“Hello, Old Rabbit” opens up the “lost” album with a narrator telling us a lie in the chorus.

Track: “Hello, Old Rabbit”
Album: Hail and Farewell, Gothenburg (1995)

I told myself I would not include anything from Hail and Farewell, Gothenburg unless I got to the end of this process. The album doesn’t technically exist and wasn’t released, so there’s a strong argument to not even mention it. In 2007 it was leaked online and the band started playing songs from it live again, so it seems like John Darnielle has made his peace with it. If you’re of the opinion that no one should talk about it, I can’t say I blame you.

“Hello, Old Rabbit” is the opening track. The version you’ll hear, usually, isn’t pitch corrected. You can find a version that is, if you look, and you’ll hear something that sounds more like John Darnielle in 1995. You can get lost in semantics here, as neither is “real,” but there’s not a huge difference for this one. I tend to favor the “not correct” version as I’ve been hearing that one for years, but you do you.

In a lot of ways, this just feels like another song from the era. Someone is near some water and someone else beats themselves up while they overanalyze the situation. I really like this song, but I wonder how much of that is the secret nature of it. I was a relatively new fan when it was discovered and I remember wondering if it was “okay” to like it. Darnielle has said consistently that the “lost” and “secret” songs are worse than the official ones and that’s why they’re lost. I think the simplest answer is to enjoy this as more music by the band, but don’t fall into the trap of thinking this is a holy relic.