As two people consider the sounds of children in New York through a window, they realize they may not know each other 

Track: “Going to Queens”
Album: Sweden (1995)

“Going to Queens” fits into a number of categories for Goats songs. Most notably, it’s part of the “Going to…” series. Depending on which title you use for some of the unofficially named deep-cut, live-only songs, there are somewhere around 40 or 50 songs that feature “Going to” in their title. Fans think about the series in different ways, but they all recognize the importance of location in John Darnielle’s world. It’s partially about being specific — “Queens” is mentioned in the song before “New York City,” and it tells you so much more about where they are — but it’s also about the beauty of the mundane. In “Going to Queens,” the couple isn’t on one particularly beautiful street corner or in one awesome bedroom, they’re just in the same place that lots of other people are. They aren’t special, everything is special.

Sweden is the second studio album, and “Going to Queens” is a standout track. Despite seeming slight at first listen when compared to the later material, it actually conveys a lot with a little. It features the original female vocalist, bassist, and only-other-Goats-member Rachel Ware, and she lends a haunting quality to the track. She’s actually louder than John in the song, and John comes off almost uncertain in his delivery. It suggests that the characters are talking to each other in an intimate moment when their bodies are “heavy on” each other, and that they don’t really have enough of a connection to keep going. It’s a common sentiment, and “Going to Queens” benefits from being adaptable to multiple situations. Everyone understands saying “You were all I ever wanted // you were all I’d ever need” and hoping that this time, saying it out loud will make it become true.