The Mountain Goats

[fox69]

"Golden Boy"

"Golden Boy"


[Spoken Intro:] Hello there Paul! I had a take and I listened to it and I was ready to send it and I thought: you know...?
It can be done better. So here it is, then. Now I'm wearing my boots, which always guarantees a good show.

You must try to lead a good life
You must do unto others as you would have them do
So that when you die you'll find golden boy peanuts waiting in the
Afterlife for you

There are no pan asian supermarkets down in hell
So you can't buy golden boy peanuts
There are no pan asian supermarkets down in hell
So you can't buy golden boy peanuts

If thine enemy oppresseth you
You must let him oppress you some more
So that when you go shopping in paradise
You'll find those magnificent peanuts from singapore
With the drawing of the young chinese farmer
The eastern sun behind him smiling at you from the shelves
If we want to spend eternity in happiness
Well we're gonna have watch ourselves
You must give to the march of dimes
You must be on guard against wickedness at all times
And you'll find that your efforts have brought you great joy
When your spirit is munching on that golden boy

There are no pan asian supermarkets down in hell
So you can't buy golden boy peanuts there
But the streets of heaven are lined with shelves
And there's billboards of the golden boy everywhere
There are no pan asian supermarkets down in hell
So you can't buy golden boy peanuts
There are no pan asian supermarkets down in hell
So you can't buy golden boy peanuts... GO!

 

[fox69]

"Golden Jackal Song"

"Golden Jackal Song"



well I swung through town
shining like a new quarter
felt something sharp rise up within me
when I crossed the border
stopped at the gas station payphone
I let my fingers fly
the wicked impulses were dying
but I couldn't let them die
we were over at your place
singin about the old times
I ate so much carrion
that I could not move
I was bloated

when I saw you in the kitchen
glistening like the old country
all your cups and glasses
lined up in front of me
I stopped at the faucet for a minute
waited til you came in to see what was wrong
your fingers brushed my ribs playfully
and I played along
you had your tongue in my mouth
your eyes glistening in the light
I ate rich raw carrion
till I couldn't think right
I was full

 

[fox69]

"Grendel's Mother"

"Grendel's Mother"



The cave mouth shines.
By pure force of will
I look down on the world
From the top of this lonesome hill.
And you can run, and run some more
From here all the way to singapore,
But I will carry you home in my teeth,

In the great hall you drink red wine.
You chew meat off the bone.
I beat down the new path to the castle.
I come naked and alone.
I laid my son on the bier; I burned the wreath.
Fire overhead, water underneath.
You can stand up, or you can run.
You and I both know what you've done,
And I will carry you home.
I will carry you home.
I will carry you home in my teeth.

 

[fox69]

"Hair Match"

"Hair Match"



You'll be maybe lunging for the bad guy’s hip
No one anticipates the sunset flip
The referee and your opponent will hold you there
And we're gonna bring in a folding chair

We'll stipulate that there will be no cameras filming
But of course there will be several in the building
And if by chance somebody hits "record"
And stands real still somewhere back behind the soundboard

Cheap electric razor from the Thrifty down the street
Two guys down around your ankles so you'll stay put in your seat
Buzzing razor held aloft and just about to strike
I loved you before I even ever knew what love was like

Some people leave before it's over, but most of them stay
Some hide behind their programs, some turn away
Out in the parking lot you look up at the stars
And all the cheap cars

 

[fox69]

"Half Dead"

"Half Dead"



It was raining outside, so I cleaned house today
Spent half of the morning throwing old things away
Try not to get caught up, try to think like a machine
Focus in on the task, try not to think about what it means

Can't get you
Out of my head
Lost without you
Half dead

Took my spot at the window, looked at the road
Dots and dashes of traffic like a message in code
And whole boxes of memories wrapped up at the curb
I sang songs to myself, didn't have any words

Can't get you
Out of my head
Lost without you
Half dead

Stole out to the backyard late last night
Pine trees frozen in the silvery moonlight
Rising like giants from the cold earth
What are the years we gave each other ever gonna be worth?

Can't get you
Out of my head
Lost without you
Half dead

 

[fox69]

"Hand Ball"

"Hand Ball"



I am the dry meat that fills the mouth
I am the fire that burns without wood
I am evil forest, kill a man on the day that his life seems sweetest to him

I did not come to play hand ball
I did not come to play hand ball

 

[fox69]

"Harlem Roulette"

"Harlem Roulette"



Unknown engines underneath the city
Steam pushing up in billows through the grates
Frankie Lymon's tracking "Seabreeze" in a studio in Harlem
Its 1968.
Just a pair of tunes to hammer out.
Everybody's off the clock by 10:00.

The loneliest people in the whole wide world are the ones you're never going to see again.

Feels so free when I hit the avenue.
Nothing like a New York summer night.
Every dream's a good dream,
Even awful dreams are good dreams,
If you're doing it right.

Remember soaring higher than a cloud.
Get pretty sentimental now and then.

The loneliest people in the whole wide world are the ones you're never going to see again.

And four hours north of Portland, a radio flips on.
And some no one from the future remembers that you're gone.

Armies massing in the dusky distance.
Ghosted in the ribbon microphone.
Leave a little mark on something, maybe,
Take the secret circuit home.

Nothing in the shadows but the shadow hands.
Reaching out to sad, young, frightened men.

The loneliest people in the whole wide world are the ones you're never going to see again.

Yeah, the loneliest people in the whole wide world are the ones you're never going to see again.

 

[fox69]

"Hast Thou Considered The Tetrapod"

"Hast Thou Considered The Tetrapod"



You are sleeping off your demons
When I come home
Spittle bubbling on your lips
Fine, white foam

I am young and I am good
It's a hot southern California day
If I wake you up
There will be hell to pay

And alone in my room
I am the last of a lost civilization
And I vanish into the dark
And rise above my station

Rise above my station

But I do wake you up, and when I do
You blaze down the hall and you scream
I'm in my room with the headphones on
Deep in the dream chamber

And then I'm awake and I'm guarding my face
Hoping you don't break my stereo
Because it's the one thing that I couldn't live without
So then I think about that, and then I sort of black out

Held under these smothering waves
By your strong and thick-veined hand
But one of these days
I'm going to wriggle up on dry land

 

[fox69]

"Hatha Hill"

"Hatha Hill"



as the sun went away,
you were sending out signals.
you had sugar on you stomach
you had sugar on your hair.
you had sugar underneath you eyes.
you had sugar on your mouth.
i know that trick too.
i know what i means, coming from you.

 

[fox69]

"Have To Explode"

"Have To Explode"



Tile floor of the bathroom, scrubbed clean and bright
Checkerboard white and gray
Towels from the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Kingston, Jamaica
I can still see the rust colored stains today

The stage is set, someone's going to do something someone else will regret
I speak in smoke signals and you answer in code
The fuse will have to run out sometime
Something here will eventually have to explode, have to explode

You and me lying on the tile floor, trying to keep cool, restless all night
Sweating out the poison as the temperature climbs
Staring up, up at the hundred-watt light that burns above
Name one thing about us two anyone could love

We roll out the red carpet when rotten luck comes down the road
Five, four, three, two, one, watch for the flash
Something here will eventually have to explode
Have to explode