* "San Bernadino."
-->''We were safe inside''
-->''And our new son cried,''
-->''"San Bernadino welcomes you"''
* "Going to Georgia."
-->''The most remarkable thing about you standing in the doorway''
-->''Is that it's you, and that you're standing in the doorway''
* "Sax Rohmer #1."
-->''I am coming home to you''
-->''If it's the last thing that I do''
* Depending on your interpretation, "1 Samuel 15:23" can be this, especially the final verse:
-->''My house will be for all people who have nowhere to go''
-->''My supply of shining crystals a shield against the snow''
-->''There's more like me where I come from, so mark our shapes''
-->''Go down to the netherworld, plant grapes''
* "Color In Your Cheeks," which is about a drug house that serves as a haven for outcasts.
-->''They came in by the dozens, walking or crawling''
-->''Some were bright-eyed, some were dead on their feet''
-->''And they came from Zimbabwe or from Soviet Georgia''
-->''East St. Louis or from Paris or they lived across the street''
-->''But they came, and when they finally made it here''
-->''It was the least we could do to make our welcome clear''
* The entirety of "Never Quite Free". Everything about it is so soft and calming.
-->''It's so good to learn''
-->''That right outside your window''
-->''There's only friendly fields and open roads''
-->''And you'll sleep better when you think''
-->''You've stepped back from the brink''
-->''And found some peace inside yourself''
-->''Lay down your heavy load''
** John has said in concert that he doesn't understand why fans find this one heartwarming, because the theme is that past trauma will always be there ("But when you see him, you'll know"), but that's exactly what makes it so touching-- even if things will never be perfect, that doesn't mean they can't be honestly ''good''.
* "You Were Cool" is about someone telling a friend who was bullied in high school that they deserved better, and celebrating that their lives got better.
* "Amy, a.k.a. Spent Gladiator 1," which is essentially about finding whatever small joys and coping mechanisms are necessary to make life worth living, no matter what. It comes across as extremely genuine and extremely ''caring.''
* "Absolute Lithops Effect", with some SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome thrown in as well.
-->''And I feel sure that my wounds will heal''\\
''And I will bloom here in my room''\\
''With a little water and a little bit of sunlight''\\
''And a little bit of tender mercy, tender mercy''
* "Animal Mask," a song about the spontaneous formation of a wrestling tag team - and a father seeing his child for the first time, in the delivery room.
-->''That was when we were young and green''\\
''In the dawning hours of our team''\\
''Some things you will remember''\\
''Some things stay sweet forever''
* "There Will Be No Divorce", about a rekindled romance late at night.
--> ''And I felt young and alive''\\
''And the hair stood up on the back of my neck''\\
''We were rising from the grave''\\
''Yeah, yeah''
* If "This Year"'s triumphant refrain doesn't count, John's annual New Year's Eve Twitter commentary reflecting on the song and the impact it's had on people certainly does.
--> '''@mountain_goats:''' two hours from now, me & everybody reading this, even and especially everybody whose 2018 made mine look like a free unicorn ride, are gonna put another one on the books
--> every day above ground a good day
--> this was the 365th good day. you did it. I did it. we will do it again
--> WE WILL DO IT AGAIN EVEN IF IT'S HARD AND EVEN IF THE MOMENTS OF GRACE SEEM FEW AND FAR BETWEEN. MAY THOSE MOMENTS OF GRACE BREED IN US ALL LIKE BACTERIA, GOOD FRIENDLY BACTERIA THAT KEEPS THE MACHINE RUNNING SMOOTHLY
--> this concludes the benediction which leaned a little goth this year. sometimes the goth benediction is what's up
--> may next year's benediction come on the wings of a great dragon appointed to protect our tiny village
--> in which village I will see you all! /fin