Elverum explained this change in an 2003 interview with Discorder, asserting that "Mount Eerie is a new project. The Microphones was completed, or at least at a good stopping point. I did it because I am ready for new things. I am new."
As Mount Eerie, Phil typically works with synthesizers, guitars, drums, and the accenting voices of Mirah, The Blow, and fellow K-Records/Anacortes, Washington friends. Mount Eerie's album "Seven New Songs of Mount Eerie" was also the first recording released on Phil's new label, P.W.Elverum & Sun. All songs from that recording are available for free download in the Internet Archive.
Emptiness Pt. 2
Mount Eerie Lyrics
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Is a dream of self-negation
To see the world without us
How it churns and blossoms
Without anyone looking on
It's why I've gone on and on
And why I've climbed up alone
When your person is gone
And the bedroom door yawns
There is nothing to learn
Her absence is a scream
Saying nothing
Conceptual emptiness was cool to talk about
Back before I knew my way around these hospitals
I would like to forget and go back into imagining
That snow shining permanently
Alone could say something to me true and comforting
In Mount Eerie's song "Emptiness Pt. 2," the lyrics explore the experience of being in the mountains as a way to escape and negate oneself. It highlights the desire to witness the world's natural beauty and growth, independent of human presence. The singer expresses the need to keep going and climbing alone, emphasizing an ongoing search and pursuit. However, the song also delves into the contrast between the concept of negation and the actual absence of a loved one. The bedroom door serves as a visual metaphor for the void left behind, where the absence of another person becomes a deafening silence. In this context, the notion of conceptual emptiness, once intriguing and discussed intellectually, loses its appeal when faced with the reality of loss and the limitations of imagination. The desire to retreat into a world where even the perpetual shine of snow could offer solace and truth is expressed.
Line by Line Meaning
The feeling of being in the mountains
Experiencing the sensation of being surrounded by towering peaks
Is a dream of self-negation
Yearning for a state of complete self-elimination
To see the world without us
Observing the existence of the world in the absence of humans
How it churns and blossoms
Witnessing the constant activity and growth of the natural world
Without anyone looking on
Invisible and unobserved by any individual
It's why I've gone on and on
This is the reason why I have persisted and persevered
And why I've climbed up alone
And the reason for climbing solitary summits
But actual negation
However, true elimination or annihilation
When your person is gone
When the person you desire is absent
And the bedroom door yawns
And the entrance to the bedroom widens
There is nothing to learn
There is no knowledge to gain
Her absence is a scream
Her nonexistence is a piercing cry
Saying nothing
Communicating no message or meaning
Conceptual emptiness was cool to talk about
Discussing the idea of abstract emptiness used to be considered fashionable
Back before I knew my way around these hospitals
Before becoming familiar with the intricacies of medical facilities
I would like to forget and go back into imagining
I desire to erase memories and return to the world of imagination
That snow shining permanently
Where the snow continues to glisten eternally
Alone could say something to me true and comforting
And provide me with a genuine and soothing message
Lyrics © SC PUBLISHING DBA SECRETLY CANADIAN PUB.
Written by: Phil Elvrum
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind