Mountain Goats, The - You Were Cool Lyrics

We held on to hope of better days coming.

And when we did, we were right.

I really wish he'd give in and do a studio recording. He probably won't.

Mike Postner-Cooler Than Me (Acoustic Version)

I just noticed for the first time that the background keeps getting brighter because it's early in the morning and the screen got more and more uncomfortable to look at

alternative subcultures are cool amongst us youth now, so i wonder what our generation’s version of this song could even be?

i was bullied by people like the goth kid described in this song. not an actual goth, but the subculture people at my high school were cool so it’s hard to place this song in brain under anywhere aside from nostalgic longing.

I think you're cool too

I love this song. I love that it came from the ONE kid in school who appreciated the goths expressing themselves. He probably faded in the background but he was watching her and thinking she was cool. He saw the front she put up and he admired it and hated the other kids for hating her. They say "even if you dont know it/them, someone loves you."

Nerd in school. Hate life today. Fuck this song.

wow the youtube algorithm really said oh you like tmg? here’s them being sad so that you can also be sad :^)

You deserved better than you got, someone’s gotta say it sometime ‘cause it’s true. People should have told you ‘You were awesome’ instead of taking advantage of you.

ok well I found this song and now I’m just sitting here listening to it , reading the comments and crying

I fell in love too early. Like real, genuine love. I’m a senior and I fell in love with her the day I turned 13. It hasn’t gone away. It hurts.

I want to write the response song to this in which the person says they'd always considered themselves cool and had no idea they were being bullied in high school. This is literally the first they're hearing of it, and they're shocked. "I always thought people liked me, which is why they kidded me so much. So now you're saying I was UNpopular? Well, sh*t. This kind of ruins my day."

I love that! Go for it, friend!

"It's good to be young, but let's not kid ourselves; it's better to come out the other side, still breathing, having faced down all those demons."
I found one of my old journals from when I was 16. I couldn't help but cry as I read it. At that point, I just knew in my soul that I was going to end up killing myself before my 18th birthday. Here I am at 23, scarred and bruised but stronger than I ever thought I could be. I think that the terrified kid I was would be so proud of who I am now. And, I am so damn glad that I didn't kill myself. Maybe you are now where I once was. Maybe you're a scared kid in school who feels like they have no one. Remember: you are not alone. You never have been alone, you never will be alone. I love you. ❤

Hootowlnumber 1 that’s kinda the worst part of having suicidal thoughts as a child. You think “one day I’ll be young and dead so none of this matters”

But it’s life. It does matter.

I've come out the other side and let me tell you, it feels great to be able to breath again.


All you beautiful souls, just keep your hearts beating and some day you'll take in a lungfull of fresh air once again. 'Till then, hold on.

This will always be in my heart

If only there was more compassion around the world instead of judgment.

I can't wait to be out of high school and "come out the other side"

Me too. Also is that a home made emoji hat in your pfp?

@artisticlyakwrd It's actually a puyo puyo hat I bought on Etsy!

@Emily oh, well it's very cute :>

@artisticlyakwrd thanks!

I'm turning 30 in a few days. John Green mentioned this song in one of his videos, and it's the most appropriate thing for what I'm feeling right now.

What's up cool people?

What an amazing song. To all those struggling in the comment section: know that you are loved! And that staring down your demons will be hard work, and it will suck, but *you can do it.*
And to all those maybe not struggling as much: I think a big part of the song, and the singer’s, pain is that he DIDN’T tell the subject that they were cool. He clearly regrets his inaction, which is why he’s hurting so much. So if you see someone who’s struggling, or going through a tough time, reach out to them. Give them a compliment. Ask how they’re doing. It’s not your job to fix their problems, but showing that you care can help be a light in their darkness. Don’t wait to tell them that they’re cool. Do it now. :)

I broke up with my ex 2 months ago in the most painful way possible and she was such an amazing person, and she was picked on had Depression and anxiety and when i listen to this I remember how awesome she was and how she deserved to be told she was awesome, I know I didn't do the right thing but I hope she knows that

Martin te extraño muchisimo

I love every single one of you in this comment section and I wish you only the best, we're all kin

this is such an anthem. no matter if this hits home cause were queer and/or an alternative kid and/or were abused and/or were bullied for whatever reason, there is so much intersection here, I am honestly fucking bawling

or of course, if it applies to someone close to you

I will never love anything about my life as long as you are in it. You need to leave.

