A narrator stays inside in multiple ways in “In Memory of Satan.”

Track: “In Memory of Satan”
Album: Transcendental Youth (2012)

There are hundreds of religious references in Mountain Goats songs. Some of them are about literal Satan, but more often these are meant to make you think of darkness as an extreme. Even the most famous one, “The Best Ever Death Metal Band in Denton,” is not actually about praising a literal devil. These are about not fitting in, in a way, and they’re about what you feel akin to when you go inward. Sometimes you feel like you’re forced to do that, but characters in Mountain Goats songs often feel like it’s the only rational response to the world.

“In Memory of Satan” finds someone literally inside painting, but metaphorically inside because they feel closer to the dark than to the light. “But no one screams, ’cause it’s just me // locked up in myself // never gonna get free” is extremely bleak, but the delivery lightens up the intent slightly. This is not a song about permanent darkness so much as the emotions that make it feel that way. It’s also about the idea that you can come to terms with some things being temporal, but you are going to be you forever. We leave the song on a call to a friend, which you can interpret many different ways. I’ve always felt the important takeaway here is that you should try your best to get perspective even in these locked-in moments, especially about the parts that might change and those that cannot.