You'll Miss Me
As I listen to ‘You’ll Miss Me’ for the one-millionth time of my life, I’m realizing that They Might Be Giants’ Lincoln album is truly their Break-Up album. So much love lost or love wanted but never had. This track isn’t even the last of this kind to come on this album but it’s certainly the jazziest.
A very technical jazzy mood good time
I consider ‘You’ll Miss Me’ to be their ultimate proto-emo-jazz breakup song. It features a very mathematical drum machine with a walking bass sound, horns and probably even a digital cigarette haze. John Flansburgh does the vocals in a style reminiscent of ‘Hotel Detective (She Was A)’ from their first album.
This song is a whole mood. I think the only times that I’ve skipped this track is if I’m sharing the queue with others in the car or on a game night and I don’t feel like explaining anything. It’s a song that might warrant a conversation. At least a “not *all* their songs are like this.”
From its first listen, I’ve always pictured a singer on stage in a black turtleneck holding a lit cigarette in one hand, a double of bourbon on the rocks in the other. Sunglasses on his face and a small crowd (also all in black) ready to snap along to this slam poet’s heart-wrenching tale of unrequited romance.
You’ll see my teeth in the stars above
every tree; a finger of my glove
and every time push comes to shove
you’ll see my teeth in the starts above
Click the video below to listen to ‘You’ll Miss Me’ by They Might Be Giants
This dude is a walking red flag.
Telling a recent ex that when they look up in the sky, it will be filled with not shimmering starts but bright white teeth smiling defiantly back down at you. A smirk that says, you can’t just leave me and forget me. The trees reaching into the sky are not branches stretched out but fingers of a gloved hand reaching out to grasp you. A memory that refuses to let go.
As a person who has matured emotionally since high school, I am confident in saying that I recognize these sentiments as wholly, emotionally immature at best or strong indicators that this person is maybe going to end up on an episode of the Something Was Wrong podcast. Maybe he only expressed these emotions in poem form? Let’s hope. This is also exactly the kind of song that teenage me LOVED to listen to post break-up. A little cringe to admit but true.
Teenage breakups were rare for me (because I only 2 or three relationships between 6-12th grade) and the endings were never amicable and 2/3 weren’t my idea. Along with the lost love came the feeling of betrayal. An odd feeling to have when looking back with some time and distance in the rearview.
The infinite wisdom of hindsight and personal growth.
Of course, no girlfriend was actually betraying me back then. Their feelings moved on but my immature mind interpreted that as a betrayal and that made me feel angry which led me to listen to this song and write my own poetry while slathering up some mortar and bricks around my heart in an effort to never feel again.
Let’s wrap this one up. I would really love to hear your thoughts on this song whether you’re already familiar or listening for the first time. It is a DIFFERENT one. Let’s talk about it.
🫰🫰🕶️