http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agbCspmBSWk

John Darnielle says it’s about “the moment in your quest for revenge when you learn to embrace the futility of it.”

Track: “Up the Wolves”
Album: The Sunset Tree (2005)

The Sunset Tree is emotionally raw. It dives deep into John’s childhood and isn’t uncomfortable holding the camera too long on a shot of abuse. In other songs he’s being directly attacked or broken down, but the meaning of “Up the Wolves” is more abstract. With stand-ins of Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome who, according to myth, were raised by a wolf, John offers an anthem to people in tough situations. Those two waited, anxiously, secure in the knowledge that the wolf was coming home. John wants his troubled listener to know that some kind of wolf is coming home for them, too.

Every comment section about “Up the Wolves” is overrun with fans of The Walking Dead, since the song was used in an emotional moment during a recent season of the show. It’s a fitting scene, filled with catharsis and literal fire, and once you see two beloved characters give in to a foolish impulse just to keep morale high during a dark time, you understand that no other song would fit.

You may take issue with the amount of “hope” in “Up the Wolves.” It’s entirely possible that the wolf doesn’t come back. That isn’t all that important, though. Like so many songs by the Mountain Goats, it’s not about the result. It’s about the importance of recognizing that troubles may be temporary. Much like the opening lines to a more recent Goats song (“Do every stupid thing // that makes you feel alive”), the lyrics of “Up the Wolves” plead with the listener to wait for a proverbial wolf. Get yourself in “fighting trim” and “bribe the officials” when you have to, but beyond all else, don’t lose hope.