The Mountain Goats

[fox69]

"Cotton"

"Cotton"



This song is for the rats
Who hurled themselves into the ocean
When they saw that the explosives in the cargo hold
Were just about to blow

This song is for the soil
That's toxic clear down to the bedrock
Where no thing of consequence can grow
Drop your seeds there, let them go

Let them all go
Let 'em all go

This song is for the people
Who tell their families that they're sorry
For things they can't
And won't feel sorry for

And once there was a desk
And now it's in a storage locker somewhere
And this song is for the stick pins and the cottons
I left in the top drawer

Let 'em all go
Let 'em all go

I wanna sing one for the cars
That are right now headed silent down the highway
And it's dark and there is nobody driving
And something has got to give

I saw you waiting by the roadside
You didn't know that I was watching
Now you know
Let it all go

Let 'em all go
Let it all go

 

[fox69]

"Counterfeit Florida Plates"

"Counterfeit Florida Plates"



Steal some sunscreen,
From the CVS.
Use too much,
And make a great big mess.
Wait where shadows mask or hide my scent.
So many so-called friends,
Working for the government.

Dig through the trash.
Sleep on the grates.
And watch for the cars,
With the counterfeit Florida plates.

Scribble cyphers on the library bathroom wall.
Map a path from here to home.
Can't quite catch em all.
Calculate magnetic north,
And turn the other way.
Wait for the coming disaster,
I could do this all day.

Dig through the trash.
Sleep on the grates.
And watch for the cars,
With the counterfeit Florida plates.

It seems like everyone's cut me free,
And left me to the tender cares of my faceless enemy.

Feel so hungry,
Probably pass out soon.
Look for a tree to lean up against,
Whistle a tune-less tune.
This may be the night my point-men finally come.
Wait for the fog to catch up with me,
So I can at least feel numb.

Dig through the trash.
Sleep on the grates.
And watch for the cars,
With the counterfeit Florida plates.
With the counterfeit Florida plates.
With the counterfeit Florida plates.

 

[fox69]

"Crane"

"Crane"



Picked up a fat, gold watch for you
Down where the river washes over the avenue.
And i listened to it tick away the minutes.
Looked out at the awful sky.

I was afraid that my arm was broken,
But it was only kinda run down.
I went walking after two last night,
Felt like i was the only guy in town.
And i'm not.
I know.
And i don't need you to tell me so.
Look at this watch.
Look at this watch.
You won't believe what this thing can do

 

[fox69]

"Creature Song"

"Creature Song"



i remember the sound of your voice
but none of what you said.
i remember the burning in my body
and the buzzing in my head.
and i do remember your voice
smoothing over my only choice.

oh brave new world
that has such people in it.
oh brave new world
that has such people in it.

i can see the look on your face now
yes i can.
bright light dancing all along your eyes
and you covering your mouth up with your hand.
bracelets jangled against your arm.
no harm intended
no harm.

oh brave new world
that has such people in it.
oh brave new world
brave.

 

[fox69]

"Crows"

"Crows"



Well I went way out North Carolina way
To that old graveyard where my great grandmother lay
And the day was bright and I hadn't slept all night
And they sold the place to some guys who were building graduate student housing
No one raised any objections
They were knocking the headstones down
And the sun was high when I rolled into town
Stood by a nameless hole in the ground
The air was sweet and hot
Maybe it was the right grave
Maybe not
But the crows crows crows
Rose, rose, rose from the grave
Yeah the crows crows crows
Rose, rose, rose from the grave

 

[fox69]

"Cry For Judas"

"Cry For Judas"



Some things you do just to see
How bad they'll make you feel
Sometimes you try to freeze time
'Til the slots are a blur of spinning wheels

But I am just a broken machine
And I do things that I don't really mean

Long black night, morning frost
I'm still here, but all is lost

Speed up to the precipice
And then slam on the brakes
Some people crash two or three times
And then learn from their mistakes

But we are the ones who don't slow down at all
And there's nobody there to catch us when we fall

Long black night, morning frost
I'm still here, but all is lost

Feel the storm every night, hope it passes by
Hallucinate a shady grove where Judas went to die

Unfurl the black velvet altar cloth
Draw a white chalk Baphomet
Mistreat your altar boys long enough
And this is what you get

Sad and angry, can't learn how to behave
Still won't know how in the darkness of the grave

Long black night, morning frost
I'm still here, but all is lost

 

[fox69]

"Cubs In Five"

"Cubs In Five"



They're gonna find intelligent life up there on the moon
And the canterbury tales will shoot up to the top of the best seller list
And stay there for 27 weeks

And the chicago cubs will beat every team in the league
And the tampa bay bucs will make it the way to january
And I will love you again
I will love you, like I used to
I will love you again
I will love you, like I used to

The stars are gonna spell out the answers to tomorrow's crosswords
And the phillips corporation will admit that they've made an awful mistake
And bill gates
Will single handedly spearhead the heaven seventeen revival

And the chicago cubs will beat every team in the league
And the tampa bay bucs will take it all the way to the top
And I will love you again
I will love you, like I used to
And I will love you again
I will love you, like I used to

 

[fox69]

"Damn These Vampires"

"Damn These Vampires"



Brave young cowboys of the near North side
Mount those bridge rails, ride all night
Scream when captured, arch your back
Let this whole town hear your knuckles crack

Sapphire Trans-Am high-beams in rain
Drive wild broncos down the plain
Push up to the corner where the turbines hiss
Someday we won't remember this

Crawl 'till dawn
On my hands and knees
Goddamn these vampires
For what they've done to me

Tie those horses to the post outside
And let those glass doors open wide
And in their surface, see two young savage things
Barely worth remembering

Feast like pagans, never get enough
Sleep like dead men, wake up like dead men
And when the sun comes, try not to hate the light
Someday we'll try to walk upright

Crawl 'till dawn
On my hands and knees
Goddamn these bite marks
Deep in my arteries

Crawl 'till dawn
On my hands and knees
Goddamn these vampires
For what they've done to me

 

[fox69]

"Dance Music"

"Dance Music"



Alright, I'm on Johnson Avenue in San Luis Obispo
And I'm five years old or six, maybe
And indications that there's something wrong with our new house
Trip down the wire twice daily

I'm in the living room watching the Watergate hearings
While my stepfather yells at my mother
Launches a glass across the room, straight at her head
And I dash upstairs to take cover

Lean in close to my little record player on the floor
So this is what the volume knob's for
I listen to dance music
Dance music

Okay, so look, I'm 17 years old
And you're the last, best thing I've got going
But then the special secret sickness starts to eat through you
What am I supposed to do? No way of knowing

So I follow you down your twisting alleyways
Find a few cul de sacs of my own
There's only one place this road ever ends up
And I don't want to die alone

Let me down, let me down, let me down gently
When the police come to get me
I'm listening to dance music
Dance music

 

[fox69]

"Deianara Crush"

"Deianara Crush"



One day in September you come here
You pull my head down and you whisper in my ear
And you tell me the sidewalk is as far as the world really goes
But that's a secret everybody knows

You hold my head in your hands, you say my name
How is it that though you say it some 20,000 times, it's never quite the same?
And you tell me that Hercules died burning, consumed by an article of his own clothing
That's something I'd rather not be reminded of