Sweet language can only distract from the darkness underneath for so long in “Going to Bristol.”

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

Owen Pallett, also often known as Final Fantasy, played violin on a live tour with the Mountain Goats in 2009. For whatever reason, even for shows where no one uploaded a live recording, someone nearly always took video of his performance with John Darnielle for duo performances of “Going to Bristol.” Video isn’t the most uncommon thing for a live show, but I really do have to call out how consistently this is available. You can watch a half dozen of them on the wiki. But of all those shows, I call attention to the solo set in 2018 in Toronto. John Darnielle says the three solo songs of the night have a theme. The theme turns out to be that Owen Pallett has covered all of them in the past, but it could just as easily be that “Pure Heat,” “Going to Bristol,” and “Alpha Omega” all allude to or include people leaving. That show is also where John Darnielle confirms that the first song he ever played live at the first Mountain Goats show was “Alpha Omega,” which must have been quite a sight.

“Going to Bristol” can be read a few ways, but one character definitely smashes a coffee cup and breaks a key in a lock during a tense exit. The narrator’s “I liked everything I saw” and the guitar suggest a love song, but it’s anything but by the end. “Why don’t you just sit still // it’s gonna be okay” is not something you say in a relationship where everyone is getting their needs met. The delivery is beautiful, but the narrator is not to be trusted.