The Mountain Goats

[fox69]

"Love Love Love"

"Love Love Love"



King Saul fell on his sword when it all went wrong
And Joseph's brothers sold him down the river for a song
And Sonny Liston rubbed some tiger balm into his glove
Some things you do for money and some you do for love, love, love

Raskolnikov felt sick, but he couldn't say why
When he saw his face reflected in his victim's twinkling eye
Some things you'll do for money and some you'll do for fun
But the things you do for love are going to come back to you one by one

Love, love is going to lead you by the hand
Into a white and soundless place
Now we see things as in a mirror, dimly
Then we shall see each other face to face

And way out in Seattle, young Kurt Cobain
Snuck out to the greenhouse, put a bullet in his brain
Snakes in the grass beneath our feet, rain in the clouds above
Some moments last forever, but some flare out with love, love, love

 

[fox69]

"Lovecraft In Brooklyn"

"Lovecraft In Brooklyn"



It's going to be too hot to breathe today but everybody's out here on the streets
Somebody's opened up the fire hydrant, cold water rushing out in sheets
Some kid in a Marcus Allen jersey asks me for a cigarette
Companionship is where you find it, so I take what I can get

Hubcaps on the cars like fun house mirrors
Stick to the shadows when I can
Lovecraft in Brooklyn

When the sun goes down, the armies of the voiceless, several hundred thousand strong
Come out without their bandages, their voices raised in song
When the streetlights sputter out, they make this awful sizzling sound
I cast my gaze toward the pavement, too many blood stains on the ground

Rhode Island drops into the ocean
No place to call home anymore
Lovecraft in Brooklyn

Head outside most every day
To try to keep the wolves away
Imagine nice things I might say
If company should come

Woke up afraid of my own shadow, I mean, like genuinely afraid
Headed for the pawnshop to buy myself a switchblade
Someday something's coming from way out beyond the stars
To kill us while we stand here, it'll store our brains in mason jars

And then the girl behind the counter
She asks me how I feel today
I feel like Lovecraft in Brooklyn

 

[fox69]

"Luna"

"Luna"



All gone, all gone
Watching it go up out front on the lawn
Stay on my feet somehow
I’m strong now
Stuck there, no air

Head high, head high
Tongues of fire that reach up for the sky
Rise through the smoke
The dust of the grave
I will be saved

Pause in mid-stride
Pause in mid-stride
And ride, and ride, and ride, and ride

Burn hard, burn hard
Smoldering pieces landing in the yard
Trace names in ash
Big names, old friends
And dead ends

Those last few frames
Go down so fast
Rise through the flames and end again in flames at last

Stay free, stay free
Invisible armies march by night for me
Stay on my guard
Burn hard
Rage on
All gone

Pause in mid-stride
Pause in mid-stride
And ride and ride and ride and ride

 

[fox69]

"Magpie"

"Magpie"



Feed the kittens in the kitchen
Set food out for the strays
Try hard to do your best
The magpie will have his way

Fill your mouth with berries
By the full light of the moon
Work all night if you have to
The magpie comes at noon

Shore up the crucifixes
Above the archways and the doors
The magpie will come at midday
And you will go down on all fours

And when the cherries white with blossoms
Be ready and be brave
And remember what we had here
When there was something left to save

 

[fox69]

"Maize Stalk Drinking Blood"

"Maize Stalk Drinking Blood"



Lying in the hot sun today
Watching the clouds run away
Thought a little while about you
The sky was a petrifying blue

And while the geese flew past
For no reason at all, I let the sky fall
This is an empty country
And I am the king, and I should not be allowed to touch anything

I picked myself up off the ground
Shook the grass from my hair and I walked around
Felt the warm sun in my eye
Strangers were passing by

I shimmied up the black walnut tree
Let the hard blue sky fall right through me
And I saw the sad young cardinals trying to sing
And I should not be allowed to touch anything

 

[fox69]

"Marduk T-Shirt Men's Room Incident"