I'm astonished by how much this sounds like a The Mountain Goats parody, and yet it's just The Mountain Goats

God this song speaks to me way too hard not cool :,c

I wrote a comment a few minutes ago about how I relate this song with a girl that was in my life, but now that I think about it I would actually like to play this song to my past self. That confused girl that has been slowly disappearing to give room for the true me to exist, I would like to sing this to her as a farewell, I couldn't be the man I want to be without her and now after so much pain and after all of the moments and people that hurted me, us, I want to tell her that I really think she was cool in her own special way.

Proof that passion triumphs all

I was the bully. I was in love with him. I still am, a bit. I hope he’s happy where he is. Four years after we graduated and I still dream about him. I never told him I respected him for turning around and bullying me right back. He taught me to be a good person and I will never be able to thank him enough.

people said this song reminded them of the bad times, but all this song does is give me hope. I'm struggling right now!! and so are my fantastic friends whom I love deeply. this song just makes me hope that we all make it out of this rut we all seem to be in.

I wish this song was recommended to me 3 years ago.
It still helped despite being late.

This song always makes me really appreciate the genuinely nice things people have said even if the negatives feel like they outweigh the positive.

What are the four chords he used?

Its a metaphor, this isn't 4 chords

generic username 420 not his voice, but the guitar is, and I figured it out. D A Em G

If one and a thousand chances let's you read this, hi Tarin. Its Rachel, that little neighbor kid that always tagged along with you. I really thought you were cool. And I'm so sorry about what happened with your family. This song reminds me a lot of you 🤗

Who is this the mountain goats and why is it popping in my recommendations? I think theyre really cool

aaaand the tears start at 0:31

got recommended this song and i never expected to find a song that hits so close to home. god, carter, i hope you're alive and well. i know i wasnt the best friend, and i'm sorry i never was, but you deserve better and i hope you got better. i love and miss you, carter, i wish i knew how to contact you.

I mean we all can find different meanings, but this song is about rape

I shidded my jorts :(

Bo Burnham enegy but less funny and more pain.

@Majestic Kitty7 I agree

Majestic Kitty7 ayy this comment got me to look them up and now it’s an hour later and i’m still listening, thanks!

That's just because of talk signing.

You should see them live, they're great!

Exactly ! That's what I thought

This song fucking sucks

I wish someone would sing this to me

Wow. That's the hippiest song ive heard since day 1.

i wish i had killed myself back when i had a reason

suicide isnt the answer, and if you're going through something, it'll get better. it always does.

It reminds me of my friend and his ex-gf. She wore spiked heels in high school. She ended up cheating on him after 2 months and tried to be friends with him after. She ended that friendship she wanted to keep and it left him aching for months.

this song gets me every time I hear it, every fucking time

I think what I love most about his singing is he's not trying to sound nice, he's just singing cause there's so much emotion he had to express it. Music today is so focused on sounding nice without meaning anything....

Idk if you've been living under a rock but Midwest emo and math rock still exist and folk

You would love bands like Hobo Johnson, The Front Bottoms, Pat the Bunny, etc., etc.. :^)

@Emily Welsh modern baseball, old Gray, mom jeans

this song is so precious to me. i don't have anyone to connect this to me except for myself- especially middle school me. those were the shittiest years of my life and this song helped me get through it, helped show me that there was always something better on the other side. you just have to get through the shitty part first.

Almost sounded like Bush- Glycerine.

I feel like this song is too personal not to be about me.....if somehow it was... Im flattered and honored

Damn this song is gonna make me a lot nicer to people I really hope I can change some people’s lives

When we were both in a really bad place, my best friend and I started dating. As I got better, I knew I wasn't really ready for a relationship, and I could tell he wasn't either. We just didn't want to be alone. But he would always degrade himself, and when I would go offline for days he'd say it was fine, though I knew it wasn't. He deserved better, so even though I knew it would hurt him, I broke up with him.

We don't talk anymore, but I still miss him sometimes. He was a fantastic friend. I hope he's doing well; and I hope that if he's in a relationship, that they're able to give him the attention and love he's always deserved. Because as much as I cared for him, I just couldn't.

Did you ever get closure

I'm glad you were mature enough to see what you both needed. Hope the pain won't be as sharp

I searched up 'mountain goats being cool' to find mountain goats climbing up mountains really cool but I found this song instead and it's pretty cool

Yeah for me high school was pretty normal. I just kinda hung out with some nerdy friends and avoided social interaction. Oh,also I was severely depressed. Oh, also I had a series of medical conditions which made me wheeze heavily and have alot of difficulty breathing to the point where I had to take breaks to catch my breath going in between hallways, and a year later the same immune system issue that was the root cause of my breathing difficulty caused me to aggressively vomit constantly. Oh, I was also scared that my friends would alienate me if they found out I was depressed and faking social interactions so I hid it until after a failed suicide attempt. Yeah actually scratch of the normal part of my hs years.

