The Mountain Goats

[fox69]

"Alpha Rats Nest"

"Alpha Rats Nest"



Ah, the lengthening hours in the refinery
Belching fire into the sky
We do our best vampire routines
As we suck the dying hours dry

The night is lovely as a rose
If I see sunlight hit you
I am sure that we'll both decompose

Ah, the fitful sleep and the fire engines
That I dream of when I dream
Someday we'll both wake up for good
I will try hard not to scream

The evening wind will shake the blinds
You're stirring from your slumber
We've got something hateful on our minds

Oh, sing, sing, sing
For the dying of the day
Sing for the flames that will rip through here
And the smoke that will carry us away

Yeah, sing for the damage we've done
And the worse things that we'll do
Open your mouth up and sing for me now
And I will sing for you

 

[fox69]

"Alpha Sun Hat"

"Alpha Sun Hat"



you say again that nothing's wrong
i'd really like to play along
your ruby red mouth is full and moist
i'd like to give in to your oboe reed voice
but as sure as those are buzzards in the guava tree
you're looking real funny at me

1 2 3 4,
that's not music you hear, that's the devil
that's not the sun up in the sky, it's a human heart
if you're planning your escape, you know i'm all for you
as i watch the sun come up again over tallahassee, florida

 

[fox69]

"Alphabetizing"

"Alphabetizing"



The summer crawled by indetectably.
And then i saw you looking down to me.
And your earrings sparkled in the noon-day sun,
And though it's very true that i love everyone,
With every ounce of energy left in me,
I love you especially because

I saw you, coming through
The screen door on the second floor,
Up on the balcony.

It was hard to even see you at all,
Because the air was thick with alcohol
So i kept on rubbing my eyes,
For all the good it did me,
For all the immeasurable good it did me,
Let the years come and take away my memory,
I will not forget the shock that ran through me when,

I saw you, coming through
The screen door on the second floor,
Up on the balcony

 

[fox69]

"Amy A.K.A. Spent Gladiator 1"

"Amy A.K.A. Spent Gladiator 1"



Do every stupid thing that makes you feel alive
Do every stupid thing to try to drive the dark away
Let people call you crazy for the choices that you make
Climb limits past the limits
Jump in front of trains all day

And stay alive
Just stay alive

Play with matches if you think you need to play with matches
Seek out the hidden places where the fire burns hot and bright
Find where the heat's unbearable and stay there if you have to
Don't hurt anybody on your way up to the light

And stay alive
Just stay alive

People might laugh at your tattoos
When they do get new ones in completely garish hues
I hide down in my corner because I like my corner
I am happy where the vermin play

Make up magic spells
We wear them like protective shells
Land-mines on the battlefield
Find the one safe way

And stay alive
Just stay alive
Just stay alive

 

[fox69]

"Animal Mask"

"Animal Mask"



Eighteen-man steel cage free-for-all
Through the noise I hear you call for help
You can't protect yourself
Frog mask and yellow cape
So desperate to escape
I came to you, hands wrapped in adhesive tape
That was when we were young and green
In the dawning hours of our team

Some things you will remember
Some things stay sweet forever

Seen you backstage once or twice
Animal gimmick pops real nice
Elbows sweep and tiger dance
Little extra fighter's chance
"Hold on", I cried, "I'll be right there"
Pull your mask down through your hair
They won't see you
Not until you want them to
That was when we were green and young
Battle cry rising from your tongue

Some things you will remember
Some things stay sweet forever

 

[fox69]

"Anti-Music Song"

"Anti-Music Song"



i saw you on tv
doing a bad imitation of van morrison
and i saw you on tv
doing a bad imitation of a second rate songwriter from the eighties named morissey
i never liked morrisey
and i don't like you.

i saw you tv,
doing an imitation of an imitation of jimi hendrix
that's really pathetic
and i saw you on tv
trying to figure out what brian jones would be like if he'd have lived 'til today
i can tell you myself
he'd be like brian wilson
i don't like brian wilson
and i don't like you
i don't like you.

 

[fox69]

"Are You Cleaning Off The Stone?"

"Are You Cleaning Off The Stone?"



I'd like to begin by saying that I saw you coming,
but that would be a lie.
I'd like to say that I can hear your voice,
but I couldn't mean 'hear' in the accepted sense of the word.

are you cleaning off the stone?
that's a sweet thing to do.
are you cleaning off the stone?
that's sweet of you.

they tell me your hair's gotten much, much longer.
I bet it looks nice.
they tell me your eyes are the same color as they always were.
that kind of information just floors me.

are you cleaning off the stone?
that's a sweet thing to do.
are you cleaning off the stone?
that's sweet of you.

are you cleaning off the stone?
that's a sweet thing to do.
are you cleaning off the stone?
that's sweet of you.

 

[fox69]

"Autoclave"

"Autoclave"



Hand me your hand, let me look in your eyes
As my last chance to feel human begins to vaporize
Maybe it's the heat in here, maybe it's the pressure
You ought to head for the exits, the sooner the better

I am this great, unstable mass of blood and foam
And no one in her right mind would make my home her home
My heart's an autoclave
My heart's an autoclave

When I try to open up to you, I get completely lost
Houses swallowed by the earth, windows thick with frost
And I reach deep down within but the pathways twist and turn
And there's no light anymore and nothing left to burn

I am this great, unstable mass of blood and foam
And no emotion that's worth having could call my heart its home
My heart's an autoclave
My heart's an autoclave

I dreamt that I was perched atop a throne of human skulls
On a cliff above the ocean, howling wind and shrieking seagulls
And the dream went on forever, one single static frame
Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name

And I am this great, unstable mass of blood and foam
And no one in her right mind would make her home my home
My heart's an autoclave
My heart's an autoclave

 

[fox69]

"Azo Tle Nelli In Tlalticpac?"

"Azo Tle Nelli In Tlalticpac?"



I was sitting in the street when the news came my way
I was sitting in the street when the news came my way
Good news, good news, good news, good news
I was sitting in the street when the messenger came by
I was sitting in the street when the messenger came my way
Good news, good news like a rare blood disorder
Good news, good news

I was sitting in the street
I don't believe I've made it clear what exactly I mean by that
I was sitting in the middle of the street
Dust made its way into my legs even though my shirt was tucked in
And I saw the colors forming in the west
Saw the bright feathers reflected in the sky, now
Good news, good news, good news, good news

 

[fox69]

"Baboon"

"Baboon"



The sun came up above a strange, white plain
Blood-red flowers all wet with rain
And the spirit wasn't really willing anymore
But the flesh was very, very strong

And I've got very little money left, and I've got no sense
But I'll have none of your goddamn impudence

The sun came up above the new white fields
Everything was new again
Pure power stripped of meaning
Sky burning, spring cleaning

Daisies on the hillside like cancer on the skin
Gritty little yellow eyes that flutter in the wind
I'd be grateful my children aren't here to see this
If you'd ever seen fit to give me children

And my defenses might be working with a skeleton crew
But I'll be skinned alive before I take this from you

The sun came up above the ocean out west
All the colors of the rainbow
Stand up straight you can see the house leaning
Day breaking, spring cleaning