“Jenny III” is a ballad for a person who represents hope, escape, and the future.

Track: “Jenny III”
Album: Jenny From Thebes

It is a stretch, but I view “Jenny III” as a piece of magical realism. This is John Darnielle, of the Mountain Goats, talking to Jenny. It’s her hero story as much as her pirate ballad. She’s to be feared, loved, respected, and doubted, all at once. Was there ever even a Jenny? Probably not, if you never saw her, that’s just some bullshit those dudes talk about around the way.

It could just as easily be her old compatriot from any of the half-dozen songs not on Jenny From Thebes about her, but it doesn’t really matter. Jenny left this place, once, and in so doing she created a model that you can follow. I think that’s the ultimate legacy of Jenny, as a sort of monster that you can fear if you’re trying to fight against the marginalized and a hope you can believe in if you’re within it. You can’t crash at Jenny’s place anymore by “Jenny III” but you know those places exist. You know there’s a way to get out of this. Jenny got out. Follow the tracks.