daniel

337. Isaiah 45:23

Alex Russell The Life of the World to Come , , , , , , , , , , ,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSSah_EKwhQ

John Darnielle speaks about illness and managing through it in “Isaiah 45:23.”

Track: “Isaiah 45:23”
Album: The Life of the World to Come (2009)

Isaiah 45:23, the verse, forms one of the lines of “Isaiah 45:23,” the Mountain Goats song. The verse is about devoting your life to the Lord and accepting his divinity. John Darnielle cribs this with “let every knee be bent and every tongue confess.” Much of Isaiah deals with this level of intense devotion and the fiery language needed to get the population back on track in the eyes of the Lord after being swayed by idolatry.

John Darnielle says it’s a song about illness and how we respond to the news that we’re going to have to live with chronic pain. This is explicit in the song, with “the pain begins to travel, dancing as it goes.” Maybe you have a relatable experience and maybe you don’t, but either way you can imagine the moment you get the news and the ways you’ll have to adjust. After a former life as a nurse and a health scare of his own, John Darnielle knows both sides of this coin.

The versus use religious language, but the chorus is more universal while still expressing a connected idea: “and I won’t get better // but someday I’ll be free // ’cause I am not this body // that imprisons me.” There are other Mountain Goats songs in this vein, but few that go this explicitly to the idea that some things that feel permanent actually aren’t. At one point, often in a scary way but sometimes in a hopeful one, you will think of yourself as someone who can’t be hurt that way anymore.

335. Daniel 12:8 (third)

Alex Russell The Life of the World to Come , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Two versions of “Daniel 12:8 (third)” offer slightly different takes on how to view a moment you’re afraid is full of importance.

Track: “Daniel 12:8 (third)”
Album: The Life of the World in Flux (2009)

The Book of Daniel is all about what might happen. Daniel interprets God’s messages and hears from angels. He performs superhuman feats to prove his divine access and lays down with lions and survives flames sent to destroy him. It’s really easy to understand, as stories like these go, and it’s hard to argue with the idea that he knows what he needs to know. The kings of his day come to be impressed and come to listen to him, but only after he can prove it.

There are many ways to take these lessons and there’s an argument about faith that comes from Daniel’s doubters only believing him after seeing irrefutable proof. Daniel 12:8, the verse “Daniel 12:8 (third)” takes a title from, finds Daniel questioning an angel. Even after interpreting dreams for kings and hearing other divine messages, Daniel is only human and needs help understanding the angelic message. He asks “what will the outcome of all this be?”

This song didn’t make it to The Life of the World to Come. It’s only on the demo album The Life of the World in Flux. Further complicating this, we have the “third” version on the demo and the “first” version John Darnielle released separately. The versions differ only in their ending, with the first version offering a hopeful ending and the third version decidedly less so. There are multiple interpretations you can draw from each version, but this song stems from a time when John Darnielle was thinking about his health and about his life to that point. Through that lens, Daniel’s confusion and fear may be about a turning point where things will either get better or they won’t.