Mountain Goats, The - Last Man On Earth Lyrics






1, 2, 3, 4

Just when the last of the smoke subsides you'll see my fingers
Hoisting my body up atop the charred debris.
Who is that creature with the crazed look in his eyes?
Don't even question your senses.
You can be sure that's me.
When all the pretenders to your hand lie dead across the land,
I'll be the last man on earth.
I'll be the last man on earth.
I'll be the last man on earth.
Crawling around, down on the ground.

When the hail mary's you've been saying lose their savor,
Just when your dungeon walls feel like they're closing in,
Whose are those bloody knuckles reaching down to grab you
Just as the last of the light overhead is growing dim?
It was their love you wanted, not mine.
But when they deny your name three times
I'll be the last man on earth.
I'll be the last man on earth.
I'll be the last man on earth.
Crawling around, down on the ground.

And I will throw you across my shoulders.
And I will bleed and I will drool.
And the cameras will slow pan across my face.
And I will try to say something cool.

Just as the hoardes of thirsting demons close around us,
Raising their axes, howling like monkeys in the sun,
Who will that guy be holding you so high above them?
You know and I know.
Everyone knows it.
I'm the one.
I may have failed you once before,
But this right here, this means war.
I'll be the last man on earth.
I'll be the last man on earth.
I'll be the last man on earth.
Crawling around, down on the ground.





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Mountain Goats, The Last Man On Earth Comments
  1. T.... A....

    THE CAT KILLED ME

  2. C.... F....

    Every pessimist is a hurt idealist.

  3. 4.... ....

    have y'all ever heard of genius

  4. D.... S....

    The Nice Guy anthem.

  5. M.... c....

    They should have played this on the umbrella academy

  6. x.... a....

    Γαμαει

  7. Z.... P....

    Thank you 🙏Falcore’s turned 🐐!

  8. S.... B....

    A little off topic but I recommend the New Zealand made film called Quiet Earth... about the last man on earth....nearly.

  9. N.... B....

    This song always makes me think of Moroni!

    N.... B....

    Definitely too upbeat to be Moroni, I think. I can't imagine he was happy wandering alone.

  10. g.... p....

    when your Hail Mary's you been saying lose their savior

  11. E.... F....

    You know, I know it's not possible, but I get a feeling this is about the TV show "The Last Man on Earth". Like, think about it; this guy survives the apocalypse, goes a little crazy, and then this guy realizes if he's really the last MAN on earth, he can score with any babe he wants.

    If Phil Tandy Miller has to fight orcs and demons next season, I think JD has every right to sue Fox.

  12. l.... ....

    Whats the story with the pictures? I mean clearly it's pictures of Desert storm or possibly the first couple weeks of the Iraq invasion. I'd like to know the details if anybody has them. Who was/is he? Who was he serving with?(US army, Marines, National guard,BAF?) What was his job during the war? What significance do these pictures share with the song? I just love learning about this type of stuff. Thanks.

    l.... ....

    Those are pictures of me. I made this for a girl to see but I don't think she ever saw it. You're right, they're from Desert Storm in 1991 except the one at the Washington Monument, obviously. That was included because it reminded me of a scene in the book "Y: The Last Man"

    l.... ....

    you look kind of goaty in some of the pictures

    l.... ....

    their job was to plunder my homeland and slaughter our sons, daughters, and priests

  13. D.... ....

    To those Religious nuts thinking this is about Jesus, in your warped minds EVERYTHING is about Jesus.  He's an imaginary being and nothing has anything to do with him or your make believe gods.  Maybe the last man on earth will be smart enough to realize there will be no gods to save his ass.

    D.... ....

    +DragonChaserKev no no that is good that means that they believe that jesus failed the first time

    D.... ....

    +DragonChaserKev are you unsure?

    D.... ....

    +DragonChaserKev Look, dude. You're right, but you need to chill.

    Like, I didn't know one man could OWN that many fedoras.

    There should be a law against it.

    D.... ....

    Okay, REALLY old comment, but...
    Yeah, jesus of nazareth definitely wasn't a real person. Good call. And john darnielle, the guy who wrote an entire fuckin' album of bible verses, definitely would never write religious allusions into his work. Definitely not.

    D.... ....

    I was a follower of Christ before I heard this song, I am a follower while I listen to this song, and I will be the last man on earth to defend the truth if I need to be.

    I'll be the last man on earth :)

  14. A.... D....

    Just saw the commercial for The last man on earth... how ironic- nay... poetic... very sad it looked awful.

  15. M.... ....

    I think I'm more comfortable accepting this as an allegory for Jesus than as a song about waiting for a person to come around and love you. Even if you reject Jesus, he's gonna save your ass so hard when the apocalypse comes (given that you aren't a dick), whereas the concept of hanging around someone who doesn't like you romantically and proving your worth to them so that they date you is asinine.

