#ttfafpb

[reuniont0ur]

I love seeing all 12 mountain goats fans speculate whether or not the narrator of TTFAFPB was one of 16 men on a fishing boat or if he was 16 years old on a 16 person fishing boat

[libraryfag]

when the mountain goats album is about a few people forced to stay together by circumstances somewhat out of their control and have watch each other slowly die

[andie-platonically]

some repeated motifs / thematic elements in through this fire across from peter balkan

floating: “sixteen on a fishing boat / we are learning to float” (fishing boat) & “everything that sinks will float / we went down to the boat” (the lady from shanghai 2)

the repetition of “well the first thing you learn is how far you can go with no gas in the tank / and the next thing you learn is how cold it can get at night” in both cold at night & broken to begin with

king/castle imagery: “let the people make ready to approach the throne” (cold at night) & “the king’s gonna sit upon the throne” (dawn of revelations) & “more than kings in their castles might desire” (through this fire) & “and you found a kingdom by the fire rising in the smoke” (your glow) & “kings in their castles not arrayed such as these” (the lady from shanghai 2)

peter balkan as a gift/ having a gift: “when your gift begins to consume you” (peru) & “wrapped up in your bandage like a package on the porch” (rocks in my pockets)

cradle: “distant as a dream of the cradle on this lonesome beach” (peru) & “spend an hour or so beside you cradling your head” (your glow)

the fire as a metaphor for their will / abilityto survive: “i began to understand the things the heat requires” (through this fire) & “until the dream ran out of oxygen” (broken to begin with)

ideas of strength/ weakness: “well the first thing you learn is how strong you can be if you have to” (cold at night) & “one of us will have to be strong” (peru) & “the weak ones get lucky / the strong ones stick around to see the end” (rocks in my pockets)

the constancy of the ocean: “let the waves break where they have to break” (cold at night) & “the ocean is faithful and the devil’s a liar” (through this fire) & “leave you here or let the ocean claim you as its own / keep you here or tithe you to the tides to die here all alone” (your glow) & “is this not what you wanted from the sea / is this not what the waves require of me” (broken to begin with)

freedom: “free as the wind on the ocean” (fishing boat) & “free as driftwood on the waves” (dawn of revelations) & “soon we’ll all be released” (your bandage) & “isnt this what we suspect we’ll see / on the day we finally get free?” (broken to begin with)

loneliness: “two are gonna stumble along the way / one is going to go up alone” (cold at night) & “but at least you’ll have someone / for some of us that won’t be true” (rocks in my pockets) & “sixteen to three now down to two / soon it’ll just be you” (armies of the lord) & “keep you here to tithe you to the tides to die here all alone” (your glow)

i know there are more that i missed so feel free to reblog and add to the list

[u-p-t-h-e-w-o-l-v-e-s]

[shitsgettingreel]

I’m not sorry for how goddamn annoying i’m about to become approximately 5 and a half hours from now. I’m gonna be petering my balkans all over the fuckin place.

[thelilaclight]

one of the things i love about Through This Fire Across From Peter Balkan is the vibe of the song depending on the pov. like the one song we get that is from the perspective of the titular Peter Balkan (Dawn Of Revelation) is this fast paced, dramatic, almost panicked song about the visions he is seeing and the need he feels to bring it to the others on the beach.

And of course his song is that way! He truly believes he is seeing visions of the end times (when he actually just has a head injury of course). This runs contrary to the rest of the albums songs from the perspective of Adam and the unnamed character. Because they are both mentally stable they know there is no end times anytime soon, except for the fact that they will starve and or freeze to death on this beach. So their songs have this quiet sort of resignation, melancholy, and acceptance to them.

It’s a wonderful detail that JD snuck in- i have no idea if it’s intentional or not but i hope it is because it really is quite interesting.

[asexual-juliet]

the ocean is faithful and the devil’s a liar

[partsart]

One day the stars will all go out You're right, you're right, you're right

Be still Lie at peace

While I Reapply your bandage