One of the oldest Mountain Goats songs is “Going to Brazil,” and it exists as a memory of times gone by.

Track: “Going to Brazil”
Album: Unreleased

One of the top results as of this writing for “Going to Brazil” is a horrible AI website that seems to churn out three paragraphs about every song. Above that, for me, is the wiki, which includes this show in 2010 in Oregon, where John Darnielle seems to have played part of the song during what I would assume is the solo set in the middle of a live show. There is also an archived mention on the defunct forums for the band where John Darnielle confirmed it as the first song in the series of “Going to…” songs. As of this afternoon as I write this, that is just about all there is in the world about this one.

I find that AI site so repellant because it has no heart. The person who updated the wiki with a setlist from a venue in Oregon from 13 years ago to make sure everyone knows this one song virtually no one else has ever heard was played, partially, at a show, has heart. It will only get harder as time goes on to confirm anything. For example, the comments on this one YouTube upload of this song are people arguing (politely) about the veracity of the claim that this is the oldest “Going to…” song. These are people who care, but more than that they are people who have spent time wondering about this stuff. These are people who listen to “Going to Brazil” and have wonder. Reward that wonder, when you see it. Experience it, when you can. The song itself is a nice piece of the past, but I am consumed today by the thought of the people who care about it.