“1 John 4:16”, meanwhile, has a more overt Biblical verse attached (“And we have known and believed the love that God hath for us. God is love, and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.”), but there’s nothing in the song’s melancholy and fearful self-doubt to suggest love until Darnielle sings “And someone leads the beast in on its chain / But I know you’re thinking of me, ‘cause it’s just about to rain”. The center of “1 John 4:16” ranks with the most striking moments of the Mountain Goats’ entire discography, and like much of Darnielle’s best work, it marries evocative but unexplained imagery to an emotional impact that’s precise but ineffable.