I meant to do a post about a bunch of my favorite Mountain Goats songs, but I so often just get stuck on one that it’s hard to spread them out all at once.
This is the one I’m stuck on now, called “Hast Thou Considered the Tretapod.”
The singer, John Darnelle, is this fabulous lyricist with a voice that is rather annoying. So I’ll understand if you can’t stand him. But read these lyrics.
you are sleeping off your demons
when I come home.
spittle bubbling on your lips,
fine white foam
I am young and I am good.
it’s a hot southern california day.
if I wake you up, there will be hell to pay.
and alone in my room,
I am the last of a lost civilization.
and I vanish into the dark
and rise above my station.
rise above my station.
but I do wake you up, and when I do
you blaze down the hall and you scream.
I’m in my room with the headphones on
deep in the dream chamber.
and then I’m awake and I’m guarding my face,
hoping you don’t break my stereo.
because it’s the one thing that I couldn’t live without
and so I think about that and then I sorta black out.
held under these smothering waves
by your strong and thick veined hand,
but one of these days I’m going to wriggle up on dry land.
A tetrapod is a four-limbed vertebrate, yes I had to look it up. Amphibians are tetrapods. When people talk about creatures evolving from living in water to living on land, they’re talking about tetrapods. When John Darnelle is talking about tetrapods, he’s talking about escaping his stepfather’s abuse. (The song is auto-biographical.)
OK, one more song. This one is a big fave from Tallahassee, which is a concept album about a self-destructive married couple. Brilliantly written.
I hope that our few remaining friends
Give up on trying to save us
I hope we come up with a failsafe plot
To piss off the dumb few that forgave us
I hope the fences we mended
Fall down beneath their own weight
And I hope we hang on past the last exit
I hope it’s already too late
And I hope the junkyard a few blocks from here
Someday burns down
And I hope the rising black smoke carries me far away
And I never come back to this town
Again in my life
I hope I lie
And tell everyone you were a good wife
And I hope you die
I hope we both die
I hope I cut myself shaving tomorrow
I hope it bleeds all day long
Our friends say it’s darkest before the sun rises
We’re pretty sure they’re all wrong
I hope it stays dark forever
I hope the worst isn’t over
And I hope you blink before I do
Yeah I hope I never get sober
And I hope when you think of me years down the line
You can’t find one good thing to say
And I’d hope that if I found the strength to walk out
You’d stay the hell out of my way
I am drowning
There is no sign of land
You are coming down with me
Hand in unlovable hand
And I hope you die
I hope we both die
So funny to hear it as a sing-along.
PS there’s another name that tune up over at Kulturblog.com today. This time it’s photography-related songs. 
April 27th, 2009 at 10:58 am
The only Mountain Goats song that I really know all that well is “Woke Up New,” but I like that one a lot.
April 27th, 2009 at 11:00 am
I forgot to mention, their song “Lovecraft in Brooklyn” is probably my song of the decade.
April 27th, 2009 at 12:59 pm
The mix of songs you made for kulturblog would make a gread CD.
I was so hoping when I heard the mix theme that it would include Kodachrome by Paul Simon. Maybe it was in there, did I miss it?
I don’t know if I could listen to those sad lyrics Susan. The thought of that kid worrying that his step dad might break his stereo and prefers to get hit himself is heartbreaking. I hope that writing and singing this song is theraputic for him or at least vindicating.
April 27th, 2009 at 1:04 pm
No I didn’t use “Kodachrome.” I should have, though.
I love sad/depressing music. But what I love about that song in particular is the last line, which is full of hope.
April 27th, 2009 at 3:48 pm
You had me at “tetrapod.”