The Mountain Goats

[fox69]

"Lakeside View Apartments Suite"

"Lakeside View Apartments Suite"



Downtown north past the airport
A dream in switchgrass and concrete
Three gray floors of smoky windows
Facing the street

Michael pulls the blinds back up
Stares blankly at the intersection
Watching for the guy who's got the angel dust
Crystal clear connection

Days like dominos
All in a line
We cheer for the home team every time
Lakeside View, Lakeside View
Lakeside View for my whole crew

Most nights now sleep in the kitchen
Keep my face cool on the floor
And John, John comes by to drop off his envelopes
Still playing postman after all these years

Pull down my army surplus jacket
Dig through some drawers to find the keys
Emerge transformed in a million years
From days like these

Under each eye little greasepaint smudge
You can't judge us - you're not the judge
Lakeside View, Lakeside View
Lakeside View for my whole crew

And just before I leave
I throw up in the sink
One whole life recorded
In disappearing ink

And Ray left a message thumbtacked to the door
I don't even bother trying to read them anymore
Lakeside View Lakeside View,
Lakeside View for my whole crew

 

[fox69]

"Last Man On Earth"

"Last Man On Earth"



1, 2, 3, 4

Just when the last of the smoke subsides you'll see my fingers
Hoisting my body up atop the charred debris.
Who is that creature with the crazed look in his eyes?
Don't even question your senses.
You can be sure that's me.
When all the pretenders to your hand lie dead across the land,
I'll be the last man on earth.
I'll be the last man on earth.
I'll be the last man on earth.
Crawling around, down on the ground.

When the hail mary's you've been saying lose their savor,
Just when your dungeon walls feel like they're closing in,
Whose are those bloody knuckles reaching down to grab you
Just as the last of the light overhead is growing dim?
It was their love you wanted, not mine.
But when they deny your name three times
I'll be the last man on earth.
I'll be the last man on earth.
I'll be the last man on earth.
Crawling around, down on the ground.

And I will throw you across my shoulders.
And I will bleed and I will drool.
And the cameras will slow pan across my face.
And I will try to say something cool.

Just as the hoardes of thirsting demons close around us,
Raising their axes, howling like monkeys in the sun,
Who will that guy be holding you so high above them?
You know and I know.
Everyone knows it.
I'm the one.
I may have failed you once before,
But this right here, this means war.
I'll be the last man on earth.
I'll be the last man on earth.
I'll be the last man on earth.
Crawling around, down on the ground.

 

[fox69]

"Leaving Home"

"Leaving Home"



we gathered up our worldly goods
stole off in the dark as quickly as we could
you were quieting the baby down
when we came to the dock on the outskirts of town

and looking back we saw china shrinking to the size of a coin
and then we saw water everywhere

when we climbed on board
they tied our things together with electrical cord
and then we set sail
as we held on tight to the cold iron rail
and I apologize but I don't know what I love more
you next to me there or the receding shore

we stood there in the cold
and the baby was six months old
we were passing him back and forth
when a cold familiar wind came down from the north

and looking back we saw china shrinking to the size of a coin
and then we saw water everywhere

 

[fox69]

"Letter From Belgium"

"Letter From Belgium"



Martin calls to say he's sending old electrical equipment
That's good
We can always use some more electrical equipment

In the cold clear light of day down here, everyone's a monster
That's cool with all of us
We've been past the point of help since early April

Susan and her notebook, freehand drawings of Lon Chaney
Blueprints for geodesic domes, recipes for cake
Yeah, we're all here chewing our tongues off
Waiting for the fever to break

When we walk out in the sunlight
We tell every we know it hurts our eyes
When the real reason we don't like it
Is that it makes us wonder if we're dying

And Martin's found an old trunk full of stage makeup in the basement
And he's sending it along
We can always use more makeup
Yeah, more creams and powders

And Carrie's got the feeling that the people next door
Will close in like a wolf pack should we make one small mistake
Yeah, we're all here chewing our tongues off
Waiting for the fever to break

 

[fox69]

"Linda Blair Was Born Innocent"

"Linda Blair Was Born Innocent"



Gentle hum of the old machines
Here we come, scrubbed and scoured, patches on our jeans
When the drone sounds in the cool night wind
We pick up the call, kick all the traces in

