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.

Wrong!
The Mountain Goats Lyrics

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you know. you know.
you see what's going on with me.
but you don't do anything.
you don't do anything.
you don't do anything.

you feel. you feel.
and you hear.

the time's near.
but you don't do anything.
you don't do anything.
you don't do anything.
you don't do anything.

2, 3, 4.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to The Mountain Goats' song "Wrong!" are a lament on the feelings of isolation and helplessness that can come with struggling against personal demons. The singer implores someone close to them, someone who understands the struggles they're facing, to take action and intervene in some way. The repetition of the phrase "you don't do anything" underscores the singer's frustration and desperation, highlighting the disconnect between how the world perceives their struggles and the actual reality of their experience. The counting at the end of the song feels like an exasperated outburst, a final plea for some kind of concrete action or acknowledgment.

There's a depth of emotion to these lyrics that comes as no surprise to fans of The Mountain Goats. Singer-songwriter John Darnielle has always had a knack for exploring the complexities of the human experience, often drawing on his own struggles with addiction and mental health issues. "Wrong!" is a particularly powerful example of this kind of introspection, a haunting reminder of the ways in which mental health struggles can isolate us even from the people who care about us the most.

Line by Line Meaning

you know. you know.
I am aware that you know what is happening with me.

you see what's going on with me.
You understand the situation I am in.

but you don't do anything.
However, you are not taking any action to help me.

you feel. you feel.
You have emotions and are affected by what is occurring.

and you hear.
You are also listening to what I am saying.

the time's near.
The moment for action is approaching soon.

but you don't do anything.
Despite this, you still do not take any action to assist me.

you don't do anything.
You repeatedly refuse to take action and help me.

you don't do anything.
You remain inactive and do not offer any assistance.

you don't do anything.
Your lack of action is becoming increasingly frustrating and noticeable.

2, 3, 4.
This is likely a reference to a musical break or interlude within the song and does not hold a specific meaning in this context.