I clicked on this as it was a suggestion from the punk music I had been listening to. This is not what I had in mind and now I am crying 😭😂 but also hooked. REPLAYYYYY

I'm so glad you're all still here.

We sure did make it, didn't we?

@Dustin Fowler we made it as far as we have, and there's still so much to come but I don't plan on stopping now or anytime soon.

I’m so glad you’re still here.

And Chris Haynes said "I look around for snakes but I look pretty stupid right now" and I thought No you don't, you really really don't.

I decided to listen to the song on the swings and i am glad i did. I started crying half way through. This is what i needed to hear even if it wasnt for me

Sitting in my car right now listening to this, also started crying halfway through. Jinx

When im dead do you think someone will right a song like this about my life?

probably not

@MeleSagr :(

I feel like i flew

as the only out trans woman i knew in my high school... hoo boy do i feel this

people weren't all that outwardly mean but i knew and know they were just playing polite. i was ostracized and it sucked.

Claire O. I’m trans as well, though I didn’t realize until after college. I don’t envy what you went through, but sometimes I wish I could take back all my egg years. Love and solidarity, and I hope you found a happier place :)

I’m so sorry that happened to you, there’s a trans girl in my science class and I’m trying my best to make her feel as loved and validated as I can❤️

I feel that. In high school I was the only out trans girl in a school of 7000

was one of two trans guys in a school of 600. i never met the other one. he seemed cool though. felt pretty alone most of the time.

the first stanza is literally me exactly. I usually use C instead of A though

try out Asus4, i really enjoy it

I’m not kidding when I say this, but I think I have depression. I’ve been so unmotivated and sad for the past two months and I lash out at my parents for no reason even though I love them. I’m on the verge of tear everyday and I don’t even know why. I’m so scared

Have you talked with anyone about it? I know that reaching out can seem daunting, especially when one is already in the throes of mental illness, but it honestly is the first step towards improving your mental health overall. You may have spurts where you struggle with mental illness for days, weeks, or even months at a time, but coming from someone who's been at odds with their depression and anxiety for the past several months, who has experienced days where everything seems to be filtered through a soupy, seemingly meaningless haze, believe me when I say it gets better. The only way to make it through hell is to keep dragging your boots through the fire, unbearable as it may be at times. But happiness will return, eventually- first in short bursts, then in longer intervals, until mental wellbeing is a state of mind that is only intruded upon occasionally by the harbingers of mental illness. Eating healthily, exercising, going outside, breathing exercises, grounding skills, etc., although seemingly cliche practices, all genuinely help to improve one's overall mental wellbeing (that is, if one is in a place where they can habitually engage in said practices without too much exhaustion). Most importantly, however, know that you can make it to the other side. I believe you will. I know you will.

GRAND SUBURBIA same for me but its been about a year and a half. Has not gotten any better, i was basically forced to do things. Never lashed out at my family, except siblings and yea that made me feel bad. My parents would slap the shit out of me tho. Anyway I’m still undiagnosed but i might have it and so might you

@demifolk go see someone about your parents!! haven't heard much abt your situation but that could be classified as abuse!!

-destryinaraincoat- They havent hit me since i was young. Which was definitely abuse. Now my mom mostly does manipulation and emotional torment. Im an adult now tho so no one can really do anything except myself. Too depressed to do anything tho since its only gotten worse since the 7 months i left that comment.

someone said this song reminded them of me and i always saw myself as the singer, talking about a girl i knew and still know vaguely but she's been through a lot, it was easier for me to view it that way, but i realized the person meant more than that and i think about that sometimes and i was just singing this and i had to stop because i just realized, i'm not really the hero or singer at all, i'm the person people were mean to and that's what people see me as

Reading through the comments here, I hope all of you lovely souls are doing better, and I hope your friends are okay and you were able to get through to them in some way, you all deserve so much and I'm so proud of you all for coming this far! T omorrow will be better, it has to be ❤️

someone called me a dyke when i was walking home from school lol

I miss her. I had a friend in 8th grade who left for months, I never even tried to contact him between them. He came back as a trans girl, Eva. She was still in of my best friends but for osme reason I never put any effort into helping her through her troubles. She stopped coming to school after a few weeks. I don't even know if she's still alive!

