hey friends, it’s seph. as you may know, one of my favorite tasks is assembling extensive playlists of mountain goats songs focused on a particular text or theme. this is more of a compulsion than a hobby, and I hope that someday I will find more productive outlets for my creative energy. in the meantime, however, here is this decades-spanning, several-hours-long playlist which tracks the life of david from his slaying of goliath through his mourning of jonathan, as told in the first and second books of samuel, kjv.

enjoy.

1 samuel 17:37 / hair match

David said moreover, The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the Lord be with thee.

Buzzing razor held aloft and just about to strike
I loved you before I even ever knew what love was like

1 samuel 17:55 / quetzalcoatl is born

And when Saul saw David go forth against the Philistine, he said unto Abner, the captain of the host, Abner, whose son is this youth? And Abner said, As thy soul liveth, O king, I cannot tell.

Into the fire you go
Into the fire you go

1 samuel 18:1 / alphabetizing

And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of
Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.

Let the years come and take away my memory
I will not forget the shock that ran through me

1 samuel 18:3 / twin human highway flares

Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul.

On the day that I forget you
I hope my heart explodes

 1 samuel 18:4 / riches and wonders

And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was upon him, and gave it to David, and his garments, even to his sword, and to his bow, and to his girdle.

And I keep you safe from harm
You hold me in your arms
I want to go home
But I am home

1 samuel 18:7 / against pollution

And the women answered one another as they played, and said, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands.

I would do it again, I would do it again

1 samuel 18:9 / we have seen the enemy

And Saul eyed David from that day and forward.

Imagine my surprise when I blink my eyes and realize I’ve been talking to you
And I’ve told you everything, even the parts I’d meant to leave out.

1 samuel 18:21 / orange ball of love

And Saul said, I will give him her, that she may be a snare to him, and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him. Wherefore Saul said to David, Thou shalt this day be my son in law in the one of the twain.

And I know you’ll be turning me in
But I also know your real name’s not amy lynn

1 samuel 19:1-2 / animal mask

And Saul spake to Jonathan his son, and to all his servants, that they should kill David. But Jonathan Saul’s son delighted much in David: and Jonathan told David, saying, Saul my father seeketh to kill thee: now therefore, I pray thee, take heed to thyself until the morning, and abide in a secret place, and hide thyself

Hold on I cried I’ll be right there
Pull your mask down through your hair

 1 samuel 19:4 / the admondishing song

And Jonathan spake good of David unto Saul his father, and said unto him, Let not the king sin against his servant, against David; because he hath not sinned against thee, and because his works have been to thee-ward very good

Tell me why you lied
That was not a nice thing to do

1 samuel 19:18 / pigs that ran straightaway into the water, triumph of

So David fled, and escaped, and came to Samuel to Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and dwelt in Naioth.

You’re gonna fit me for that orange jumpsuit
Please don’t fit me for that orange jumpsuit
Let me ride where the dragonflies glide

1 samuel 20:1 / jeff davis county blues / age of kings

And David fled from Naioth in Ramah, and came and said before Jonathan, What have I done? what is mine iniquity? and what is my sin before thy father, that he seeketh my life?

And I panic, I guess, and although it’s quite late
I take the first exit to 128
I am coming back to Midland
And I hope you won’t mind

Lean on the concrete walls in shadow
Why should we wait to throw the switch?
Felt your name burning like a tattoo into my skin
Rain on the clay tiles all night, your head nestled beneath my chin

1 samuel 20:3 / heel turn 2

And David sware moreover, and said, Thy father certainly knoweth that I have found grace in thine eyes; and he saith, Let not Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved: but truly as the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, there is but a step between me and death.

I don’t want to die in here

1 samuel 20:4 / september 19 triple x love! love! love!

Then said Jonathan unto David, Whatsoever thy soul desireth, I will even do it for thee.

I will do as I am told
I will keep away the cold

 1 samuel 20:9 / evening in stalingrad

And Jonathan said, Far be it from thee: for if I knew certainly that evil were determined by my father to come upon thee, then would not I tell it thee?

They’ll have to carry me out on my back
They’ll have to tear me to pieces alright

1 samuel 20:11 / tulsa imperative

And Jonathan said unto David, Come, and let us go out into the field. And they went out both of them into the field.

Your mama’s failed wheat field
Was a good place to lie down together

1 samuel 20:17 / the recognition scene

And Jonathan caused David to swear again, because he loved him: for he loved him as he loved his own soul.

We had hot caramel sticking to our teeth
And the only love I’ve ever known burning underneath
I’m gonna miss you when you’re gone
I’m gonna miss you when you’re gone

1 samuel 20:32-3 / lion’s teeth

And Jonathan answered Saul his father, and said unto him, Wherefore shall he be slain? what hath he done?
And Saul cast a javelin at him to smite him: whereby Jonathan knew that it was determined of his father to slay David.

