The Bright Mountain Choir echoes a simple refrain in the sweet, curious “Going to Lebanon.”

Track: “Going to Lebanon”
Album: Zopilote Machine (1994)

It took almost three decades, but we finally got a sequel to “Going to Lebanon.” If the title of “Going to Lebanon 2” didn’t say so, though, I don’t think anyone could reasonably be expected to pick up a connection. There are few enough of these sequel songs that it’s worth calling them out when they exist, but both find a duo by a shoreline as they contemplate things inside themselves. It’s not wholly unfamiliar territory, so just how critical the connection is may be up for debate. John Darnielle did dedicate the second to the person who “looks like” himself who wrote the first, which is my second favorite version of that joke. He once dedicated a song to a person who happened to have the same Social Security number as himself.

The Bright Mountain Choir (3/4, no Rachel on this one, as confirmed here) adds just a little to this one, but they make it a memorable performance. There’s a lot to imagine in this one, with a ton of description of physical space and movement. We don’t get enough backstory or emotion to understand how these two are related, but we can certainly assume, though “I saw your sash come untied” certainly carries different meaning depending on your assumptions. “Blue water, white sky” is a simple repetition, but the performance is so nice that it doesn’t matter much. For whatever reason I’ve always found this one a tough one to connect to logically, but an easy one to enjoy when I come across it. The nature of the live radio performance really works for this one and it’s worth visiting several times.