    Really, either way, it's a great song.

    M.... ....

    I'd argue that's the exact same interpretation, both argue that there is a person who will be around wen all others leave you, and sure he uses imagery that would remind you of Jesus but I don't really think it's important or interesting who the song is actually about.

    M.... ....

    I'm not trying to invalidate your opinion; but I think the song is a love song. It's filled with biblical allegory, but a lot of John's body of work is. The voice of the song is "The savior" coming to save a girl from the apocalypse of her love life..

    M.... ....

    Mountain Goats songs are songs about people. When John Darnielle references the bible, it's not much different from referencing Dostoyevski or John Carpenter's Halloween.
    I think the concept of just hanging around someone and waiting is asinine, but I think that's the point. This song describes a typical male romantic fantasy: I want to summon a horde of demons to destroy the earth just to save you from them. It's a selfish, self-centered, and in this case, entirely impotent fantasy. Note that the narrator predicts being the last man on earth in his fantasy. He wants everyone else to be doomed just so he can be the hero. The reference to Jesus' execution just shows how much he puts the object of his affection on a pedastal, and thinks that everyone else in the world is just a traitor. He considers himself the only true believer. But like in a lot of Mountain Goats songs, there is ambivalence. The phrase "not even if you were the last man on earth" indicates that someone is highly undesirable as a romantic partner. The narrator thinks of himself that he is the only true one, but he thinks that he is at the same time less worthy than every single other man she knows, and when the doom he summons happens, he'll be crawling on the ground. This could also be an allusion to the genesis story: by winning her over and "seducing" her, he crawls on the ground like the snake that tricked Eve. Further building on the narrator's insecurity, the bridge is essentially a description of a movie seen. It's describe in vivid detail, but in this vivid, exact fantasy, he only manages to "try" to say something cool. He does not even trust his ideal, perfect self.

  16. C.... B....

    this is about Jesus I think 

    C.... B....

    +Connor Burns It's either about Jesus or (the one I like) it's about a guy who's always been nice to a girl but she always goes for douchy guys and he's telling her that when those guys all betray you I'll still be there for you(the last man on earth nice to her)

    C.... B....

    +Iwon't tellmyname those are pretty similar

    C.... B....

    the second is correct he confirmed it

    C.... B....

    It’s a post apocalyptic love song, obviously

    C.... B....

    I heard him with my own ears confirm that the song is about the crucifixion of St. Peter but believe whatever you want lmao

  17. G.... P....

    Am I imagining things or was there an animated video somebody made to this song?

    G.... P....

    @Acexwanderer This video was created just to make you realize how completely insane you are. I don't know what we could do to make it any clearer. 

    G.... P....

    I guess there's nothing left to do but start writing my manifesto.

    G.... P....

    @Acexwanderer lmao!

    G.... P....

    Little late to the party but I think you're remembering an animated short for the song Ethiopians, an outtake off Tallahassee.

    G.... P....

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbddCxRJeN0 here's the video Nick Cherry was talking about

  18. t.... r....

    isnt john singing about The Last Man on Earth? or you might know it as I am Legend?

    t.... r....

    stfu tom

  19. b.... ....

    If that's the last man on Earth, who took the pictures?

    b.... ....

    blueamerican54 A woman, I guess.

  20. a.... ....

    The friend zone at the end of the world.

  21. Q.... ....

    sounds like a song about being in the friend zone.

  22. a.... s....

    peter denied Jesus name 3 times

  23. w.... ....

    Heretic Pride, it's a bonus track if you buy from Amazon.

  24. c.... ....

    1:10 That looked like the squirrel from "Mr. Deeds."

  25. M.... S....

    "And the cameras will slow pan across my face. I will try to say something cool." John Darnielle, I love you.

  26. j.... ....

    Excellent video background; excellent song. Thanks.

  27. C.... C....

    It's a Biblical reference, St Peter denying Jesus 3 times. (search "Denial of Peter" on wikipedia and you'll find the article on it)

  28. J.... F....

    I wonder if this if this song has anything to do with women saying that they would go out with you if you were the last man on earth.

  29. L.... ....

    Zakładam że Ty :)

  30. k.... m....

    Kto od beczki?

  31. b.... ....

    "I may have failed you once before,
    but this right here, this means war"
    loving it ♥

  32. E.... ....

    The picture at the start of this video is now my favorite picture. The whole video is great. Same thing with the song.

  33. H.... ....

    hahahaa! that fucking cat! :) cats are deck and Goats are beans man!

  34. a.... ....

    I think I got it as an Amazon.com exclusive digital track with the Heretic Pride album.

  35. S.... ....

    What album is this off of?

  36. B.... ....

    No rants ...... just Listen and enjoy,.

  37. C.... S....

    Amazing song, thank you for uploading it andyjunction