@Aubrey William I use He for when we met they identified as a man and looked and acted like a man. I use She for her after she cake back identifying as a girl. You're a fucking prick.

jeff jefferson as someone who is trans, i’d suggest you just use she/her in general, but say something like “before she transitioned”

@jeff jefferson hey. i know you mean well and it's great that you support her!! but sometimes trans people find it uncomfortable when you refer to them by their old pronouns when referring to them in the past. she may not have a problem with it, but there are a lot of people who get mad about it for some reason. all that matters is that you support her and use her pronouns man

@jeff jefferson for future reference, even in past tense, don't use the pronouns they used to go by. she didn't "use to be a guy," she just wasn't out yet.

@Aaron Heych wow man I haven't been getting that same comment for months. Shut the fuck up man.

I'm crying.

I read the comments and I'm just sobbing like awkward gay human bean

Same dude

Instant favorite.

Ahhhh, fuck, this hurts

I read it literally so i thought it meant.
I was sitting next to mountain goats

my brother sent this to me :,)

♥️💋🐣

His voice makes me fucking angry. And not the sexy kind of angry either. Fuck you.

Sam Ward cool

Man these comments are a mess but if we're being self indulgent, I was the weird fat goth girl in high school. I don't want people to feel sorry for me but it wasn't easy. Glad it's over. Wonder if anyone ever thought I was cool.

I think you're cool ^-^

Birds vs worms

Modest Mouse fan?

This ones better and tells me about the conflict you must having inside. You vs Your Higher Self/Intuition. You're fighting yourself in the 5D, it's crazy sounding ik, but I just want to tell you that it's not your fault you feel so painfully, it's the part of you that you can't see causing you so much hurt. It sucks but you'll be ohk, and I'll wait patiently. I have to, 'cause ik for sure it's you I've been waiting for this entire time. So even if you give up, I will wait. I wont let the universe bring anyone else into my life and throat punch anyone that tries. Lmao

I wonder who thought I was cool back in high school hmm ..

Tfw you search your mind for someone from the past to attach this song to and then it hits you, the songs about you.

I was the people being mean

@SilverTriforce25 and who gets to decide what is too far? What's the difference between self love and self care? Do you believe it is possible for one narcissist to call you a narcissist when they find out you can't and will not be manipulated?

STOP IM CRYING

*ahhh yess*

Imagining Vince saying this in response to this song is very unsettling

When I hear this song I think of one of my best friends, she wasnt scared to be herself and not conform to the rest of the school, she got bullied a lot for this and was also homeless/not had the best home life...especially compared to some of the rich kids at our school. She's doing a lot better now and I still think she's coolest person I know

Tell her ! 😆

I love when mountain goat lyric videos include "John Darnielle losing it"

This song gives me such feels.

One of the worse thing about bullyng, is that sometimes people who get bullied are the nice sensible people, bullyng is a bitch and every bully that is reading this, I forgive you, but you gotta payback and treat people as nice as you can

I know the first part is D, A, Em, G, but can anyone tell me what the bridge is? I know it starts with G.
Thanks!

Bridge goes: G, A, D, G. Em, A, D, A.

this whole album (and hozier's) are my biggest songwriting inspirations

Which album? I'm pretty sure John has kept this one off his albums.

@William Ely oof, sorry i meant discography. im not the smartest when it comes to musical terms

Gotcha, I thought you had an obscure EP I didn't. I'm pretty sure this is taken from a podcast he did in 2011 or 2012.

When I was young I used to be really extroverted and sociable, but that all changed when I was bullied throughout elementary and junior high. Between that and being an only child it seems I have never really developed many healthy social skills. Now in high school I find my confidence to be outgoing almost nonexistent. I was lucky though, my parents supported me and I was able to change schools part way through junior high. Despite that I rarely had more than two close friends at a time and I have never been in a relationship. This weighs on me sometimes and I just feel alone.

Looking forward to coming out on the other side still breathing.

You got this

Augustine same story here essentially

Augustine Dude. This is me. All of that happened to me too.

Hey friend, real friends are tough to come by. Hold those you love tight. Know who's real and who will bail.

You got this man

Self care is sitting in your bathroom with the lights off and listening to The Mountian Goats

at least run a bath jeeze

Calvin Poe yes

....which is exactly what I’m doing right now. Woah.

