Hospitals. No one really likes them do they? You go there for reasons concerning your health, and a lot of times they’re never very good reasons. But their general settings can be a source of inspiration for many an artist. That’s a particular case for They Might Be Giants, whose songs sometimes take place in hospitals and are sometimes from the perspectives of people having conversations in them, trying to escape from them, or lying in their deathbed waiting for sweet relief. It’s no different in their solo work. Today’s song, ‘Montana’ from John Linnell’s 1999 album State Songs, falls firmly in that final group.

I can’t tell if this song is meant to be upbeat and tremendously sad. In this track, a person’s lying in their hospital bed – how they ended up there, we don’t know – but after what must have been time of just staring into space, they’re suddenly hit with a revelation. An epiphany. One that makes so much sense thinking about it that they wonder how they never saw it before. The state of Montana… is a leg. It’s a leg. And with that question answered, they’re ready to die. But they’re so happy that they’ve figured this out, that they want the realization to be shared to the other patients and for it to be known as their last words before they pass away. It’s funny, but it’s sad. I think it’s relatable in a way that their are most definitely a lot of people who have said the most random things before they move on to the next life. And I think this song captures a pleasant balance. It’s a bummer that this person’s going to die, but at least they’re content with the world and good to go.

Maybe you’ll listen to this and think the song’s standard band performance. John Linnell sings in his usual style with the standard great melody to boot. But then the chorus comes in and your jaw drops. Linnell really sings “leg” with his chest. I think that note he reaches is the most powerful one he’s sung in any of those he’s written, in solo work and with TMBG. He’s never been the powerhouse vocal style person, so when that “leg” arrives the first time, it’s like where did that even come from. As the only song of his where this fully happens – I guess you could say it happens in ‘Canajoharie’ too – it’s one that always stands out from the rest. The song, despite the somewhat maybe morbid subject matter, was released as the album’s first single alongside B-side ‘Louisiana’, which was made available on streaming and download formats just last week.