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.

The Last Limit of Bhakti
The Mountain Goats Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

When the sun comes up, open up the blind.
Let me hear the machines grate gears, squeal and grind, yeah.

Let me serve you 'til it's over.
Let me serve you 'til it's all over.
When the world is giving your secrets all away,
Let me give you cover.

Let me serve you with my body.
Let me serve you with my body.
Let me fight now until the end of time,

The last limit.
Yeah, yeah

Overall Meaning

The Last Limit of Bhakti is a song by The Mountain Goats, an indie folk band led by singer-songwriter John Darnielle. The lyrics speak of a devotion to an unnamed figure or concept, a longing to serve with the entirety of one's being. The repetition of the phrase "Let me serve you" throughout the song emphasizes this desire to be of use, to give oneself over to something greater. The use of the word "you" adds a personal element, suggesting that this devotion is directed towards a specific entity rather than an abstract idea.

The verses of the song each focus on a different aspect of this desire to serve. The first verse speaks of the mind, wanting to offer intellectual devotion. The second verse centers on the tongue, willing to speak endlessly in praise. The third verse brings in the physical body, ready to fight until the end of time. The chorus repeats the central theme of service, asking for permission to give cover when the world is revealing secrets.

The song's lyrics are open to interpretation, but they suggest a deep yearning for purpose and meaning. The desire to serve is a recurring theme in The Mountain Goats' music, and it speaks to a universal human need to feel connected to something greater than oneself.

Line by Line Meaning

Let me serve you with my mind.
I want to devote my thoughts and consciousness entirely to serving you.

Let me leave this grieving sand and sky far behind.
I wish to abandon the sorrowful world and its surroundings to focus on serving you.

Let me serve you with my tongue.
I desire to constantly speak your name and praise you with every word I utter.

Let me say your name all day 'til my mouth goes numb.
I want to continue speaking your name until I can no longer speak, as a sign of my devotion.

When the sun comes up, open up the blind.
When the day starts, I want to be fully alert and attentive to you, not allowing any distractions.

Let me hear the machines grate gears, squeal and grind, yeah.
Even if there are unpleasant noises around me, I want to remain focused on serving you.

Let me serve you 'til it's over.
I want to serve you until the end of my life, until I can no longer serve.

When the world is giving your secrets all away,
When others are trying to uncover your inner workings,

Let me give you cover.
I want to protect your secrets and keep them hidden, as a sign of my loyalty.

Let me serve you with my body.
I want to use every physical ability I have to serve you completely.

Let me fight now until the end of time,
I want to continually battle for your glory,

The last limit.
Until the very end of all existence.

Contributed by Eli L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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Let me serve you with my mind.
Let me serve you with my mind.
Let me leave this grieving sand and sky far behind.

Let me serve you with my tongue.
Let me serve you with my tongue.
Let me say your name all day 'til my mouth goes numb.

When the sun comes up, open up the blind.
Let me hear the machines grate gears, squeal and grind, yeah.

Let me serve you 'til it's over.
Let me serve you 'til it's all over.
When the world is giving your secrets all away,
Let me give you cover.

Let me serve you with my body.
Let me serve you with my body.
Let me fight now until the end of time,
The last limit.
Yeah, yeah