I don't think they ever had a pleasant meaning did they? I thought It was just him realizing he didn't want to romanticize self-destructive tendencies like that

Bart Ewing What do you refer to? New fan here!

Adam John Darnielle said on his podcast they don’t play this song anymore because the meaning changed because of events in the world around gun violence and he didn’t like it

It was always pretty unpleasant. But it's meaningful. I hope this isn't the real reason they aren't playing it yet.

@@oddjam It more along the lines Jon maturing as a song writer and feeling that the cliche of the rejected lover who does something crazy and brash to like showing up announced with a gun is kind of thing he wants to put out into the world anymore. He says he wrote this song when he was like 20 and that reflecting as an adult it just doesn't work.