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.
Earth Air Water Trees
The Mountain Goats Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
i heard the wild geese call.
and the liwas bright and clear and cold
over eastern montreal
and although, i know
you're only toying with me now,
and although, i know
you hold your affection for me like a bone on a string
you gave me sausage and cheese when i was hungry.
you hold your closed hand out to me
and you told me to guess what you had inside
and i had a thousand guesses and some of them were good
but i knew for some reason that i was losing my mind
when the scent came rising
through the spaces between your fingers
when the scent called to me
and i knw we'd last at least until the end of december
i love you, i love you because
you gave me sausage and cheese when i was hungry
In "Earth Air Water Trees," John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats takes the listener on a journey into his memories of a special connection with someone. As he observes the natural beauty of the Montreal sky, he hears the call of wild geese and feels the cold air on his skin. The intensity of these sensory experiences contrasts with the ambiguity of his relationship with his companion. He recognizes that they are "only toying" with him and that her "affection" for him is a fragile thing. Yet, despite this uncertainty, he knows he loves her.
The second verse shows the couple engaging in a playful game of guessing. Even though he couldn't guess what was in her closed hand, he was captivated by the scent that wafted out between her fingers. Darnielle recognizes that this small interaction holds the key to their relationship's longevity, at least until the end of December. The final lines reveal the tenderness that lies beneath their banter. Despite the uncertainty of the future, he loves her because she gave him "sausage and cheese when [he] was hungry."
Line by Line Meaning
through the shifting colors in the sky
I saw the colors in the sky change as I looked and saw the wild geese flying past.
and the liwas bright and clear and cold
The environment was serene as the cold breeze made everything clear.
over eastern montreal
This happened in Montreal's eastern region.
although, i know you're only toying with me now,
Even though you're only playing with me right now,
and although, i know you hold your affection for me like a bone on a string
And even though I know you have me on hold like a bone tied to a string,
i love you, i love you because you gave me sausage and cheese when i was hungry.
I love you despite that because you were kind enough to feed me when I was hungry.
you hold your closed hand out to me
You reached out to me with a closed fist.
and you told me to guess what you had inside
You asked me to guess what was inside your fist.
and i had a thousand guesses and some of them were good
I had so many guesses, some of which seemed plausible.
but i knew for some reason that i was losing my mind
But for some unknown reason, I felt like I was going insane.
when the scent came rising through the spaces between your fingers
I felt a strong smell that was coming from the gaps in between your fingers.
when the scent called to me
The scent was so strong that it was as though it was calling out to me.
and i knew we'd last at least until the end of december
I knew that our relationship was strong enough to last us until the end of December.
Contributed by Kaelyn E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.