The Mountain Goats

[fox69]

"Satanic Messiah"

"Satanic Messiah"



I saw the posters popping up around the city
Pale blue and washed-out red
I went down to the arena, pushing through
Hoping I'd run into you
Sweet freshly-scrubbed smell of the crowd
All the excitement in their eyes
We were all made young when he stepped onto the stage
Like an animal escaping from his cage
Raise the trumpet
Sound the drum
He whom the prophet spoke of long ago has come

All of us too dazed to leave when it was over
Dawdled by the vendors for a minute
Gathered underneath a summer sky
I was hoping you'd pass by
But though I didn't see you that day, or the next
I'm pretty sure that you were there
Making your way among the young and happy horde
Headed down to your award
Raise the trumpet
Sound the drum
He whom the prophet spoke of long ago has come

 

[fox69]

"Sax Rohmer #1"

"Sax Rohmer #1"



Fog lifts from the harbor, dawn goes down to day
An agent crests the shadows of a nearby alleyway
Piles of broken bricks, signposts on the path
Every moments points toward the aftermath

Sailors straggle back from their nights out on the town
Hopeless urchins from the city gather around
Spies from imperial China wash in with the tide
Every battle heads toward surrender on both sides

And I am coming home to you
With my own blood in my mouth
And I coming home to you
If it's the last thing that I do

Bells ring in the tower, wolves howl in the hills
Chalk marks show up on a few high windowsills
And a rabbit gives up somewhere and a dozen hawks descend
Every moment leads toward its own sad end

Ships loosed from their moorings capsize and then they're gone
Sailors with no captains watch a while and then move on
And an agent crests the shadows and I head in her direction
All roads lead toward the same blocked intersection

I am coming home to you
With my own blood in my mouth
And I am coming home to you
If it's the last thing that I do

 

[fox69]

"Scotch Grove"

"Scotch Grove"



On the way home from the party
Neither of us said a word
Leann Rimes on the car stereo
Sang that song you know I hate, the one about the blackbird

And the rain came down on the windshield
I wished it would wash us both away
You had to open up your mouth, didn't you?
I knew what you were gonna say

And you were Bluebeard's wife
Opening every cupboard, trying to find the smoking gun
Well, I told you, I told you
I told you not to open that one

 

[fox69]

"See America Right"

"See America Right"



I was driving in from Tampa when the radiator burst
I was three sheets to the wind, a civilian saw me first
And then there was the cop and then the children standing on the corner
Your love is like a cyclone in a swamp and the weather's getting warmer

I was getting out of jail, headed to the Greyhound
You said you'd hop on one yourself and meet me on the way down
I was shaking way too hard to think, dead on my feet, about to drop
Went and got the case of vodka from the car and walked the two miles to the bus stop

Got on the bus half-drunk again, the driver glared at me
Met up with you in Ingles, thumbed a ride to Cedar Key
If we never make it back to California, I want you to know I love you
But my love is like a dark cloud full of rain, always right there up above you

 

[fox69]

"Seed Song"

"Seed Song"


The rain didn't come for one calendar year
So when the man with the sunflower seeds in his hand came here
We sent him away, we sent him away

The rain didn't come for twelve months more
So when the man with the seed catalogs darkened our door
We sent him away [4x]

And I know you're waiting for the ironic ending
And I know you're waiting for the punchline
And I know you're waiting for the rain to come by
So am I [4x]

 

[fox69]

"Seeing Daylight"

"Seeing Daylight"



two cans clear chicken broth
two white onions
one bulb garlic

boil, boil.
boil, boil.

and the screams of delight from the pool outside
the splashing sounds
the coffee heating up on the stove
the sky outside. the color of pure fresh milk.
boil, boil.
boil, boil.

and the phone ringing, and me picking it up
and watching myself do so
in the quiet room

in the june evening and your voice on the other end
and the impossibility of your voice on the other end
and the impossible echo. inside.

boil, boil.
boil, boil.

 

[fox69]

"Send Me An Angel"

"Send Me An Angel"



In an hour or two the sun will rise on you
And it will be clear what has happened between us
In an hour or two the wind will come through the window
The wind will tear through the house

I am creeping up the staircase one step at a time
To bring you roses and chocolate
Roses and chocolate
Roses, roses, roses

 

[fox69]

"Sendero Luminoso Verdadero"

"Sendero Luminoso Verdadero"


[Spoken]
(as they age, men encounter the 6th fear - loss of verility.
Just look him straight in the eye, invade his space by
Standing a little closer than normal...)

By 8.30 am the sun was so hot, that it made me remember.
I pulled on the jacket with the bars on the pockets
And I stood in front of the window
And the skin on my face has a memory all its own
And it drinks in the pure heat, real slow.
I remember lima. I remember the good life.
I remember lima. I remember the good life.

The window is ten feet high and three feet wide
Sun beams bounce off the dark water
And come through the clear glass, magnified.
Standing here in the house on pacific coast highway
Given to me by a friend whose name is no longer important
My conscience is clean.
And the feeling of power like thick red wine
And it's oh-nine-oh-five military time
I remember lima. I remember the good life.
I remember lima. I remember the good life.

 

[fox69]

"Sept 19 Triple X Love! Love!"

"Sept 19 Triple X Love! Love!"



I cut down that withered peach tree
Just like you asked me to
And I hacked it into pieces
Set it on fire with your face in plain view

At the near window where you stood
Watching me split the wood
I will do as I am told
I will keep away the cold

The fire pit in the snow
Gave off a rich, bright, orange-red glow
A familiar scent rose up into the air
And I remembered something special from a long time ago

You opened up the door
Stepped away from the killing floor
Your footprint on the snow is fresh and new
When you touched me I felt fire coming through

I will do as I am told
I will keep away the cold
I will do as I am told
I will keep away the cold

 

[fox69]

"September 15 1983"

"September 15 1983"



Long dinner with some friends way out, way out in Portmore
Servants of the pharaoh slip in through an open door
All business, bearing knives and zip guns
So get on the floor now, every last one, every last one

The heat drifts
Across the land
If I forget you, Israel
Let me forget my right hand

And on the floor, Michael James Williams feels his fingers start to freeze
And the whole scene's like a movie, paramedics on their knees
Try, try your whole life to be righteous and be good
Wind up on your own floor, choking on blood

The heat drifts
Across the land
If I forget you, Israel
Let me forget my right hand

And the house still smells like onions when the ambulance arrives
Gabriel in postal blue loads up the car and drives
To Spanish town, about three miles away
Where will the wicked run to on that last day, on that last day?

The heat drifts
Across the land
If I forget you, Israel
Let me forget my right hand