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.
Ghosts
The Mountain Goats Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Just in the old way
A black dog hobbled past me
His tags jangled on his collar
It made me wish i was dead
It made me wish i was dead
Had a familiar sun on me
Rocky soil dry land
I knew it all like the back of my hand
It made me wish i was dead
It made me wish i was dead
A terrific view form here
The sky's clear
The sun's high
I let things lie
And i know what is and isn't mine
And i was good to get back to the sunshine
But 5 years is a long time
And i spent 5 years in sweden dying for you
I spent 5 years in sweden dying for you
The Mountain Goats's song Ghosts is about a character who has returned to a place from their past, specifically Yale, and they are struck by a sense of familiarity and stagnation. The first verse describes encountering a black dog with tags jangling on its collar, which prompts the character to feel a sense of death wish. The second verse describes a familiar sun shining on the character, and they reflect on the rocky and dry land. The character recognizes this land and knows it like the back of their hand, yet it still makes them wish they were dead.
The third verse offers some relief, as the character acknowledges that the view from the land is "terrific." The sky is clear and the sun is high, and the character lets things lie. They know what is and isn't theirs, and are grateful to be back in the sunshine. However, the character has spent five years in Sweden dying for someone who is not present in this moment. This suggests that the character has been living in a kind of purgatory or holding pattern, clinging to a past that they can't move on from.
The song is characterized by a haunting melody and sparse instrumentation that underscores the character's sense of being stuck in time. The lyrics are poetic and full of stark imagery that captures the sense of loneliness and longing that the character is experiencing. The song is a meditation on the ways in which our past can haunt us and prevent us from living fully in the present.
Line by Line Meaning
I went down yale today
I took a walk through Yale University today
Just in the old way
In the same manner as I used to
A black dog hobbled past me
I saw a black dog limping past me
His tags jangled on his collar
I heard the sound of his tags clinking against his collar
It made me wish i was dead
It made me feel incredibly depressed
Had a familiar sun on me
The sun shining on me felt familiar and comforting
Just like it would always be
Just like it always had been before
Rocky soil dry land
I was walking on rocky, dry soil
I knew it all like the back of my hand
I was very familiar with the area
It made me wish i was dead
Despite the familiarity, I still felt extremely depressed
A terrific view form here
The view from here was amazing
The sky's clear
The sky was clear and blue
The sun's high
The sun was high in the sky
I let things lie
I let things be, I didn't try to change anything
And i know what is and isn't mine
I understand what belongs to me and what doesn't
And i was good to get back to the sunshine
I felt good to be back in the sunshine
But 5 years is a long time
However, 5 years is a long time to be away
And i spent 5 years in sweden dying for you
I spent 5 long years in Sweden desperately missing and pining for you
I spent 5 years in sweden dying for you
I spent 5 long years in Sweden desperately missing and pining for you
Contributed by William P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Lonnie
This was the first song by JD I heard.a little more than 5 years ago. I could never guess how much this band would effect me; they've inspired me and helped me through some of the hardest times (I commented as thelawnz five years ago and it feels like a lifetime since that)
Lonnie
I was listening to the indie station on grooveshark back before they were taken down
zopilote_4000
wow how was ur first tmg song from the illegal album? lol how does tht happen
alectherins
5 years is a long time.
thelawnz
and i spent five years in sweden dying for you.
Muckruckuck
what? up? no, the problem john said it has is that its a whole pitch higher than it should be and its faster than its supposed to be.
METALTRON89
cool upload bro
alectherins
@zisel Show me a tMG fan that doesn't have this album, and I'll show you a liar. If you really want I can give you the multiple dates of the live shows (specifically I remember Noise Pop 2009) where JD played songs from this album and directed people that if they downloaded it, he would prefer it pitch corrected. JD has my phone #, twitter name and email. I'll wait to hear from him, thanks though.
Zisel Videos
Please take this video down as John never released this album and did not intend for it to be listened to.