Hungry for love
Ready to drown
So tie down the sails
We're going downtown

Great big drain on the power grid
You may not like Tate's methods but you've got to admit she's a real nice kid
We walk light down the wires
Higher than weather balloons, empty hearts on fire

Hungry for love
Ready to drown
So tie down the sails tonight
We're going downtown

 

[fox69]

"Lion's Teeth"

"Lion's Teeth"



The king of the jungle
Was asleep in his car
When your chances fall in your lap like that
You've got to recognize them for what they really are

Nobody in this house
Wants to own up to the truth
I crawl in shotgun and reach into his mouth
And grab hold of one long, sharp tooth

And hold on
For dear life, I hold on

Well, of course he wakes up
His paw hits the horn
I am going to regret
The day that I was born

And then Mom rushes out to the driveway
My sister too
Everyone's screaming
I am dreaming of you

I hold on
For dear life, I hold on

And my arms get sore
And my palms start to sweat
And the tears roll down my face
'Till my cheeks are hot and red and soaking wet

In come the cops
They blowtorch the doors
I start wailing
The lion roars

There's no good way to end this
Anyone can see
There's this great big you
And little old me

And we hold on
For dear life, we hold on
We hold on

 

[fox69]

"Liza Forever Minnelli"

"Liza Forever Minnelli"



There's the part you've braced yourself against and then
There's the other part
Steal up inclining northward streets with some
Weird sickness in the dark

Saw your name on the sidewalk
Saw your brave face in my mind
If you're gonna sit next to the dealer
You get to bet blind

Never get away never get away I am never ever gonna get away from this place
Lay down on the street my eyes toward the sun your star next to my face

The compasses I came into this world with
Never really worked so good
Gentle shadows spilling down the hills
Up on Mulholland at Ledgewood

Turn back turn back
Find someone to tell your secrets to
Dream past an old hotel on Ivy
And seconds later I saw you

Never get away never get away I am never ever gonna get away from this place
Lay down on the street my eyes toward the sun your star next to my face

Let the camera track me
From the footlights to the wings
Let me set aside an hour or two
In memory of sweet things

Regrind the lens again and again and again and again
But still the picture flips
Anyone here mentions "Hotel California" dies before
The first line clears his lips

Never get away never get away I am never ever gonna get away from this place
Lay down on the street my eyes toward the sun your star next to my face

 

[fox69]

"Lonesome Surprise"

"Lonesome Surprise"


Alright hit it... 1.2.3.4.

Doctor, doctor can you help me please?
All these pills and problems, keep piling down on me

(here's your lonesome surprise) [x3]

Go allen.

I had a name
Had a place
But like the clothes I wear
The holes grow everywhere
'til it's like having nothing at all

(here's your lonesome surprise) [x3]
Walked out of my shower, feeling more wet than baptized

(here's your lonesome surprise) [x4]

Whoo yeah...ha-ha.. wow this is global!
...we love you holland...allen callaci...thank you very much

 

[fox69]

"Love Cuts The Strings"

"Love Cuts The Strings"



The first thing that happened was the river overflowed
The water running through the streets and was sweet and cold
I knelt by the water like a doe by a stream
Punch-drunk, snowblind, as though the whole thing were a bad dream

And then love pulled out the heavy artillery
Kypris took the horses by the bit for the morning ride
I count my blessings, but you can only be expected to count so high
When love cuts the strings

I smeared myself with pennyroyal to keep the hounds at bay
You poked your head out of an alley half a block away
And i recognized you, though i'm not sure how
And the air turned red around you
As a dull chill came down over me

And then love summoned up the infantry
And the green-eyed goddess got ready for all out war
And i'd count my blessings,
But i don't even know what the word blessing means
When love cuts the strings
Yeah!

 

[fox69]

"Love Hymn To Aphrodite"

"Love Hymn To Aphrodite"


[Spoken:]
(The actual date is the 17th of April. Love hymn to Aphrodite.)

The sunset gets a little longer every night
and it's no good but I feel alright.
the sky turns orange and the colors start swirling.
you float downstairs, your body spinning
in perfect circles.
it's the 18th of July, but what are you doing?