Too Drunk To Dream

Another fine drinking song for y'all today.

I've long maintained that Stephen Merritt of Magnetic Fields is a Country musician. If Hank Williams had teamed up with Cole Porter, that is. The Cole Porter comparison has been used ad nauseum when describing Merritt, and it's an apt comparison, but too often is overlooked the Country and Western underpinnings of his songs, both in lyrical content and construction, and in the tone and arrangement of the music, whether done on a shitty keyboard in his bedroom or with a full backing band, as in recent years. Look no further than the album "The Charm Of The Highway Strip"
for the best proof of Merritt's Country cred.

On their new album, "Distortion", The Magnetic Fields has produced one of the finest drinking songs in years, and, while it's still quite early, maybe the best single of the year. "Too Drunk To Dream" will sit easily on your playlist next to "There's A Tear In My Beer" and "Misery and Gin". If this had been released a year ago, it would easily have made our Top 100 Drinking Songs list. It's that good. Check out the lyrics:

Sober, life is a prison
Shit face, it is a blessing
Sober, nobody wants you
Shitfaced, they're all undressed
Sober, it's ever darker
Shitfaced, the moon is nearer
Sober, you're old and ugly
Shitfaced, who needs a mirror?
Sober, you're a cromagnum
Shitfaced, you're very clever
Sober, you never should be
Shitfaced, now and forever!

I gotta get too drunk to dream
'cause dreaming only makes me blue
i gotta get too drunk to dream
because i only dream of you

i gotta get too pissed to miss you
or i'll never get to sleep
i gotta drink wine not to pine for you
and god knows that ain't cheap

i know you think i'm insane
i know it's not appealing
but til i'm feeling no pain
guess what i'll be feeling?


I gotta get too fried to cry,
or i'll be crying all night long
i gotta get too high to sigh
oh my god where did i go wrong?

So why do i get plastered?
and why am i so lonely?
it's you, you heartless bastard
you're my one and only!

i gotta get too pissed to miss you
or i'll never get to sleep
i gotta drink wine not to pine for you
and god knows that ain't cheap
and god knows that ain't cheap!

Yep. Makes me wanna crack one open.

Cheers!

The Magnetic Fields: Too Drunk To Dream (mp3)

The Magnetic Fields: Love Is Like A Bottle Of Gin (mp3)

Please support your local liquor store and/or grizzled moonshiner.