Mountain Goats, The - Transcendental Youth Lyrics






Cold through broken baseboards.
I despise this town.
Snow on the sunroof,
Two stories down.
Hold hands,
Wish the snow away.
Rise in the darkness,
Of the gathering day.

Sing.
Sing for ourselves alone.
Speak into,
The microphone.

Cedar smudge our headbands,
And take to the skies.
Soar ever-upwards,
On air gone black with flies.
Shroud ourselves in the cosmos.
Let the music play.
Bright star of the morning,
Shine on his rising way.

Sing.
In the night.
In the nameless dark.
Father long gone,
But we bear his mark.

Learn some secrets,
Never tell.
Stay sick,
Don't get well.

Clutch those broken headboards.
Ride the highest wave.
Dusky diamonds shining in the far depths of the cave.
Try to explain ourselves,
Babble on and on.
By the time you receive this, we'll be gone.

Sing.
Sing high.
While the fire climbs.
Sing one for the old times.





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Mountain Goats, The Transcendental Youth Comments
  1. D.... B....

    Damn...this is just the song i needed right now

  2. O.... F....

    First heard up the wolves from the walking dead and then I found out they have really good music.

  3. N.... C....

    came here from the hilarious world of depression podcast

  4. A.... T....

    This song has helped me get through a lot of desperate times and inane times where it felt like the world was ending but clearly it wasn't even close too. I can't express my appreciation enough. Just stay alive.

  5. D.... O....

    This song always makes me want to curl up into a tiny little ball and then roll backwards out of a plane door.

  6. K.... R....

    Do every stupid thing that makes you feel alive
    Do every stupid thing to try to drive the dark away
    Let people call you crazy for the choices that you make
    Climb limits past the limits
    Jump in front of trains all day

    And stay alive
    Just stay alive

    Play with matches if you think you need to play with matches
    Seek out the hidden places where the fire burns hot and bright
    Find where the heat's unbearable and stay there if you have to
    Don't hurt anybody on your way up to the light

    And stay alive
    Just stay alive

    People might laugh at your tattoos
    When they do get new ones in completely garish hues
    I hide down in my corner because I like my corner
    I am happy where the vermin play

    Make up magic spells
    Wear them like protective shells
    Landmines on the battlefield
    Find the one safe way

    And stay alive
    Just stay alive

    Just stay alive

  7. M.... ....

    I'm trying to, John. But goddamn is it hard.

    M.... ....

    You've got this pal. I hope you're in a better place than you were when you wrote this two months ago. But even if you aren't, the fact that you're reading this means you survived. And sometimes that all we can do and that's ok as well. We just have to keep believing that the better days are ahead.

    M.... ....

    @Troy M Thank you friend. This was actually a really great thing to see on my feed today. I'm doing better. As Robert Frost once said, "Life goes on."

  8. P.... T....

    more people should live their life like this song.

  9. i.... ....

    I heard this when it came out. And I'm just revisiting it now. I'm 19 now and this shit is a little too real. I have the number of the beast tattooed on my ass and a scar from a cigarette burn on my arm, and I almost died last night.

  10. N.... C....

    This is honestly one of the best songs I have ever heard.

    N.... C....

    @Nicole Cosentino It's incredible.

    N.... C....

    @Nicole Cosentino They played it when I saw them in Boston<3

    N.... C....

    good message

  11. J.... J....

    Dedicated to a previous friend... Remember karma when thinking bad thoughts about people who helped you get your life together... just stay alive, just stay alive

  12. L.... A....

    I find it incredibly depressing that I don't think I'll connect with any of my friends or family as clearly and intrinsically as I do to John Darnielle's words.

    L.... A....

    Leslie Anderson i think this takes time.

    L.... A....

    I always think this too. I have an ex that really "got" tMG and we connected through his lyrics. What I miss the most is having someone that understood and felt how Johns writing makes me feel. Just jumping in 6 years later to say, I know exactly what you mean.

  13. S.... K....

    I will john. 3

  14. J.... H....

    Jump in front of trains all day and stay alive, just stay alive. I love it.

  15. B.... ....

    And then it gets contradicted in the next song.
    Woo.

    B.... ....

    Not contradicted. Complicated. Deepened. But still, after it all, true.

    B.... ....

    Narrative Matters thanks for saying the truth. Johnny D. doesn’t do contradictions. Everything he says is true.

  16. F.... ....

    Yes, my brother has one, but sadly i don't know where you can get one.

  17. j.... ....

    Can I get this on Vynal? and if so anyone know where?

    j.... ....

    In case you still haven't found it, it's on 180-gram vinyl here: https://www.mergerecords.com/transcendental-youth

  18. d.... ....

    same here haha

  19. m.... ....

    Usually youtube comments make me sad. Somehow Mountain Goats comments almost always put a smile on my face, though (it doesn't hurt they have a good soundtrack). Way to enjoy something awesome, people. :)

  20. A.... S....

    I just love JD so much.

  21. C.... N....

    I absolutely love this song. JD inspires me to keep writing music and to be whoever the fuck I wanna be.

    C.... N....

    Courtney Noble Dane

  22. G.... G....

    There must exist a higher power. Iv'e just arrived to heaven.

  23. M.... C....

    Enjoy the journey; it's a hell of a ride.

  24. m.... ....

    there's drums! it's so weird!

  25. N.... R....

    You know I think it's about drug users in general but was inspired in part by the media attention to Amy Winehouse's death (Hence the aka). I can't remember exactly, it was in a Rolling Stone interview I think.

  26. s.... ....

    Wait till you hear the titular song. Your mind will explode, guaranteed.

  27. c.... ....

    People mistakenly assume that because it's a song the lyrics to the song must be about the songwriter. The vast majority of John Darnielle's songs are written the way an author writes a novel. They're mostly about fictional characters. Like any good writer though, he writes about things he understands.

    c.... ....

    The song is about Amy Winehouse, if no one has pointed that out.

  28. B.... e....

    damn is there a Mountain Goats album that ISNT good? i've only heard this song and i know the rest of the album will be perfect :3

  29. J.... ....

    Ironic and surprisingly common.

  30. B.... ....

    Actually, it is about him. When he was younger, he used to stupid, self destructive things that helped him cope. He talks about it in an interview with Rollingstone.

  31. S.... V....

    Nothing even like Sunset Tree, much less the old tape deck stuff, but just as good. This album will make me smile a lot.

  32. J.... T....

    This album isn't about him, you guys. It's about the people he worked with while he was a psychiatric nurse.

  33. A.... R....

    Awesome. In the same style of "You Were Cool"

  34. G.... C....

    Kinda ironic how such a shitty childhood became inspiration for such art like "Pale Green Things."

    G.... C....

    Not ironic at all. A lot of art comes from trying to take something traumatic and processing it.

    G.... C....

    Not unlike Van Gough, who had such tragedy in life and turned it into beauty, even though nobody wanted to see it at the time.