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.
Great Ghosts
Mount Eerie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
After living in exile
After closing your eyes to me
I even wrote scenes where I reemerged boldly
Bearded, alive, with eskimo eyes
New baby on my back, but from where?
Stowaways. Great ghosts of my life
Great ghosts of old wives
And they're howling!
So I spent my wilderness time rolling on the ground
Pulling my hair, and wrestling them off
Yelling at no one, punching snow
I gathered ghosts and gave them my lecture
I bid them away, I pleaded and cried. I said
There's no room in my life for you, or you
Or your howling!
Let me undo these ropes and go on living without you
Not just change where we live
Go on get, I said
I had my hopes about how I would be after sending them off
After getting set free
But there's no such thing as living
Without their prowling
As you can see, having descended the hill
I still look like me
I still wallow like Phil
And forever will
I'm teeming with ghosts and I'm still whining for wives
Knitting my brow
But now I've surrendered
In fact, I have joined in
Hear us howling!
In Mount Eerie's song Great Ghosts, the lyrics depict the singer's struggle to exorcise his own ghosts. The opening lyrics reveal the singer's hopes of how he would be after moving out of exile and getting closure from someone. The following lyrics depict scenarios of his emergence as a new man with an infant in tow, but confusion reigns about the new identity's source. However, the singer realizes that he has ghosts that cling onto his mind, and they are becoming stowaways. These ghosts are a representation of his past, old wives, or just memories that have been haunting him. The howling of these ghosts would not leave him alone when he needed to be strong after all that he has been through.
The singer resorts to the wilderness to sort these ghosts out by rolling on the ground, wrestling with them, and even yelling at no one. Then he gives these ghosts a lecture, pleading and crying for them to leave. He wants to be free of them, and his life has no more room for their prowling. However, he realizes that he cannot escape these ghosts, and there is no such thing as living without them. Even the singer's appearance remains the same, and he continued to whine for wives, looking like his old self. As a result, he accepted his inner ghosts and joined them in their howling.
Line by Line Meaning
I had my hopes of how I would be
I had imagined what my life would be without my past ghosts and wives haunting me.
After living in exile
After being separated from everything that was holding me back.
After closing your eyes to me
After you stopped seeing me and acknowledging my existence.
I even wrote scenes where I reemerged boldly
I fantasized about a grand reappearance in which I would be confident and assertive.
Bearded, alive, with eskimo eyes
I pictured myself with a full beard, looking alive, and having piercing blue eyes like the Eskimos.
New baby on my back, but from where?
I envisioned myself carrying a new baby on my back, but I didn't know where the baby came from or whose it was.
But I didn't count the fact that I have ghosts in my mind
I failed to consider that my past ghosts still haunted me and prevented me from moving forward.
Stowaways. Great ghosts of my life
Memories of my past, full of struggles, regrets, and pain that still held me captive.
Great ghosts of old wives
Memories of past loves, relationships, and intimate attachments that still lingered in my mind.
And they're howling!
These memories were screaming and clamoring for my attention, making it hard to ignore them.
So I spent my wilderness time rolling on the ground
I used my alone time to try and physically overcome the hold my past had on me.
Pulling my hair, and wrestling them off
I desperately tried to rid myself of these haunting memories by pulling my hair and confronting them.
Yelling at no one, punching snow
I expressed my anger and frustration by shouting and aimlessly punching, but no one was there to hear me.
I gathered ghosts and gave them my lecture
I confronted my haunting memories head-on, lecturing them and trying to convince them to leave me alone.
I bid them away, I pleaded and cried. I said
I begged my memories to leave me in peace, expressing my sadness and desperation through crying.
There's no room in my life for you, or you
I have no space left in my mind or my life for these haunting memories.
Or your howling!
I couldn't stand the fact that these memories continued to howl and make noise in my head.
Let me undo these ropes and go on living without you
I wanted to release myself from the ropes of my past memories and live without them.
Not just change where we live
I didn't want to just change my physical location but also my mental and emotional state.
Go on get, I said
I urged these memories to leave me alone and not come back.
I had my hopes about how I would be after sending them off
I imagined the person I could be without these memories holding me back after freeing myself from them.
After getting set free
After finally releasing myself from my haunting memories.
But there's no such thing as living
I discovered that true living involves confronting past memories and dealing with them, not running away from them.
Without their prowling
Without the constant presence and haunting of my past memories.
As you can see, having descended the hill
Referring to the progress I've made and the journey I've taken to come to this realization.
I still look like me
I haven't physically changed or transformed since confronting my haunting memories.
I still wallow like Phil
I'm still stuck in old habits and ways of dealing with my emotions like I always have been.
And forever will
I know that I need to continue working on myself, and that it's a life-long process.
I'm teeming with ghosts and I'm still whining for wives
I still have past memories of relationships and love that I long for, even though they're not in my life anymore.
Knitting my brow
I'm still worried and anxious about the past, present, and future.
But now I've surrendered
I've let go of my need to control everything and have started accepting that life is unpredictable.
In fact, I have joined in
I've started to accept and acknowledge my past memories instead of trying to ignore them.
Hear us howling!
I've come to the realization that past memories can be painful but necessary to acknowledge and confront, as they shape who we are today.
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., SC PUBLISHING DBA SECRETLY CANADIAN PUB.
Written by: Phillip Whitman Elvrum
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind