Adventures In Whiskeytown

You're gonna lose yourself tonight
You're gonna lose yourself tonight
Your heart'll lead you where you're bound
So step right up, and come on down
'Cos you're wanted in Whiskeytown tonight

You've got a bone to pick tonight
You've got an itch to scratch tonight
There is no need to expound
I never judge, won't even hound
If you just enter Whiskeytown tonight

Forget the one you left tonight
Just push her right out of your mind
Welcome to the underground
In all your wildest dreams you'll drown
You've just entered Whiskeytown tonight, boy

You've gone and lost yourself tonight
And it's gonna cost yourself tonight
Mind you not to make a sound
No one will hear you claw or pound
You're not leavin' Whiskeytown tonight, boy
For Whiskeytown you traded me your life

About the song

I wanted this song to have almost a slight comic relief from the tone of the rest of the album while still maintaining a somewhat dark aspect. Vocally, I was going for a Tom Waits-meets-Ed Kowalczyk vibe, but in retrospect, I should've been drunk on Jack to really get the voice down... I wanted the bridge breakdown to sound like a barfight taking place in Hell, so the producer tied a metal baseball bat to a frying pan, hung it from the rafters, and had me hit it with a snowshovel.

Also, at the time, I had absolutely no idea that Ryan Adams (who was probably the biggest influence on this album) was previously in a band called Whiskeytown. Synchronicitous serendipity strikes!