Things John Darnielle Has Taught Me

Note 1: I did this one before, for Tom Waits. It may become an irregular thing.

Note 2: I could have said "the Mountain Goats," but JD is tMG, for most purposes, so I kept it parallel.

"When you punish a person for dreaming his dream,
Don't expect him to thank or forgive you."
 -The Best Ever Death Metal Band in Denton


"Our friends say it's darkest before the sun rises
We're pretty sure they're all wrong."
 - No Children

(and also)

"People say friends don't destroy one another,
What do they know about friends"
 - Game Shows Touch Our Lives

"But selling acid was a bad idea
And selling it to a cop was a worse one."
 - Fall of the Star High School Running Back

"What will I do when I don't have you
When I finally get what I deserve?"
 - Oceanographer's Choice

"If we never make it back to California
I want you to know I love you
But my love is like a dark cloud full of rain
That's always right there up above you."
 - See America Right

"And it was hard but you were brave, you are splendid
And we will never be alone in this world
no matter what they say
We're gonna be okay."
 - San Bernardino

"I am going to make it through this year
If it kills me."
 - This Year

"Do every stupid thing that makes you feel alive
Do every stupid thing to try to drive the dark away
Let people call you crazy for the choices that you make
Climb limits past the limits
Jump in front of trains all day."
 - Amy aka Spent Gladiator 1

"I can remember when we were in high school
Our dreams were like fugitive warlords
Plotting triumphant returns to the city
Keeping Tec-9's tucked under the floorboards."
 - Home Again Garden Grove

"I'm gonna get myself in fighting trim
Scope out every angle
Of unfair advantage
I'm gonna bribe the officials
I'm gonna kill all the judges
It's gonna take you people years
To recover from all of the damage."
 - Up the Wolves

And, more than anything else:

"I dreamt that I was perched atop a throne of human skulls
On a cliff above the ocean, howling wind and shrieking seagulls
And the dream went on forever, one single static frame
Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name."
 -Autoclave