John Darnielle

“That's what it is. That's what my morning was like: all these real physical heavy positive vibrations, the soul of this tape. The fuzzy groove. The meaning of it all, if it has one: All love, all the time. Peace and happiness in every day. Peace and happiness with cow blood dripping from your hands, bright blood staining your fingerprints because you didn't glove up since you don't normally do prep work. Peace and happiness when you're making a list of everything that's wrong with the world and squinting your eyes tight trying to imagine your way out of it. Peace, peace, peace, happiness, happiness, happiness.”

“I come from Chino, so all your threats are empty.”

“When the last days comeWe shall see visionsMore vivid than sunsetsBrighter than starsWe will recognize each otherAnd see ourselves for the first timeThe way we really are”

“My love is like a powder kegMy love is like a powder keg in the corner of an empty warehouseSomewhere just outside of townAbout to burn downMy love is like a Cuban planeMy love is like a Cuban plane flying from HavanaUp the Florida coast to the 'GladesSoviet madeOur love is like the border between Greece and AlbaniaOur love is like the border between Greece and AlbaniaTrucks loaded down with weaponsCrossing over every nightMoon yellow and brightThere is a shortage in the blood supplyBut there is no shortage of bloodThe way I feel about you baby can't explain itYou got the best of my love”

“The most remarkable thing about you standing in the doorway is that it’s you, and that you’re standing in the doorway.”

“People always talk about good time rock and roll, Chuck Berry or whatever, like this liberating force for feeling good. But what I need in my life is to be liberated into feeling bad. Not sad. I have plenty of sad. What I need is a place where I can spray anger in sparks like a gnarled piece of electrical cable. Just be mad at stuff and soak in the helplessness. ”

“I wish they'd conduct a national poll to find out who feels out of place and who doesn't. Just to get the numbers, you know? To get a feel for how many of us there are.”

“I don't even want to be rich I just want to be alone. ”

“God is present in the sweeping gesture, but the devil is in the details.”

“Books are like rocks. You hold one in your hand and look at it in various lights to get a sense of it, and then when you get a good angle, you throw it through a window to see what happens.”

“People say friends don't destroy one another - what do they know about friends?”

“Good things never last, bad things never die.”

“I will go where I will goAnd I will jettison all dead weightAnd I will use these words for kindlingAnd I will sleep by the garden gate.”

“When you punish a person for dreaming his dream, don't expect him to thank or forgive you / The best ever death metal band out of Denton will in time both outpace and outlive you / Hail Satan!”