The Mountain Goats

[fox69]

"The Anglo-Saxons"

"The Anglo-Saxons"


[John:] "We'd like to dedicate this song to our friends, the former
Inhabitants of the british isles!"

They used to paint their bodies blue
A couple of them might be distantly related to you.
According to ceasar they shaved their entire bodies,
Except for the upper lip and the head

Yeah, the anglo-saxons
Yeah, the anglo-saxons
A sub-literate bunch of guys,
Though some sources say otherwise.
Yeah, the anglo-saxons

Yeah, they were men on a mission,
Preserving their poetry by oral tradition
Yeah, oral tradition is all you get
Until saint augustine brought in the alphabet.

Yeah, the anglo-saxons
Yeah, the anglo-saxons,
In 1065 they were ragin'
But 1066 brought the norman invasion.
Yeah, the anglo-saxons

Go!

 

[fox69]

"The Autopsy Garland"

"The Autopsy Garland"



One clear shot or else he gets away
Red sun high in the sky tonight
Look west from London down to old Hollywood
Remember the first days in California

You don't want to see these guys
Without their masks on
You don't want to see these guys
Without their masks on

Fat rich men love their twelve year olds
Deco cuff links and cognac by the glass
Look west from London toward the Emerald City
Remember Minnesota

You don't want to see these guys
Without their masks on
You don't want to see these guys
Without their masks on, or their gloves

Sweet spearmint and bitter tangerine
Bedside decked with roses
Look west, look west, look west and look away
From old familiar faces

You don't want to see these guys
Without their masks on
You don't want to see these guys
Without their masks on

 

[fox69]

"The Bad Doctor"

"The Bad Doctor"



If you were anywhere near his door
You saw it swing open and you heard the moon roar
Trying to yank herself right out of her orbit
The whole natural world
Painted red, just like a target

It was a cold dark day
With low clouds standing in the way
And the stars jockeying for position
On the slow thick morning of the death-dealing physician
(Oh yeah)
(Oh yeah)
(Oh yeah)
(Oh yeah)

And you could feel his features in the air
A wide smile and perfect hair
He had complete control of the rising tides
And a medicine bag hanging at his side

It was a cold dark day
With low clouds standing in the way
And the stars jockeying for position
In the flowing blue world of the death-dealing physician
(Oh yeah)
(Oh yeah)
(Oh yeah)
(Oh yeah)

And the rain came down like water from a faucet
I saw him at the crossroads, but I never saw him cross it
One minute he was on this side
And the next he was be over on the other
So went his rounds, one sad patient after another

It was a cold dark day
With low clouds standing in the way
And the stars jockeying for position
In the crushed velvet world of the death-dealing physician
(Oh yeah)
(Oh yeah)
(Oh yeah)
(Oh yeah)

It was a cold dark day
With low clouds standing in the way
And the stars jockeying for position
In the impossibly large office of the death-dealing physician
(Oh yeah)
(Oh yeah)
(Oh yeah)
(Oh yeah)

 

[fox69]

"The Ballad Of Bull Ramos"

"The Ballad Of Bull Ramos"



Drive a great big truck
When I'm old, when I'm old
Haul the wrecks down to the wreck yard
Help the boys unload
Keep my hair nice and long
Because I can, because I can
Any of my old friends who have no place to turn to
They know to call me any time they come through

Never die, never die
Stand with a bullwhip in my hand
And rise, rise
In the desert sand

Work days, work nights
Finally get laid up
By a piece of broken glass
On the floor of the shop
And the doctor recognizes me
As the operating theater goes dim
Aren't you that old wrestler with the bullwhip?
Yes sir, that's me, I'm him

Get around fine on one leg
Lose a kidney, then go blind
Sit on my porch in Houston
Let the good times dance across my mind

Never die, never die
Stand with a bullwhip in my hand
And rise, rise
Surrounded by friends

 

[fox69]

"The Best Ever Death Metal Band In Denton"

"The Best Ever Death Metal Band In Denton"



The best ever death metal band out of Denton
Was a couple of guys who'd been friends since grade school
One was named Cyrus, the other was Jeff
And they practiced twice a week in Jeff's bedroom

