Dug’s Songbook – “This Year” by The Mountain Goats

LYRICS

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(This Songbook entry was submitted by Dug Begley, a former Fayetteville reporter for The Morning News who now tells Californians what’s what.)

Music magically allows us to time travel, which leads us to good and bad results. Everyone has that song that takes them back their friend’s basement when the only thing holding us back was we hadn’t really done anything. But we could.

And it takes us to bad places. There’s that song you can’t listen to because it reminds you of so-and-so, or the time you screwed up or sinned or whatever.

Somehow this song, an anthem to standing on the edge of freedom and wanting time to speed up so we can just get the damn thing started evokes those emotions; though for me it’s tied to none of them. When I’m having a crappy day, one of those days when no one gets it and the Philistines are keeping my art down, I can play this song and time just stops.

It’s the refrain. The certainty and promise of it all. “I am going to make it through this year, if it kills me.” Ain’t that the truth.

And when you have that kind of optimism in the face of opposition, sometimes you just want to get in your car and see what a Civic can do on the open road. It isn’t about having a V8, it’s about driving like you do.

Or get drunk. Dealer’s choice. Just don’t mix the two.

This Chicago-by-way-of-California twosome has a knack for the simple and absurd in their music, and an understanding of taking people places. Sort of like Dr. Who.

But good.

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• Bruce’s Songbook – “You Learn” by Alanis Morissette at 6:47 am on September 1, 2009
• Dug’s Songbook – “Let it Be Me” by Ray LaMontagne at 10:40 pm on July 16, 2009
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