| Who You Are | |
|---|---|
 Album Art | |
|
Released |
July 7, 2014 |
|
Length |
5:06 |
|
Label |
|
Who You Are is a song by American Music Club, released on their 2008 album The Golden Age. It was released as a single by the Mountain Goats in 2014 as an exclusive for Google Play as part of Merge Records' 25th anniversary.
Lyrics[]
I know your world is full of people who have nothing Who have nothing to give Who have nothing to give I know everyone's trying to sell you the illusion That keeps them in Hell That keeps them down in Hell I'm stuck in my confusion but I know that you'll go far You're chased by the horizon because you know who you are Hope you remember who you are Remember who you are I know they only see you as someone they can use and someone they pick or choose and then blame you when they lose I don't want to be a mistake that only falls off your radar You can't afford a mistake because you know who you are Hope you remember who you are Remember who you are All I can give you is one of my stupid songs and I know it's not the real thing Wish I could give you the real thing I'm lost in the sky, but I would bet upon your star You're alone in this life Unless you know who you are Hope you remember who you are Remember who you are Yeah
Comments By John Darnielle About this Song[]
- "Back when I was just getting started in music people would see me and say “your performance reminds me of Mark Eitzel, you’re intense like he is!” and man oh man did I ever resent being compared to anybody, this is one of the many symptoms of Young Songwriter’s Disease, not everybody gets it but pig-headed dudes like me have to learn to accept kind comparisons with grace and gratitude instead of as an indictment of their originality or whatever. So I didn’t really get into Mark’s work until much later, but after I’d moved to North Carolina and made friends with people at Merge, I got handed a promo of their 2008 album The Golden Age, which leads off with a devastating song called “All My Love” and has one of the best mid-album triple-punch runs of the century so far: “All the Lost Souls Welcome You To San Francisco” followed by “Who You Are” and resolving on “The Windows on the World.” And I fell in love with Mark’s songs, and went back through the catalog, and sure enough, everybody’d been right all along, he walks with the giants. Merge is giving away a bunch of Merge artists covering other Merge artists for their 25th anniversary and when they asked us I knew “Who You Are” was the one for me. It is a song that I have turned to for comfort many times since I first heard it six years ago. Peter couldn’t get away, so that’s Brad Cook from Megafaun on bass here, along with me on piano and Jon Wurster on drums. We recorded at Overdub Lane with Scott Solter producing. It’s an honor to sing a song this good, this true; thanks for writing it, Mark & Vudi. I have tried to do justice by it." -- tumblr
Things Referenced in this Song[]
Live Shows this Song Was Played at[]
Videos of this Song[]