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.

Feed This End
The Mountain Goats Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

ok
come here you
what?
I want you to be my love slave
yes master oh you ???
who me?
it goes both ways
it does?

mmm yeah.
I'm gonna be your love slave?
uh-huh

stood near the cage of the prize-fighting cock
the sun cut through the clouds but the air pressure dropped
and I touched your hair for the very first time
I have that moment with me now
it's all mine
and you
showed me a thing or two about power in its purest form

a few minutes later you went back inside
and I stood near the clothesline where strips of beef dried
hanging in the noon-day sun
flies were buzzing nearby
and then your face in the window caught my eye
and you
showed me a thing or two about power in its purest form

things don't look much different now from where I stand
looking for you with camera in hand
someone's gone away
and someone's gotten taller
but the world stopped turning and the universe is much smaller
since you
showed me a thing or two about power in its purest form

yeah you
showed me a thing or two about power in its purest form

Overall Meaning

The lyrics "come here you, what? I want you to be my love slave, yes master, oh you???, who me? it goes both ways, it does? mmm yeah, I'm gonna be your love slave? uh-huh" at the beginning of The Mountain Goats's song Feed This End, may seem to be an exchange between two lovers, but as the song goes on, it becomes clear that it is a conversation between captor and victim. The imagery in the following lines reinforce this ominous feeling, with the singer describing standing near the cage of a prize-fighting cock, and watching strips of beef dry in the sun. These both suggest a violent, almost gladiatorial existence.

The tone of the song is a mix of nostalgia and horror. The singer seems to be remembering a past relationship or encounter with a sense of longing, but the power dynamic is far from equal. The victimization of the singer is suggested in the repeated line "you showed me a thing or two about power in its purest form." It's clear that the singer was taken advantage of, and perhaps even abused. The use of "power" as a descriptor is significant, as it implies that the captor had complete control over the situation.

One possible interpretation of this song is that it's a commentary on toxic relationships and the imbalance of power that can exist between two people. The singer seems almost trapped in their feelings, unable to fully let go of the past despite the horrors that they experienced. The line "someone's gone away and someone's gotten taller, but the world stopped turning and the universe is much smaller since you" encapsulates this sense of stunted growth and stagnation that can result from such relationships.

Line by Line Meaning

ok
Opening greeting.

come here you
Request to the listener to approach.

what?
Listener's response in confusion.

I want you to be my love slave
Desire to have power and control over someone in a sexual manner.

yes master oh you ???
Agreement to be submissive in this power dynamic.

who me?
Request for clarification about who is being referred to.

it goes both ways
Acknowledgment that this power dynamic is a two-way street.

it does?
Questioning whether this power dynamic is truly mutually beneficial.

mmm yeah.
Suggestion of sexual excitement.

I'm gonna be your love slave?
Surprise at the prospect of actually becoming someone's submissive sexual partner.

uh-huh
Confirmation of agreement.

stood near the cage of the prize-fighting cock
Setting the scene at a cockfighting match.

the sun cut through the clouds but the air pressure dropped
Describing the weather conditions during the cockfight.

and I touched your hair for the very first time
Recollection of a specific moment of intimacy with the listener.

I have that moment with me now
Memory of this intimate moment is still vivid.

it's all mine
Possessiveness over this intimate moment.

and you
Shift in focus to the listener.

showed me a thing or two about power in its purest form
Reflection on the power dynamic that the singer and the listener share.

a few minutes later you went back inside
Return to present moment after reminiscing about past intimacy.

and I stood near the clothesline where strips of beef dried
Visual description of the setting.

hanging in the noon-day sun
Further description of the setting.

flies were buzzing nearby
Adding more detail about the setting.

and then your face in the window caught my eye
Sudden appearance of the listener draws the singer's attention.

and you
Return to the listener as the focus.

showed me a thing or two about power in its purest form
Reflection on the power dynamic that the singer and the listener share.

things don't look much different now from where I stand
Reflection on how things have not changed drastically over time.

looking for you with camera in hand
Searching for the listener in a specific scenario.

someone's gone away
Acknowledgment of a change in the people around them.

and someone's gotten taller
Further observation of changes in the people around them.

but the world stopped turning and the universe is much smaller
Sense that everything else around them has become inconsequential due to their intense connection with the listener.

since you
Return to the listener as the source of this intense connection.

showed me a thing or two about power in its purest form
Reflection on the power dynamic that the artist and the listener share.

yeah you
Confirmation of the listener's role in this intense connection.

showed me a thing or two about power in its purest form
Reflection on the power dynamic that the artist and the listener share.

Contributed by Abigail D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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