The Mountain Goats

[fox69]

"Milk Song"

"Milk Song"



When the sky was the color of cream,
And you started leaving messages on my answering machine
Telling me that you were way across town and
Would be home in a night or two.
I started keeping track of my losses.
There were only one or two i couldn't cover.
And up there against the milk while sky i saw
Fleeting vestiges of you.
The way you vanished gradually
Has made a bitter man of me.
And the way you vanished gradually,
Has made a bitter man of me.

Well, the ocean cleaves the rocks real clean.
I dropped my answering machine.
I watched the waves chew it into tiny little pieces of seafoam hissing in the air.
In the balance sheet i'd been keeping in my mind
I entered two hundred kroners to the left of the debit line.
It was what the machine had cost me.
It was a greater loss than i could bear.
I hear the wheels and knobs whirring down to this very day,
Long after the ocean has washed it all away.
I heard the train go by last night.
And it's a slow train outta here, alright.
But the way you disappeared in slow degrees,
Has made a very patient man of me.
Yeah

 

[fox69]

"Million"

"Million"



When I came back from Finland
The taxi took me down the street
I saw the red flowers growing like they used to
By the roadside, in the smothering summer heat

You were standing out in front of the house
With your floral print dress on
And you had questions only a masochist would ask
Written all over your big, brown eyes

The moon is high over Iowa tonight
And the moon is high over Iowa tonight
And I brought your blanket, hand-woven, hand-dyed
The moon is high over Iowa tonight

 

[fox69]

"Minnesota"

"Minnesota"



Seeds came in the mail today from Holland
And the language on the package was wonderful and strange
All sorts of flowers that grow up from the earth
In goodly colors, gloriously arranged

I circled the house and I scattered them around
Let the water sink down into the soil
Stared a long time at the residue
Blood, milk, and oil

God, the humidity is something
Our shirts are soaked clean through
The house is throbbing and the heat keeps coming
And I keep looking at you

And then you're singing in Dutch to me
And I recognize the song
It seems so old and so fragile
I haven't heard it in so long

We may throw the windows open later
But we are not as far west as we suppose we are
Hot wind coming off the water
The sky gone crazy with stars

While we stay here, we imagine we're alive
We see shadows on the walls
There's something waiting for us in the hot, wet air
Sweat, water, and alcohol

Just the old blood
Rising up through the wooden floor again
Just the old love
Asking for more again

 

[fox69]

"Mole"

"Mole"



I came to see you up there in intensive care
They had handcuffed you to your bed
There were tubes threading into you, coming out from you
Bright white gauze bandages at your head

I am a mole
Sticking his head above the surface of the earth
I am a mole
Sticking his head above the surface of the earth

And then they said lights out, and it was lights out
And they gave you your medication
I know what you want, you know what I want
Information, information

I am a mole
Sticking his head above the surface of the earth
I am a mole
Sticking his head above the surface of the earth

Out in the desert, we will have no worries
Out in the desert, just you and me
I came to see you, up there in intensive care
Out in the desert, we'll live carefree

I am a mole
Sticking his head above the surface of the earth
I am a mole
Sticking his head above the surface of the earth

 

[fox69]

"Moon And Sand"
(originally by Chet Baker)

"Moon And Sand"
(originally by Chet Baker)



Deep is the midnight sea
Warm is the fragrant night
Sweet are your lips to me
Soft as the moon and sand

Oh, when shall we meet again?
When the night has left us, will the spell remain?

The waves invade the shore
Though we may kiss no more
Night is at our command
Moon and sand

The waves invade the shore
And though we may kiss no more
Night is at our command
Moon and sand

 

[fox69]

"Moon Over Goldsboro"

"Moon Over Goldsboro"



I went down to the gas station
For no particular reason
Heard the screams from the high school
It's football season

Empty lot the station faces
Will probably be there forever
I climbed over the four-foot fence
I was trying to sever the tether

Moon in the sky
Cold as a stone
Spend each night in your arms
Always wake up alone

I laid down in the weeds
It was a real cold night
I was happy 'till the overnight attendant
Switched on the floodlight

Walking home, I was talking to you under my breath
Saying things I would never say directly
I heard a siren on the highway up ahead
Kinda wished they'd come and get me

Frost on the sidewalk
White as a bone
Tried to get close to you again
Always wake up alone

And as I was crossing our doorstep
I hesitated just a moment there
Remembered the day we moved into our small house
'Till the vision got too vivid to bear

You were almost asleep
Halfway undressed
I lay right down next to you
Held your head against my chest

And a guy with any kind of courage
Would maybe stop to think the matter through
Maybe hold you still and raise the question
Instead of blindly holding onto you

But we crank up the heat
And you giggle and moan
Spend all night in the company of ghosts
Aways wake up alone

 

[fox69]

"Move (Chicago 196x)"

"Move (Chicago 196x)"


You leave, you're gonna get athletes foot.
athletes foot, when you leave. oooh.
athletes foot, athletes foot,
athletes foot, when you leave.
oooh, oooh.

[voices in background, giggling]

if you leave, you're gonna get athletes foot.
athletes foot, when you leave.
oooh. athletes foot, athletes foot.
athletes foot, when you leave. oooh.

 

[fox69]

"Narakaloka"

"Narakaloka"



The cabbages that I will grow
One by one and row by row
Will fatten in the spring sun
And breathe in the night air

You will hear them breathing
If you walk by at night
You may not hear them after all
But that's all right

I've set the table for two
I've cleaned the windows for you
I've got cinnamon from Jakarta
For making French toast
The doctor says that I've got
Thirty days left at most

The cabbages that I will grow
The love songs on the radio
Will deepen in the springtime
They'll be brighter than the stars

 

[fox69]

"Neon Orange Glimmer Song"

"Neon Orange Glimmer Song"



There's a capsicum pepper plant growing
Out in the backyard
There's a capsicum pepper plant growing
Out in the backyard

And I, I am a monster
I can't believe the thing I've done
I can't believe the thing I've done

There's a friend of mine living in Dallas
About a two days' drive from here
Got a friend of mine living in Dallas
And that's a two days' drive from here

And I, I am a monster
I can't believe the thing I've done
I can't believe the thing I've done

And there's a cold wind blowing
And there's a silver bell hanging
And there's a silver bell ringing

And I, I am a monster
I can't believe the thing I've done
I can't believe the thing I've done

 

[fox69]

"Never Quite Free"

"Never Quite Free"



It's so good to learn that right outside your window
There's only friendly fields and open roads
And you'll sleep better when you think you've stepped back from the brink
And found some peace inside yourself, laid down your heavy load

It gets alright to dream at night
Believe in solid skies and slate-blue earth below
But when you see him, you'll know

It's okay to find the faith to saunter forward
With no fear of shadows spreading where you stand
And you'll breathe easier just knowing that the worst is all behind you
And the waves that tossed the raft all night have set you on dry land

It gets okay to praise the day
Believe in sheltering skies and stable earth beneath
But hear his breath come through his teeth

Walk by faith
Tell no one what you've seen

It's so good to learn that from right here the view goes on forever
And you'll never want for comfort and you'll never be alone
See the sunset turning red, let all be quiet in your head
And look about, all the stars are coming out

They shine like steel swords
Wish me well where I go
But when you see me, you'll know