The contrasts of the verses and the chorus are important in “Romans 10:9.”

Track: “Romans 10:9”
Album: The Life of the World to Come (2009) and The Life of the World in Flux (2009)

It’s not unique to the Mountain Goats, but people seem to take the opposite intention from songs sometimes. It’s one thing not to “get” a song, I think just about all of them are open to some form of interpretation and it’s not fair to tell anyone they are “wrong” about any song. That said, Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the U.S.A.” is not the full-on patriotic tune everyone misunderstands it as and people do the same thing with Mountain Goats songs.

One such song is “Romans 10:9,” with a prayer for a chorus, bright vocals, and a a jaunty tune. Darnielle’s mentioned this directly before and it’s somewhat expected given it’s on The Life of the World to Come. But just like every song on Beat the Champ is about wrestling and also something else, the same thing applies here. You’ll get something out of it as a song about faith, but it’s also about the limitations of faith.

The narrator says they can’t sleep. They say they are terrified to truly take in their surroundings. They say they’ll go to the pharmacy, but they won’t take the drugs. I love the phrasing of that part, “won’t take the medication, but it’s good to have around” and it pairs nicely with the hopeful, but not certain, prayer of “a kind and loving God won’t let my small ship run aground.” Faith might aid you, but you have to do some of this work yourself.