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.

Bad Priestess
The Mountain Goats Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

when i see you in your new blue jeans
i know you're lying, and i know what it means
when i see you take your place among the poor
i know you're a fraud for sure
bad priestess, bad priestess

so the sunlight plays its games along your eyes
and it has the same effect on a thousand other guys

and i'd be lying if i said i didn't feel the pull, too
but the sunlight makes me strong and i know about you
bad priestess

bad priestess, on a thursday as the sun goes down

bad priestess, with a super-special eyelash trick
bad priestess, bad priestess

Overall Meaning

The song Bad Priestess by The Mountain Goats is a song about someone who is able to see through the false persona of a religious leader, who appears to be a woman in this case, but is ultimately a "bad priestess". The opening lyrics "when i see you in your new blue jeans, i know you're lying, and i know what it means" suggest that this person has caught the "priestess" in a lie, and is therefore able to read her body language and know that she is being deceitful. When she takes her place among the poor, the person knows that she is a fraud and is not the pious leader that she presents herself to be.

Line by Line Meaning

when i see you in your new blue jeans
I can tell when you're lying by the way you dress.

i know you're lying, and i know what it means
Your deception doesn't fool me, and I understand its implications.

when i see you take your place among the poor
Your attempts at empathy towards less fortunate people are insincere and transparent.

i know you're a fraud for sure
I'm certain that you're a fake and a phony.

bad priestess, bad priestess
You're a terrible example of a leader and spiritual guide.

so the sunlight plays its games along your eyes
Your physical allure is superficial and easily influenced by external factors like lighting.

and it has the same effect on a thousand other guys
Your beauty isn't unique and attracts superficial attention from many others.

and i'd be lying if i said i didn't feel the pull, too
I'm not immune to your charm, but I also recognize that it's shallow and meaningless.

but the sunlight makes me strong and I know about you
I derive inner strength from focusing on things that are more substantial than your superficial allure.

bad priestess
Your leadership and guidance are inadequate and dishonest.

bad priestess, on a thursday as the sun goes down
You're particularly flawed and transparent during moments of transition or change.

bad priestess, with a super-special eyelash trick
Your attempts at physical enhancement are shallow and don't make up for your moral shortcomings.

bad priestess
You're not fit to lead or guide anyone spiritually, and your shortcomings are glaring.

Contributed by Nora F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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