The best ever death metal band out of Denton
Never settled on a name
But the top three contenders after weeks of debate
Were Satan's Fingers, and The Killers, and The Hospital Bombers

Jeff and Cyrus believed in their hearts
They were headed for stage lights and lear jets and fortune and fame
So in script that made prominent use of a pentagram
They stenciled their drum heads and guitars with their names

And this was how Cyrus got sent to the school
Where they told him he'd never be famous
And this was why Jeff, in the letters he'd write to his friend
Helped develop a plan to get even

When you punish a person for dreaming his dream
Don't expect him to thank or forgive you
The best ever death metal band out of Denton
Will in time both outpace and outlive you

Hail Satan
Hail Satan tonight
Hail Satan
Hail, hail

 

[fox69]

"The Black Ice Cream Song"

"The Black Ice Cream Song"



And the heat came down
I knew I was living in a long, long dream
when you fed me the black ice cream

and the heat rose up
I heard the loud loud buzzing of our son's go-kart
and the ice cream was blacker than the devil's heart
It was august the 19th, 1957
I fixed my eyes on you, fixed my eyes on you

 

[fox69]

"The Coroner's Gambit"

"The Coroner's Gambit"



When death came calling today
I heard the gentle grace of his cadences
I couldn't say no
I couldn't say no

When he showed me his new silk scarves
Laid out on a shiny black plastic tray
Couldn't say, couldn't say, couldn't say, couldn't say, couldn't say no
I couldn't say no

And I'm sorry I couldn't
Do you know how badly I wanted to?
Didn't want, didn't want, didn't want, didn't want, didn't want to lose you
But his smile was dazzling

And his eyes were sparkling
Like moonlight on the water at midnight
Couldn't say, couldn't say, couldn't say, couldn't say, couldn't say, couldn't say no
I couldn't say no

 

[fox69]

"The Cow Song"

"The Cow Song"



bang, pow! look at me now.
don't let the cows stray off too far.
come down, take a good look around.
see how the cows start to shine like light bulbs.

I love the cows.
I love the cows.
I love the cows, yeah.
I love the cows.

rain comes, strikes you dumb.
re-seed the meadow so the cows don't starve.
mud puddle's a fine place to cuddle.
you're a mosquito or a mosquito's baby.

I love the cows.
I love the cows.
I love the cows.
I love the cows.

they're smiling in your face.
all the time they wanna take your place.
yeah you know who I mean,
talkin' about those cow-machines.

I love the cows.
I love the cows.
I love the cows.
I love the cows.

 

[fox69]

"The Diaz Brothers"

"The Diaz Brothers"



Cops and robbers; Strictly bargain line.
Spent the wet night tracking visions through the pines.
Draw my arms into my hospital gown.
See the sky open up and rain down,
Rain down.

Mercy for the Diaz brothers.
Mercy for the Diaz brothers.

Hear my rivals on the western wind.
Hard to know who might or might not be your friend.
Work by the Plutonian light.
Forbidden rosary prayers all night,
All night.

Mercy for the Diaz brothers.
Mercy for the Diaz brothers.

Beam of a flashlight,
All night in the woods.
Hunt us like dogs,
And then string us up for good.

Keep one step ahead of enemies.
Foretell worse things than such frightful nights as these.
Lead us to the beach by our hands,
And bury us there in the sand.

Mercy for the Diaz brothers.
Mercy for the Diaz brothers.
Mercy for the Diaz brothers.
Mercy for the Diaz brothers.

 

[fox69]

"The Garden Song"

"The Garden Song"



I see the flowers in your garden are in bloom.
I see the flags are flying high.
I hear you've gone and rearranged things in your room.
I guess you're trying to cut-off my air supply.

I came toward your window, real slowly.
I knew deep down I was about to strike oil.
I guess by the now the flowers in your garden know me.
I felt them trying to get at me through the soil.

my bare feet felt the cool, soft dirt,
moving up my ankles, but I don't fear you.
the thorns began tearing at my shirt,
but I didn't even care when they tore clear through.

your garden can't hurt me.
your flowers don't threaten my life.
your garden can't hurt me anymore.
your flowers don't threaten my life.