The Mountain Goats are an American band formed in Claremont, California, by… Read Full Bio ↴The Mountain Goats are an American band formed in Claremont, California, by singer-songwriter John Darnielle. The band is currently based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. For many years, the sole member of the Mountain Goats was Darnielle, despite the plural moniker. The Mountain Goats are, for all practical purposes, the endlessly clever and prolific John Darnielle and whatever musicians he surrounds himself with, which means that while the soundscape may change from project to project, the overall tone and feel of Darnielle's work remains remarkably consistent. At his best, he writes finely observed, slightly surreal, impressionistic vignettes that manage to mix life as we live it with life as we wish we could live it, and as such he has more in common with a novelist than he does with the typical singer/songwriter, which is fitting, as he's also a published author. Darnielle's early Mountain Goats releases were lo-fi, cassette-recorded efforts cut with a rotating lineup of musicians, such as 1995's Nine Black Poppies and 2000's The Coroner's Gambit. By 2005's The Sunset Tree, his recordings had become cleaner and less cluttered, but his characters studies were just as vivid, and as the Mountain Goats finally cohered into a stable lineup (with Darnielle joined by Peter Hughes, Matt Douglas, and Jon Wurster), they recorded tuneful, thematically unified albums such as Beat the Champ (2015) and Goths (2017) that ranked with their finest work.
Darnielle began the new millennium with The Coroner's Gambit for Absolutely Kosher before signing to 4AD for the release of the surprisingly polished Tallahassee in 2002. We Shall All Be Healed followed in 2004, and one year later, Darnielle was back with The Sunset Tree. Remaining as prolific as ever, Darnielle turned away from the intensity of The Sunset Tree for a calmer, more reflective set of songs on 2006's Get Lonely. The accessible and assured Heretic Pride appeared in 2008. Next up was the Bible verse-inspired The Life of the World to Come, the group's sixth album for 4AD, in 2010. Switching to Merge Records in 2011, Darnielle released All Eternals Deck, which was recorded in four different studios in Brooklyn, Boston, North Carolina, and Florida with four different producers -- John Congleton, Scott Solter, Brandon Eggleston, and Morbid Angel guitarist and Hate Eternal frontman Erik Rutan -- helming various tracks. That year the band was also handpicked by Jeff Mangum of Neutral Milk Hotel to perform at the All Tomorrow's Parties festival that he was curating in Minehead, England, but they were ultimately unable to appear due to scheduling issues.

Abide With Me
The Mountain Goats Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Abide with me
Fast falls the eventide
The darkness deepens, lord with me abide
When other helpers fail, and comforts flee
Help out the helpless, lord abide with me

Swift to its close
Ebbs out life's little day

Earth's joys grow dim
Its glories pass away
Change and decay in all around i see

O thou who changest not,
Abide with me

Overall Meaning

The opening lines of The Mountain Goats' song Abide With Me sets the tone for a melancholy reflection on the inevitability of life's end. The lyrics talk about the swift approach of nightfall, and the deepening darkness that comes with it. The singer invokes the presence of the divine, asking for God's presence to guide them through life's trials and tribulations. As the night draws in, and other sources of help and comfort fail, the singer pleas for divine intervention for those who are helpless.

The second verse of the song takes a more philosophical turn. The singer reflects on the fleeting nature of life, and the impermanence of what we hold dear. The joys of earth, the beauty and glory around us all wither away with time, and all we are left with is constant change and decay. However, even in the midst of this transience, the singer still holds on to the hope of divine constancy. The reference to God as the one who changest not, and the appeal for his presence and stability, offers a sense of comfort and hope in the face of life's ultimate uncertainty.

Overall, Abide With Me is a poignant meditation on mortality and the power of faith in the face of life's challenges. It speaks to the deep-seated human need for comfort and reassurance in times of darkness and uncertainty.

Line by Line Meaning

Abide with me
Stay with me

Fast falls the eventide
The day is ending quickly

The darkness deepens, lord with me abide
As the night gets darker, please stay with me

When other helpers fail, and comforts flee
When no one else can help or comfort me

Help out the helpless, lord abide with me
Please help those who are helpless and stay with me

Swift to its close
Life goes by quickly

Ebbs out life's little day
Life ends slowly

Earth's joys grow dim
The joys of life fade away

Its glories pass away
The beauty of life disappears

Change and decay in all around i see
Everything is changing and falling apart

O thou who changest not,
Oh God, who does not change