I've been called out

Note taken! Just gonna turn off the lights

For the vast majority of us, high school is a battle for conformity, wearing the right clothes, listening to the right music, smoking pot, drinking beer even though you hate the taste, fighting not for your pride but just to not look like a weak chump. Constantly striving, not to be anything amazing or to be the coolest kid on the block, but just to keep your position. And there are always the outcasts, for whatever idiotic trivial reasons barred from ever being socially acceptable. And your friend from elementary school is one of them (a nerd who likes Magic and wears old faded jeans that are a bit too tight because that's all he has to wear because he's also poor) and the best you can do is hang out with him when no one's looking and be silent and ignore it when people badmouth him or he's getting bullied or publicly mocked, because you're certain it isn't in your power to fix it or change it and you absolutely fear the possibility of ending up in the same boat as him. Then you graduate and maybe for a few years you see a few of them, but it all winds down and eventually maybe there's one or two you see every so often, and did any of that really matter anyway? And now I think back to those days and really regret those dark moments but still don't see any way I could have done anything to change the situation he lived through and anyway he's long gone, far beyond being helped or hurt by anyone or for my apology to mean anything.

this is so relatable it hurts

I just wanted to say that I think about this song and this comment a lot. I am going into high school in a couple of months. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little scared. But I felt somehow a little worse and a lot better when I read your comment. I think in high school I will do the opposite of you; I will stay with that kid with his faded jeans a bit too tight. Or I'll try my very best. Thanks, stranger. Your comment has impacted me more than I thought a Youtube comment ever could.

i don't feel this so much. i couldn't do this.

I got through school by dropping out.

Not to be a downer, but you dropping out isn't getting through school. But regardless, I hope that you ended up in a better place afterward.

Sometimes the way to survive is to leave the situation. Even if it's supposed to be your 'home'

Sometimes the best way to survive really is to remove yourself from your situation or circumstances. Only you know whats best for you.

To all my fellow school bullied bros and sisters. We are awesome because we are different.

Thanks :) u2

No you are awesome because you are awesome , in my eyes everyone is equal because they always come in second place after myself and that's all.

I was sexually and emotionally abused by my high school boyfriend when we were fourteen. I have never forgotten. But I have come out the other side.

With your heart still beating. Thats what counts, Keep on keeping on.

Keep kicking life in the ass.

I had the same thing happen with my high school girlfriend at the same age. I’m so glad to hear you’re still here and you made it out~ <3

I'm really glad you did. Keep on keeping on, friend. Sending you good vibes

I hope your doing ok now. Remember there's always someone waiting for you on the other side my friend. And that there won't be anyone waiting for him.

I'm still in High School, I've got 2 years left. I made a good friend who graduated this year. He's been through some tough times and he cut himself. Most of his "friends" seemed not to care. Me and a few of his other friends all helped him. This year was tough at the end. A lot of my friends are in higher grades than me and some of them have graduated and other have moved, but all the way to the end of the year we all got sad, knowing we'd probably never see or talk to each other again. It's something you gotta deal with. I'm just wondering did I really help him? He had gone through a lot, stuff that I don't want to mention and he kinda grew distant from me as the days, weeks, and months went by. I hope he's ok, is all.

Send him a message, just to say hi and that you're thinking about him. That's what I do when I think of someone but dont know what to say

One of my friends was trans and committed suicide back in 9th grade. I had met them online in 6th grade and we clicked instantly. I always thought she was the coolest most understanding person. They came out to me just a few months before they took their life. I can't believe that was almost 8 years ago. I miss you Alexis

@-destryinaraincoat- fuck off she died because nobody was straight with her

i’m so sorry about your friend.

i also have to say i have never been more impressed with a youtube comments section (an admittedly basement level bar) than here, with all of y’all telling that hateful asshat to fuck off. truly warms my lil trans heart

Agnosticuzumaki “antidepressants increase the risk of suicide”
He said, as he watched Fox News like a boomer

@Religion is Cancer It's on the warning labels bro lmao. Fox is big pharma bought out too they're just as guilty

That sucks dude, I hope you understand now that Gender dysphoria is a very real mental disorder

Change it to "paddling down the concrete halls in your cheap shoes" and that's my memory right there. We dated two years. My mom died. I found drugs. We broke up. She never found anybody I hear. I've always regretted what happened.

you could go back to her.

@Capin Cruncheeze Not always an option.

@rkt739 that's only if you never try.

@Capin Cruncheeze oh yeah, what if she's dead? What if he's married?

@rkt739 i was just going off the information he gave.

I wish someone thought I was cool instead I was bullied all though my school years all except my last 2 years of high school.....

mcnuggets mikey
Just remember that you are awesome.

A guy I knew my freshman year of high school was outed as gay. He was bullied to the point of committing suicide. He was one of the sweetest people in that damned school.

@generic username 420 Dude.. What the fuck. :0|

Sorry to hear about that rest in peace to him and God bless us all!

Elias Briggs no

@coolman9i6 yes

Aaron Heych no

I love this song

The Mountain Goat has some nice songs, funny, dark, sweet, pretty neat.