Everyone’s screaming
I am dreaming of you

1 samuel 20:41 / so desperate

And as soon as the lad was gone, David arose out of a place toward the south, and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed himself three times: and they kissed one another, and wept one with another, until David exceeded.

Had my hand in your hair
Trying to keep my cool until it became too much to bear

 1 samuel 20:42 / moon over goldsboro

And Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, forasmuch as we have sworn both of us in the name of the Lord, saying, The Lord be between me and thee, and between my seed and thy seed for ever. And he arose and departed: and Jonathan went into the city.

Spend all night in the company of ghosts
Always wake up alone

1 samuel 21:1 / unicorn tolerance

Then came David to Nob to Ahimelech the priest: and Ahimelech was afraid at the meeting of David, and said unto him, Why art thou alone, and no man with thee?

Get a momentary chance to see
The thing I’ve been trying to beat to death
The soft creature that I used to be
The better animal I used to be

 1 samuel 21:11-3 / september 15 1983

And the servants of Achish said unto him, Is not this David the king of the land? did they not sing one to another of him in dances, saying, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands?
And David laid up these words in his heart, and was sore afraid of Achish the king of Gath.
And he changed his behaviour before them, and feigned himself mad in their hands, and scrabbled on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle fall down upon his beard.

Try, try your whole life to be righteous and be good
Wind up on your own floor, choking on blood

1 samuel 22:1-2 / the young thousands

David therefore departed thence, and escaped to the cave Adullam: and when his brethren and all his father’s house heard it, they went down thither to him.
And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him; and he became a captain over them: and there were with him about four hundred men.

There must be diamonds somewhere in a place that stinks this bad
There are brighter things than diamonds coming down the line

 1 samuel 23:14 / if you see light

And David abode in the wilderness in strong holds, and remained in a mountain in the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul sought him every day, but God delivered him not into his hand.

When the villagers come to my door
I will hide underneath the table in the dining room
Knees drawn into my chest

1 samuel 23:16-18 / old college try

And Jonathan Saul’s son arose, and went to David into the wood, and strengthened his hand in God.
And he said unto him, Fear not: for the hand of Saul my father shall not find thee; and thou shalt be king over Israel, and I shall be next unto thee; and that also Saul my father knoweth.
And they two made a covenant before the Lord: and David abode in the wood, and Jonathan went to his house.

I will walk down to the end with you if you will come all the way down with me

1 samuel 24:15-16, 27:1 / song for my stepfather

The Lord therefore be judge, and judge between me and thee, and see, and plead my cause, and deliver me out of thine hand.
And it came to pass, when David had made an end of speaking these words unto Saul, that Saul said, Is this thy voice, my son David? And Saul lifted up his voice, and wept.
And David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul.

You’ll be sorry, you always feel sorry later on
When you come around to say so, I will be gone

 1 samuel 28:13-16 / maybe sprout wings

And the king [Saul] said unto her, Be not afraid: for what sawest thou? And the woman said unto Saul, I saw gods ascending out of the earth.
And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground, and bowed himself.
Then said Samuel, Wherefore then dost thou ask of me, seeing the Lord is departed from thee, and is become thine enemy?

A bad dream shook me in my sleep
And I woke up sweating
Ran through the dark to the shower
Already forgetting

1 samuel 30:3-4 / fire editorial

So David and his men came to the city, and, behold, it was burned with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captives.
Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep.

All the best bleed
All the proud boys break

1 samuel 30:6 / heretic pride

And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.

And I start laughing like a child
And I mark their faces one by one
Transfiguration’s going to come for me at last
And I will burn hotter than the sun

1 samuel 30:11-12 / samuel 15:23

And they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David, and gave him bread, and he did eat; and they made him drink water;
And they gave him a piece of a cake of figs, and two clusters of raisins: and when he had eaten, his spirit came again to him: for he had eaten no bread, nor drunk any water, three days and three nights.

I became a crystal healer and my ministry was to the sick

2 samuel 1:11-12 / philippians 3:20-21

Then David took hold on his clothes, and rent them; and likewise all the men that were with him:
And they mourned, and wept, and fasted until even, for Saul, and for Jonathan his son, and for the people of the Lord, and for the house of Israel; because they were fallen by the sword.

The path to the awful room that no one will sleep in again
Was lit for one man only, gone where none can follow him

2 samuel 1:19-20 / michael myers resplendent

The beauty of Israel is slain upon thy high places: how are the mighty fallen!
Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Askelon; lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph.

When the house goes up in flames
No one emerges triumphantly from it

2 samuel 1:23 / song for dennis brown

Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in their death they were not divided: they were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions.

It took all the coke in town
To bring down Dennis Brown
On the day my lung collapses
We’ll see just how much it takes

2 samuel 1:26 / historiography

I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan: very pleasant hast thou been unto me: thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women.

And your arms were warm
And that’s all I remember

2 samuel 1:27 / blues in dallas

How are the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war perished!

I am far from where we live
And I have not learned how to forgive
But I will wait, I will wait, I will wait