True story: I listened to this song a bunch of times and really liked it but fully didn't realize it was about a possum, from the point of view of a possum, until I was at a Mountain Goats concert listening to it live.
My favorite lyric is:
Grow fat and grow old and go blind and be content
Because I find it very beautiful (particularly in the context of other Mountain Goats songs) to think about how wonderful it is to get old, and how wonderful it is to experience everything that comes with getting old. Would that everyone was so lucky! We all deserve that.
It also aligns with another favorite tmg song of mine, Ballad of Bull Ramos, which to me is also about the joy of being able to grow old.
made buttons to give away for this week’s mountain goats shows at thalia hall! if you’re going, feel free to say hi and ask me for one. wear a mask, buy some merch, tip well, let’s safely enjoy the good band with songs about divorce and vampires
Try not to get stuck in the intake vent
Grow fat and grow old and go blind and be content
All your pack dogs have your say
Let me just find my own way
Moon in the trees my guide
Walk with my jaw hinged wide
-Possum by Night, The Mountain Goats