We hear from the serpent on what happened after the fall in “Supergenesis.”

Track: “Supergenesis”
Album: Black Pear Tree EP (2008)

A. K. M. Adam, a Biblical scholar at Oxford University, wrote a lengthy paper in 2011 about John Darnielle’s use of religious symbols. It’s the kind of thing that any Mountain Goats fan should be in awe of, not just for the scope but for the origin of it. This is a scholar, someone who has dedicated their life’s work to this subject, that feels it is important to spend a lot of time digging through Mountain Goats songs.

He spends some time on “Supergenesis,” from the 2008 collaboration between the Mountain Goats and Kaki King. The song is about the Biblical serpent from Genesis and what happens after the snake is forced from Eden. The paper is worth reading for far more than that, but Adam calls out specifically that the “battle plan” this snake is waiting to enact and the judgement it feels is so unfair are both about God. I suppose that’s obvious, but it really makes you contend with what is happening in “Supergenesis.”

The Mountain Goats toured with Kaki King around the release of Black Pear Tree and played much of the EP most nights. Live, “Supergenesis” often became a sprawling jam where Kaki King opened up for minutes at a time. It’s worth checking a few of those out, because the message of the song is striking once you reckon with the scale of the conflict, but the guitar is really what makes “Supergenesis” something to get lost in.