Rocks in My Pockets

Rocks in My Pockets
Album	Through This Fire Across From Peter Balkan
Forthcoming	November 7, 2025
Length	4:04
Previous Track	"Through This Fire"
Next Track	"Armies of the Lord"

Rocks in My Pockets is the eighth song on Through This Fire Across From Peter Balkan.

Lyrics

Like a good luck charm for a soldier
Heading off into battle
I carried a stone in my pocket
Something I found in Seattle

It vaguely resembled a face
And it looked like a headstone a little
Deep groove from a worm or from years underwater
Running right down the middle

Some people name their cars, or their guitars
Some things are too fragile to name
Some things are made for the spotlight
Some live at the edge of the frame

Just a few days above surface
A lifetime below
Rocks in my pockets when I go

Stuck to the shoreline
In the light of the torch
Wrapped up in your bandage
Like a package on the porch

You were never going to make it
I felt like you knew
But at least you'll have someone
For some of us that won't be true

Some people go down swinging, get in a few punches
Some learn to ride the currents, some never learn
Probably not going to leave the slightest trace in the wake
When it's my turn

Tie down the sails
When the crosswinds blow
Rocks in my pockets when I go

Initials in the bark of a tree
Little signs of hope
Like a good luck charm for a soldier
Mailed home in an envelope

Some people go it alone
Some need a friend
The weak ones get lucky
The strong ones stick around to see the end

Just a few days above surface
A lifetime below
Rocks in my pockets when I go
Rocks in my pockets when I go
Rocks in my pockets when I go

Comments by John Darnielle About this Song

“ROCKS IN MY POCKETS” IS A SOLILOQUY FROM ADAM, ONE OF THREE SURVIVORS FROM THE WRECK. IT IS THE LAST WE HEAR FROM HIM. HARP BY THE GREAT MIKAELA DAVIS. ALL THREE MEMBERS OF THE MOUNTAIN GOATS — JON, JOHN, AND MATT — PLAY GUITARS ON “ROCKS,” AND THE TRACK IS LIVE EXCEPT FOR THE PERCUSSION AND HARP OVERDUBS." -- Bandcamp

Live Shows this Song Was Played at

• 2025-10-03 - World Cafe Live - Philadelphia, PA
• 2025-10-04 - White Eagle Hall - Jersey City, NJ
• 2025-11-11 - Sony Hall - WFUV Radio Fundraiser - New York, NY
• 2025-11-29 - Metro Music Hall - Salt Lake City, UT
• 2025-11-30 - The ELM - Bozeman, MT
• 2025-12-03 - Neptune Theatre - Seattle, WA