The Mountain Goats- Pink And Blue

I've been looking for a Mountain Goats song to share here. I think this one will give you an idea about them. John Darnielle is such a poet! I like the crows in this song who "discuss their future in the branches of their Louisiana live oak" and who complain "about the finer points of local politics."

The song's narrator sings to his nine-days old child, who seems to be almost haphazardly taken care of--mashed bananas in a coffee cup and a produce box for a cradle (Bethlehem, anyone?--not making this up--his songs are loaded with religious references). It becomes clear that he's singing to his child when he writes about the roots of the tree, which reaches to "where the bad people go." The song includes lots of juxtapositions of good and bad, new and old, rust and fur (not sure what reception sticks are!).

Also, this reminds me of a delightful philosopher I met lately who was telling me about marriage and his new baby. He highly recommended having a child--he said that everyone says that marriage is great, but that, in reality, marriage is a character-forming endeavor (and I think he really likes his wife). But having a child, he said, is everything that it's cracked up to be. He said that even at 3:30 in the morning he can't be mad at his little daughter--he just thinks she's the best thing ever.