Two people take a trip down the highway, or at least hope to do just that, in “15-1.”

Track: “15-1”
Album: Hot Garden Stomp (1993)

There exists a “15-2” that we won’t really talk about much, but I encourage you to hear it and contrast it with “15-1.” The naming convention is obviously a connection and it may go deeper, but I think the one actually released on Hot Garden Stomp is the better song. I’m surprised to hear a much younger John Darnielle internally rhyme “moonbeams” with “sweet cream” but you have to appreciate it within the context. This feels like a song about young love, about a time when thirty dollars and another night or two with someone is just about as big as you’ll let yourself dream. That never really goes away, but it feels like such a young narrator to me. I’m sure I’m falling prey to the problem of picturing John Darnielle as the narrator, which we must never do, but the high pitch and 1993 just sorta does the lifting for you.

I think this is in the top half of Hot Garden Stomp, but I can understand why it never found that sweet spot of songs that show up in the solo set every now and again. This one is pretty directly about romantic love, and it’s a little more physical than a lot of them ever got. “Just an old sweet song made new by your body” is not especially explicit, but it takes you to a more specific place than some of the grander emotional directions from some of the other songs. There’s something intimate here that mixes so well with the guitar and the word choice. You could miss this one, but I encourage you to close your eyes and listen again.