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It's All Here in Brownsville
KCHzY

Album

Full Force Galesburg

Released

1997

Artist

the Mountain Goats

Length

1:53

Previous Track

"Original Air-Blue Gown"

It's All Here in Brownsville is the 16th song on the album Full Force Galesburg.

Lyrics[]

Meanwhile out where nothing starts
Out where the rail yard ends
The sun up above us is trying to kill himself
We were watching the skies again

Why do we come down to Brownsville
Year after year after year
This was the question we never even posed
Ringing like a siren in our ears

Down on the Mexican border
In the unfathomable heat
With our shirts tied around our waists
And the world at our feet

We looked at one another's bodies
Figured we looked all right
Ready to die if we had to
Watching the skies all night 

And I was sure my heart would break
When the sun sank down into California
I felt your breath on my neck, it was hot and good and pure
And I wanted to warn you 

It's all coming apart again
It's all coming apart again
It's all coming apart again
It's all coming apart again

Comments by John Darnielle About this Song[]

  • "I like border towns. I'm really fascinated with border towns. If you get uh, the uh, one sheet from Emperor Jones about the record, they talk a lot about Brownsville, Texas, which I've always been fascinated by. [Interviewer: which is on the border of. . .] Texas and Mexico. [Interviewer: Mexico.] It's not on the border, but it's near enough that it's a place you can hang out if you're waiting to hop borders for some reason or another. [Interviewer: Why the fascination with borders?] Uuuuh. Because I'm Roman Catholic, ya know? I mean, and it's all about borders. And again, everything's all about borders. Ya know, I mean you are the sum of what you won't do, sort of." -- 1997-03-02 KJHK radio interview (transcribed by Jon Nall)

Things Referenced in this Song[]

Live Shows this Song Was Played at[]

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