Jenny from Thebes began its life as many albums by the Mountain Goats do, with John Darnielle
playing the piano until a lyric emerged. That lyric, “Jenny was a warrior / Jenny was a thief / Jenny hit
the corner clinic begging for relief,” became “Jenny III,” a song which laid down a challenge he’d never
taken up before: writing a sequel to one of his most beloved albums.
The Mountain Goats’ catalog is thick with recurring characters—Jenny, who originally appears in the
All Hail West Texas track bearing her name, as well as in “Straight Six” from Jam Eater Blues and
Transcendental Youth side two jam “Night Light,” is one of these, someone who enters a song
unexpectedly, pricking up the ears of fans who are keen on continuing the various narrative threads
running through the Mountain Goats’ discography before vanishing into the mist. In these songs, Jenny
is largely defined by her absence, and she is given that definition by other characters. She is running
from something. These features are beguiling, both to the characters who’ve told her story so far and to
the listener. They invite certain questions: Who is Jenny, really? What is she running from? Well, she’s a
warrior and a thief, and, this being an album by the Mountain Goats, it’s a safe bet whatever she’s
fleeing is something bad. Something catastrophically bad.
Jenny from Thebes is the story of Jenny, her southwestern ranch style house, the people for whom that
house is a place of safety, and the west Texas town that is uncomfortable with its existence. It is a story
about the individual and society, about safety and shelter and those who choose to provide care when
nobody else will.