Charon’s Obol Lyrics
[Verse 1]
At midnight, the dogs gathered around the house
Around her house (Ooh, ooh, ooh-ooh)
Her heart was like a drawer
She only opened when she went
Out to feed those dogs and let her memories bathe
In the moonlight for a while (Ooh-ooh-ooh)
[Chorus]
Those were the dogs owned by the girls
Who died in that house (Ooh, ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh)
Meeting every night, keeping vigil in the place (Oh)
Where their people went away
And so she'd wake the rest of her nights in that house
Feeding all the hounds at its mouth
[Interlude]
Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh
Ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh
Ooh-ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh
Oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh
[Verse 2]
On her first night wandering through the dark (Ooh-ooh)
Of her new house (Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh)
Solemn as a bride
That's when she first saw them (Ooh)
Out the kitchen window right at 12 o'clock (Ooh)
A dozen silent dogs of all different type (Ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh)
[Chorus]
She almost was one of the girls
Who died in that house (Ooh-ooh-ooh)
So when it was stigmatized
She took it on to start a new life in that house (Ooh, ooh, ooh)
Be the token coin in its mouth (Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh)
Maybe, with enough time tending to that ground (Ooh-ooh)
She can heal the heart of her house (Ooh)
Feeding all the hounds at its mouth (Ooh)
________________ End ________________
Charon’s Obol Song Meaning [Mitski]
“Charon’s Obol” appears as the tenth track on Mitski’s eighth studio album "Nothing’s About to Happen to Me", released February 27, 2026 on Dead Oceans. Produced by Patrick Hyland, the album blends Americana and art‑pop with theatrical and surreal elements. This song, nestled near the album’s emotional climax, amplifies the record’s motifs of memory, solitude, and symbolic interaction with the uncanny domestic landscape Mitski constructs throughout the work.
Song Meaning
“Charon’s Obol” draws its weight from mythological metaphor and emotional psychology. The title references the ancient practice of placing a coin with the dead for passage into the afterlife, hinting at ritual and transformation. Within Mitski’s narrative world, the singer positions herself as both participant and caretaker in a surreal haunted house scenario that runs like a through‑line across the album.
Sonically and lyrically, the track feels like a bridge between introspection and engagement with that spectral realm. The imagery of tending to dogs connected to past tragedies suggests an attempt to negotiate grief and history rather than evade them. Mitski’s protagonist appears to invite the uncanny into her life in hopes of altering the emotional condition of her surroundings, an act that becomes both caretaking and self‑sacrifice.
Positioned after songs that confront loneliness, desire, and existential anxiety, “Charon’s Obol” deepens the emotional stakes. The idea of feeding and watching over entities tied to loss becomes a metaphor for confronting internal wounds rather than burying them. The protagonist’s vigilance recalls the wider record’s exploration of solitude, internal dialogue, and how one anchors identity within states of psychological displacement.
In the broader arc of "Nothing’s About to Happen to Me", the song exemplifies how Mitski constructs her album as a theatrical embodiment of psyche and space. The house isn’t just a location — it’s a psyche, a set of memories, and a stage where past and present mingle. This track threads together the narrative’s threads of haunting, caretaking, and the tension between preservation and letting go.
Emotional Core and Themes
At its heart, “Charon’s Obol” wrestles with reconciling memory and identity. It portrays the emotional labor of tending to what haunts us — literally and figuratively — and positions that labor as an act of both mourning and transformation. Through metaphors of caretaking in a haunted house, Mitski illustrates the complexity of internal healing, where confronting past emotional ghosts becomes a pathway to reclaiming space, self, and narrative.
Connection with Listeners
Listeners connect with this song not through superficial storytelling but through a shared emotional experience: the tension between holding on and letting go. Mitski’s symbols — dogs, memories, ritual — resonate as universal signifiers of grief and self‑reflection. In channeling that tension through evocative imagery and layered sound, the track becomes a vivid reflection of introspection and the human yearning to make peace with loss.
Conclusion
“Charon’s Obol” stands as a centerpiece in "Nothing’s About to Happen to Me", representing the album’s thematic blend of personal mythology and emotional introspection. Mitski’s use of ancient symbolism, caretaking motifs, and uncanny domestic imagery makes this song more than a narrative moment — it’s an emotional fulcrum where grief, transformation, and presence converge. The result is a song that reverberates long after the last note, deepening the listener’s understanding of loss, ritual, and the internal spaces we inhabit.
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Song Details
Song Name: Charon’s Obol
Artist: Mitski
Album: Nothing’s About to Happen to Me
Lyricist: Mitski
Producers: Patrick Hyland
Genre: Pop
Language: English
Label: Dead Oceans
Released: February 27, 2026
External Links
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• Spotify
[Disclaimer: Lyrics are for educational and entertainment purposes only. All rights belong to the original owners.]
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