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.
In the Hidden Places
The Mountain Goats Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
There were wet leaves floating in gutters full of rain
Took to walking barefoot around town
Melodies from grade school kicking in my brain
Saw you on the crosstown bus today
You were reading a magazine
I turned my face away
Dreamed about the flowers that hide from the light
On dark hillsides in the hidden places
The brakes howled and the bus pulled up near my house
And I got off at the corner
Pulled my sleeves down over my hands, over my hands
And I wished I was someone else
And I wished it was warmer
And when I got home I thought about you
Like a desperate policeman searching for clues
And I almost passed out just then
And I shut my eyes again
Headed for the dark hillsides
In the hidden places
The opening lines of The Mountain Goats' song, "In the Hidden Places" creates an eerie, melancholic atmosphere which perfectly reflects the central theme of the song, i.e., the futility of hope and the everlasting longing for something that we are incapable of attaining. The reference to autumn, the wet leaves, and the walking barefoot around town suggests a sense of aimlessness and lack of purpose, which is compounded by the "melodies from grade school kicking in my brain." These seem to be memories of a more innocent, carefree time that now feels like a distant dream, and the singer feels lost and disillusioned in the present moment.
However, the most poignant and powerful aspect of the song comes in the chorus when the singer catches a glimpse of someone they are hopelessly in love with, on the crosstown bus. There are undoubtedly strong feelings between them, but the singer, for some reason, is unable to act on them. The line "And I shut my eyes tight, dreamed about the flowers that hide from the light, on dark hillsides in the hidden places" speaks to this feeling of unattainability, the sense that the more we want something, the farther away it seems to get. The image of the flowers hiding from the light on dark hillsides represents the unrelenting difficulty in finding real solace or joy in life when we are chasing something we can never realistically obtain.
The song's closing lines capture the sense of despondency and hopelessness perfectly. The singer arrives home, still lost in this sea of emotions and longing, and there is a striking change in the way they talk about themselves. They say, "I almost passed out just then, and I shut my eyes again, headed for the dark hillsides, in the hidden places." The use of the third person, referring to themselves as if they are somebody else, shows the level of dissociation and disconnection that has set in, the way in which they are becoming increasingly distant from themselves and their feelings. The hidden places referred to in the song are not merely physical locations, but instead represent the internal spaces we create in ourselves, trying to hide away from our pain and our loneliness.
Line by Line Meaning
Autumn came around like a drifter to an on-ramp
Fall season arrived unpredictably, akin to a wandering traveler reaching a junction on their journey
There were wet leaves floating in gutters full of rain
The streets were littered with sodden foliage that drifted in flowing rainwater
Took to walking barefoot around town
Started walking shoeless through the city
Melodies from grade school kicking in my brain
Recollections of childhood music came flooding into my mind
Saw you on the crosstown bus today
Caught a glimpse of you through a public transport vehicle
You were reading a magazine
You were engrossed in a printed publication
I turned my face away
I averted my gaze from you
And I shut my eyes tight
I heavily closed my eyelids
Dreamed about the flowers that hide from the light
Had visions of hidden flowers that grow in dark, secluded places
On dark hillsides in the hidden places
In obscure regions, particularly on the dimly-lit slopes of hillsides
The brakes howled and the bus pulled up near my house
The vehicle's brakes screeched noisily as it approached near my residence
And I got off at the corner
I disembarked at the intersection
Pulled my sleeves down over my hands, over my hands
I covered my hands with my sleeves twice
And I wished I was someone else
Regretfully, I longed to be a different person
And I wished it was warmer
I desired for the weather to be hotter
And when I got home I thought about you
Upon arrival at my house, you consumed my thoughts
Like a desperate policeman searching for clues
Similar to a distressed law enforcement officer desperately seeking evidence
And I almost passed out just then
I nearly fainted at that very moment
And I shut my eyes again
Once again, I closed my eyes tightly
Headed for the dark hillsides
Moved towards the dimly-lit slopes of hillsides
In the hidden places
To reach the obscure regions where flowers bloom in secrecy
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind