Old College Try Lyrics
From the ocean to the shore
The warning signs have all been bright and garish
Far too great in number to ignore
From the cities to the swamplands
From the highways to the hills
Our love has never had a leg to stand on
From the aspirins to the cross-tops to the Elavils
But I will walk down to the end with you
If you will come all the way down with me
From the entrance to the exit
Is longer than it looks from where we stand
I want to say I'm sorry for stuff I haven't done yet
Things will shortly get completely out of hand
I can feel it in the rotten air tonight
In the tips of my fingers, in the skin on my face
In the weak last gasp of the evening's dying light
In the way those eyes I've always loved illuminate this place
Like a trashcan fire in a prison cell
Like the searchlights in the parking lots of hell
I will walk down to the end with you
If you will come all the way down with me
About
Track #12 on The Mountain Goats‘ thirteenth full-length album Tallahassee.
Tallahassee is devoted to two of John Darnielle’s recurring characters—known to fans as the “Alpha Couple” after the titles of several songs in which they appear—a married couple constantly on the edge of divorce who move into a house in Tallahassee, Florida. Sick of themselves and each other, yet unwilling to part, they begin drinking themselves to death.
This song showcases the difficulties the couple have faced together, while contrasting it with the strange form of love they feel for one another.
“The old college try” is an idiom originating in American baseball indicating an effort unlikely to succeed but nevertheless undertaken strenuously, in the way a major league rookie might go after a fly ball with all of the spirit and vigor he would have in his college days.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
- 1.Tallahassee
- 7.No Children
- 9.Peacocks
- 11.Have to Explode
- 12.Old College Try
- 14.Alpha Rats Nest
