The ominous possibilities of what comes next are on everyone’s mind in “New World Emerging Blues.”

Track: “New World Emerging Blues”
Album: Unreleased

“New World Emerging Blues” goes with We Shall All Be Healed in that John Darnielle wrote it during the time he was writing those songs, but it was part of a “release” of two other songs in 2008 as an apology for having to cancel some tour dates in Australia. It’s really just a seed of an idea even though it is by no means the shortest Mountain Goats song (lyrically or by actual running time). It’s haunting, sure, and it’s eerie, sure, but it feels like something that would have needed to expand to be on the actual album.

It’s right at home with the themes, though. My favorite element is the juxtaposition of the title, where one imagines a new world as a positive thing even with the curious “blues” term, and the lyrics, where a long-dormant Mount Fuji threatens an eventual eruption and the oceans rise as part of global peril. There’s nothing inherent about a new world emerging that’s a good thing, when you really think about it. Mount Fuji hasn’t erupted in over 300 years, but our narrator reminds us that just because something bad hasn’t happened recently does not mean the conditions don’t exist for today, or tomorrow, or whenever you run out of whatever caused you to hole up in that hotel room in the first place.