West Country Dream

West Country Dream
Album	Full Force Galesburg
Released	1997
Artist	the Mountain Goats
Length	2:03
Previous Track	"Snow Owl"
Next Track	"Masher"

West Country Dream is the third song on the album Full Force Galesburg.

Lyrics

Sure as a surgeon
You slipped your hand into the door jamb
Blood coursing through the air tonight
I know who I am
I know who you are
Or who you were just an hour ago
Static interference on the radio tonight
I know what I know 

Quick as lightning
You brought your hand back inside
And you shut the door behind you
It's too hot out there tonight
Breath rising and falling
Expansion, contraction
Why'd you tell me this?
Were you looking for my reaction?

Comments by John Darnielle About this Song

• "When I talk about this song I put it in the second person and I get a lot of blank stares but you know, I live for those blank stares. So, so you are in love, you've been in love for what seems like the entirety of your real life and what preceded it didn't -- it either didn't count or it happened to somebody else. And so, so you're in love but then what happens 'cause it's my song, it all goes to hell and, and so what's left is a lot of fear. A god-awful amount of fear." -- 1997-12-06 - The Empty Bottle - Chicago, IL
• "This song involves a similarly well-meaning but ill-starred pair of people, uh, who live in Yorkshire." -- 1999-10-09 - Crossing Border - Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Things Referenced in this Song

• "Why'd you tell me this? Were you looking for my reaction?" is a line taken from "You Belong To Me" by Carly Simon.

Live Shows this Song Was Played at

• 1997-06-14 - Zoot's - Detroit, MI
• 1997-06-17 - Brownie's - New York City, NY
• 1997-06-20 - The Black Cat - Washington, D.C.
• 1997-06-22 - Cat's Cradle - Carrboro, NC
• 1997-06-26 - The Empty Bottle - Chicago, IL
• 1997-07-16 - Capitol Theater - Olympia, WA
• 1997-12-06 - The Empty Bottle - Chicago, IL
• 1998-02-06 - Cow Haus - Tallahassee, FL
• 1998-04-04 - Duke Coffeehouse - Durham, NC
• 1998-04-12 - Brownie's - New York City, NY
• 1998-05-15 - The Empty Bottle - Chicago, IL
• 1998-06-14 - Detroit, MI
• 1998-07-31 - The Empty Bottle - Chicago, IL
• 1999-01-23 - High Hat Blues Club - Athens, GA
• 1999-01-24 - Echo Lounge - Atlanta, GA
• 1999-01-27 - Cat's Cradle - Carrboro, NC
• 1999-01-29 - Mercury Paw - Louisville, KY
• 1999-01-30 - CD Exchange - Bloomington, IN
• 1999-07-09 - Starfish Room - Vancouver, British Columbia
• 1999-10-09 - Crossing Border - Amsterdam, The Netherlands
• 2001-06-23 - Bottom of the Hill - San Francisco, CA
• 2001-12-07 - Good Records - Dallas, TX
• 2002-03-08 - The Empty Bottle - Chicago, IL
• 2003-02-05 - Hanbury Ballroom - Brighton, England
• 2005-07-02 - Old American Can Factory - Brooklyn, NY
• 2009-03-19 - Duke Coffeehouse - Durham, NC
• 2014-05-02 - Kresge Recital Hall - Knox College - Galesburg, IL

Videos of this Song

• 1999-01-23 - High Hat Blues Club - Athens, GA
• 1999-01-30 - CD Exchange - Bloomington, IN
• 2014-05-02 - Kresge Recital Hall - Knox College - Galesburg, IL