Fall of the Star High School Running Back

Fall of the Star High School Running Back
Album	All Hail West Texas
Released	2002
Artist	the Mountain Goats
Length	1:49
Previous Track	"The Best Ever Death Metal Band in Denton"
Next Track	"Color in Your Cheeks"

Fall of the Star High School Running Back is the second song on the album All Hail West Texas.

Lyrics

sophomore year, you rushed for an average of eight and a third yards per carry.
all eyes were on you.
junior year, you blew your knee out at an out of town game.
nowhere to go to but down down down.
nothing but the ground left for you to fall to. 

by July, you'd made a whole bunch of brand new friends, 
people you used to look down on.
and you'd figured out a way to make real money --
givin' ends to your friends, and it felt stupendous.
chrome spokes on your Japanese bike,
but selling acid was a bad idea.
and selling it to a cop was a worse one.
and the new law said that seventeen year olds could do federal time.
you were the first one, so I sing this song for you,
William Staniforth Donahue,
your grandfather rode the boat over from Ireland,
but you made a bad decision or two.
yeah.

Comments by John Darnielle About this Song

• "I mean, the thing is, mandatory minimum sentences are not just a story. They’re a lot of people’s reality. Back then, you’d see multiple “20/20s” about some guy who got the idea to buy a pound of weed to distribute in college and got caught and was doing 10 years. You can’t do 10 years and come out the same person you were, as the young person who made a mistake and wound up getting a sentence that a judge was compelled to give him. So yeah, [Fall of the Star High School Running Back]'s an explicitly political song about how mandatory minimum sentences are bullshit.” — Salon.com interview

Things Referenced in this Song

• "Givin' ends to your friends and it felt stupendous" is a quote from The Notorious B.I.G. song "Big Poppa".

Live Shows this Song Was Played at

• 2000-10-19 - WFMU Session - WFMU Studios - Jersey City, NJ
• 2002-03-10 - The Green Room - Iowa City, IA
• 2004-05-27 - Bottom of the Hill - San Francisco, CA
• 2009-03-30 - Oberlin College - Oberlin, OH
• 2009-06-13 - Zoop II - Farm Sanctuary - Watkins Glen, NY
• 2010-03-11 - Memorial Union Building - University of New Hampshire - Durham, NH
• 2010-07-31 - Holidays for Quince Benefit - The Pinhook - Durham, NC
• 2010-10-04 - The Bottleneck - Lawrence, KS
• 2010-10-06 - Academy of Contemporary Music @ UCO - Oklahoma City, OK
• 2011-05-30 - The Cluny - Newcastle, England
• 2012-05-09 - The Toff in Town - Melbourne, Australia
• 2012-06-28 - Swedish American Hall - San Francisco, CA
• 2012-12-04 - Granada Theater - Dallas, TX
• 2013-01-20 - Rock for Roe at The Pinhook - Durham, NC
• 2013-05-01 - Legends Club at Appalachian State University - Boone, NC
• 2013-06-05 - Maxwell's - Hoboken, NJ
• 2013-06-07 - Center Church on the Green - New Haven, CT
• 2013-06-08 - Port City Music Hall - Portland, ME
• 2013-06-12 - Majestic Theatre - Detroit, MI
• 2013-06-15 - Buskirk-Chumley Theater - Bloomington, IN
• 2013-06-16 - Space - Evanston, IL
• 2013-06-19 - The Record Bar - Kansas City, MO
• 2013-06-20 - Old Rock House - St. Louis, MO
• 2013-06-22 - The Bottletree - Birmingham, AL
• 2013-06-26 - The Charleston Pourhouse - Charleston, SC
• 2013-06-28 - The Soapbox - Wilmington, NC
• 2013-10-08 - Union Chapel - London, England
• 2013-10-10 - Arches - Glasgow, Scotland
• 2014-04-16 - Somerville Theatre - Somerville, MA
• 2014-04-17 - Club Helsinki - Hudson, NY
• 2014-04-21 - Scope Productions Presents First United Methodist Church - Iowa City, IA
• 2014-06-07 - Kilby Court - Salt Lake City, UT
• 2014-06-08 - Knitting Factory - Boise, ID
• 2014-06-10 - The Showbox - Seattle, WA
• 2014-06-11 - Wonder Ballroom - Portland, OR
• 2014-06-17 - Mayan Theatre - Los Angeles, CA
• 2014-06-22 - The Mohawk - Austin, TX
• 2015-09-09 - Lawrence Arts Center - Lawrence, KS
• 2015-09-12 - Maximum Ames Festival - First United Methodist Church - Ames, IA
• 2016-09-27 - Pabst Theater - Milwaukee, WI
• 2017-12-14 - Holocene - Portland, OR
• 2018-02-26 - University of South Alabama - Mobile, AL
• 2019-11-09 - Slaktkyrkan - Stockholm, Sweden
• 2021-08-07 - Variety Playhouse - Atlanta, GA
• 2021-09-16 - Kessler Theater - Dallas, TX
• 2021-09-26 - Musikfest Cafe - Bethlehem, PA
• 2021-10-16 - The Vogue - Indianapolis, IN
• 2022-05-05 - The Warfield Theatre - San Francisco, CA
• 2023-04-14 - Badger State - Green Bay, WI
• 2024-04-10 - Turner Hall Ballroom - Milwaukee, WI

Videos of this Song

• 2011-05-30 - The Cluny - Newcastle, England
• 2013-01-20 - Rock for Roe at The Pinhook - Durham, NC
• 2013-10-08 - Union Chapel - London, England
• 2014-04-16 - Somerville Theatre - Somerville, MA
• 2014-06-10 - The Showbox - Seattle, WA
• 2021-08-07 - Variety Playhouse - Atlanta, GA
• 2022-05-05 - The Warfield Theatre - San Francisco, CA

All Hail West Texas

Track list: "The Best Ever Death Metal Band in Denton" • "Fall of the Star High School Running Back" • "Color in Your Cheeks" • "Jenny" • "Fault Lines" • "Balance" • "Pink and Blue" • "Riches and Wonders" • "The Mess Inside" • "Jeff Davis County Blues" • "Distant Stations" • "Blues in Dallas" • "Source Decay" • "Absolute Lithops Effect" Reissue bonus tracks: "Hardpan Song" • "Answering the Phone" • "Indonesia" • "Midland" • "Jenny" (alt. take) • "Tape Travel Is Lonely" • "Waco"