"Marduk T-Shirt Men's Room Incident"



Slumped up against the sink
Hair plastered to her cheeks
Marduk t-shirt sticking to her skin
Refugee from a disco in old East Berlin

Weightless
Formless
Blameless
Nameless

Stray syllables were gurgling
From her throat, one at a time
Face hidden from my view
I let myself imagine she was you

Only weightless
Formless
Blameless
Nameless

And when I washed my hands
I ran the water hotter than I could stand
Half rising to a crouch
Sinking back down to the floor

In your walking, keep your head low
Try to leave no traces when you go

Stay weightless
Formless
Blameless
Nameless

 

[fox69]

"Masher"

"Masher"



Most of the brine has got to boil away
Most of the air has got to choke you
Most of June I spent in jail again
I don't mean jail, exactly

Up in the pine tree
Red squirrel looking down at me
I am losing control of the language again
I am losing control of the language again

Most of the things I used to hold onto
Most of the things I used to say to you
Most of the ways I knew around the local roads
Are disappearing daily

High in the cottonwood
You were looking down at me and it sure looked good
Hair hanging down in the leaves
Your neck tilted back to make a rainbow

I was losing control of the language again
I am losing control of the language again

 

[fox69]

"Matthew 25:21"

"Matthew 25:21"



They'd hooked you up to a fentanyl drip
To mitigate the pain a little bit
I flew in from Pennsylvania
When I heard the hour was coming fast

And I docked in Santa Barbara
Tried to brace myself
But you can't brace yourself
When the time comes you just have to roll with the blast

And I'm an eighteen wheeler headed down the interstate
And my brakes are going to give and I won't know until it's too late
Tires screaming when I lose control
Try not to hurt too many people when I roll

Find the harbor freeway and head south
Real tired, head kind of light
I found Telegraph Road, I'd only seen the name on envelopes
Found the parking lot and turned right

I felt all the details carving out space in my head
Tropicana's on the walkway, neon red
Between the pain and the pills trying to hold it at bay
Stands a traveler going somewhere far away

And I am an airplane tumbling wing over wing
Tried to listen to my instruments, they don't say anything
People screaming when the engines quit
I hope we're all in crash position when we hit

And then came to your bedside
And as it turns out, I'm not ready
And as though you were speaking through a thick haze
You said hello to me

We all stood there around you
Happy to hear you speak
The last of something bright burning, still burning
Beyond the cancer and the chemotherapy

And you were a presence full of light upon this earth
And I am a witness to your life and to its worth
It's three days later when I get the call
And there's nobody around to break my fall

 

[fox69]

"Maybe Sprout Wings"

"Maybe Sprout Wings"



A bad dream shook me in my sleep
And I woke up sweating
Ran through the dark to the shower
Already forgetting

Try to think good thoughts
Trying to find my way clear
Let the room fill with steam
Trace pictures on the mirror

Ghosts and clouds
And nameless things
Squint your eyes and hope real hard
Maybe sprout wings

I clawed my way to the living room window
Stood there in the cold
The last bits of my dream like figures in the distance
Hard to hold

I thought of old friends, the one's who'd gone missing
Said all their names three times
Phantoms in the early dark
Canaries in the mines

Ghosts and clouds
And nameless things
Squint your eyes and hope real hard
Maybe sprout wings

 

[fox69]

"Michael Myers Resplendent"

"Michael Myers Resplendent"



I am ready for my close-up today
Too long I've let my self-respect stand in my way
Well, the prom queen's caught in the high beams
And the strings keen, it's a big scene

But when the house goes up in flames
No one emerges triumphantly from it
When the scum begins to circle the drain
Everybody loves a winner

I spent eight hours in my makeup chair
Waxed my chest and shaved off all my hair
Well, the fire's bright and the frame's tight
Try to get right while we've still got light

But when the house goes up in flames
No one emerges triumphantly from it
When the scum begins to circle the drain
Everybody loves a winner

When the house goes up in flames
When the scum begins to circle the drain