smile)

It's bound to make you smile

Overall Meaning

"Mirror Mirror" by Whiskeytown is a hauntingly beautiful song that delves into the complexities of human emotions and the inevitability of change. The lyrics describe the singer's encounter with a mirror in the back of a room in a house where he is staying. He asks the mirror to show him something about the face of a man who once felt everything but now feels nothing. The mirror reflects the inner turmoil and emptiness of the man, highlighting the stark contrast between his past and present state of being.

The second verse of the song shifts the focus to the singer's neighborhood, where he witnesses the fickle nature of human judgment. The people in his hood prefer you to be bad and hate when you're good. He then asks the mirror to tell him something about who we are at the end of our days, when our souls become one but our lives are separated. The recurring refrain of "knock knock, who's there" is a reflection of the singer's uncertainty about the future and the transience of life. The final lines of the song, "It's bound to make you smile," are tinged with irony, as it is not clear what "it" refers to and the subject matter of the song is far from uplifting.

Overall, "Mirror Mirror" is a melancholic meditation on the human condition, which captures the deeply personal struggle between past and present selves, and the challenge of finding meaning in a world that is constantly changing.

Line by Line Meaning

Mirror, mirror
Addressing the reflection in the mirror

Up on the wall in the back of the room
The location of the mirror in the room

As I walk down the hall in the house where I stayed
The singer is in a house where they used to live

Tell me something about what I saw in the face of a man
Asking the mirror to reveal something about the artist's perception of a man's face

Who once felt it all but feels nothing today
The man in question used to have strong emotions, but now appears to be emotionally numb

Knock knock
Someone is at the door

Who's there
Asking who is at the door

I don't know, I can't say
Uncertainty about who is at the door

Ask me tomorrow
Suggesting that the answer may be known at a later time

I'll tell you the same
Implying that the answer will not change

Trouble trouble
Referring to problems or issues

Down in my hood where it's well understood
Referring to the artist's neighborhood where certain behavior is accepted

They love when you're bad
People in the neighborhood enjoy when others are misbehaving

And they hate when you're good
The opposite is true for those who exhibit good behavior

Tell me something about who we are at the end of our days
Asking the mirror to reveal information about the singer's life when they are older and close to death

When our souls become one but our lives separate
Speculating that in death, the soul becomes united but people's stories are still different

Ooh, I'm telling you now
A confident assertion

I'm telling you now (It's bound to make you smile)
An optimistic statement that suggests good news is coming

It's bound to make you smile
Ensuring that the news to come will be positive

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: MICHAEL A DALY, RYAN ADAMS

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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