lyrics file for transmissions to horace 

going to cleveland


we both know you're leaving
you just don't want to say it yet
'cause you don't want to hurt my feelings
so you gnaw your little holes in the net

and you torture me with those big eyes
and you punish me with pity
but i'm going to cleveland

you say you wanted to strike first
because one of us was leaving
that's what you say
but i've always been real fond of you
so i never would've treated you this way

and you torture me with those big eyes
and you punish me with pity
but i'm going to cleveland

i hear the cuyahoga calling, now i know
what was i was born for
and you say 'hey john where are you going?'
but that's not my name anymore

and you torture me with those big eyes
and you punish me with pity
but i'm going to cleveland




early spring


the pictures that you paint
aren't as pretty as they once seemed to me
and the coffee's bitter because it's been boiling too long
and the jokes you tell
aren't as funny as they once seemed to me
and the songs you sing are just plain hackneyed
but the stars shine down on all god's children
and the sun sets on the good and on the evil
and i know you
and i know you

the throbbing flowers outside i get it
and the paint peeling from the bathroom wall
and the smile on your face is alive
and the smile on your face is real pretty
and the sun shines down on all god's children
and the stars burn for the good and the evil
and i know you
and i know you




historiography


there was rain
there was wind
there was spring coming in
there was a feeling of approaching doom
and i was happy to see you
it was cold in your room you were warm
and that's all i remember
and you arms were warm
and that's all i remember

later on near morning
we were talking about nothing
a little rain
a little wind
quiet cold cold air coming in
and you were warm
and that's all i remember
and you arms were warm
and that's all i remember
and your eyes were pretty
and that's all i remember
and your hands were soft
and that's all i remember
and the hall was well lit as i walked down it
and that's all i remember
and the rain was light and it felt soft on my face
and that's all i remember
and the car was quiet inside
and that's all i remember
and it was dark when the sunlight was coming
and that's all i remember




No, I Can't.


[john spoken]
hi, it's the mountain goats
it's the seventeenth of december
at nine thirty four in the morning
and this is called no, i can't.

you bought me some candy.
and you bought me some flowers.
and you bought me a sofa.
and you bought me a radio.

thank you for the candy.
thank you for the flowers.
thank you for the sofa.
thank you for the radio.

(now i have everything i need.) x4

you brought me a puppy.
and you brought me a lamp.
and you brought me some books.
and you brought me a filing cabinet.

thanks you for the puppy.
thank you for the lamp.
thanks for the books.
thanks for the filing cabinet
i don't know what i did without it.

(now i have everything i need.) x4

you came by. and you came in.
and you let the wind in.
it must be cold outside.
we looked out, through the sliding glass door.
but i'd forgotten what we were looking for.

thank you for coming by.
it's nice to see you once in a while.
thank you for the coat i forgot to mention.
i've been freezing in here.
i've been freezing in here.

(now i have everything i need.) x4
yeah!




alpha desperation march


i'm coming in.
try to stop me.
push furniture in front of the door.
it only gives me something to push against.
in the full heat of the summer's day,
you're telling me to go away.
but you owe me eight-thousand dollars and i can use it

i'm only getting stronger.
you may have noticed.
but a head full of memories propels me ever further
and in the living room i don't see where you are,
but the back door's locked, so you can't have gone far
and eight-thousand dollars is a whole lot of money
and i could use it.

could be that it's my imagination, but i think i hear you now.
so come out come out, wherever you are.
olly-olly-olly-olly-olly-olly oxen free see i'm
perfectly aware of where our love stands,
but the plain fact is that you owe me eight grand
if it helps to jog your memeory,
i lent it to you on tuesday, when we were drinking.
ha! ha-ha-ha-uh-uh-ha! uh-ha! uh uh uh-ha! uh-ha! ha ha ha





going to monaco


spoken:
...the sargeant drop to the ground
in the shadow of a low branch
they heard a branch crack to the left 
then the sound of footsteps
two of the renegades carrying firewood , a third with a rifle
were walking towards them
closer and closer

the sea gobbles up the full sun 
and i look at you and i know you're the one
the one i used to know something about
and i try to say what it was, but the words won't come out
and you ask me to hold you
that's the devils' work.

you show your palms and i see they're empty 
and i'd check them twice if you'd let me
but you wouldn't do that now would you?
i didn't think so.
and you ask me to hold you
that's the devils' work.

we stand on the sand and we watch the world turn
and we stand on the sand and we watch the water burn
and we stand on the sand six inches from one another
and the sands burn and blow and neither one of runs for cover
and you ask me to hold you
that's the devils' work.
and you ask me to hold you
that's the devils' work.







star dusting


toward the end of our first year in las vegas
you looked up from your little corner
and i saw that your face was getting a little brighter
and you asked me is it really getting warmer
or is it just me
and then you started mumbling unintelligibly
so what are you saying anyway?

i thought i heard bells ringing
but then i remembered that i no longer knew what bells sounded like
i thought maybe we'd strike up a conversation
'till bad luck cruised by on his ten-speed bike

i got real cold
and i grabbed my coat
and i saw that the ringing was coming from your throat
what are you saying anyway?







teenage world


you bought me a rabbit to keep me company
and i'm here in my car and the rabbit's here with me
heading out highway one, respecting posted speed limits
and i tried to figure this one out but i can't find any meaning

and i'm sick and tired of trying to figure out your gestures
and i'm sick and tired of wondering what your presents mean
i'm gonna take this rabbit into malibu 
and he'll chew on sour grass while i wolf down dexadrine
dexadrine.

the wind comes through the open window and i button my shirt
and the rabbit's riding shotgun my teeth hurt
you sent me a package marked "live animals inside"
and the sun's coming up quickly above the rising tide

and i'm sick and tired of trying to figure out your gestures
and i'm sick and tired of wondering what your presents mean
i'm gonna take this rabbit into malibu 
and he'll chew on sour grass while i wolf down dexadrine
dexadrine.







going to santiago


big birds in the trees 
cars locked and i've lost my keys
crashing sounds of the waterfall
and a statue of jesus 200 feet tall

3000 miles from a port in california
and 3 little feet from falling off the earth
and the shadow of a mountain 
should cast a shadow on a 
and the snow underfoot is soft and yeilding

la la la la la la la la la la
la la la la la la la la la la
la la la la 

look at those birds
i'd say something about them but i've lost the words
they're laughing and they're watching me
and the radiator's boiling for no reason
wild cattle crossing as it strikes their fancy
and a handfule of money which does me no good
and a pocketfull of medicine to amuse myself 
with a photograph of someone stapled to my shirt sleeve

la la la la la la la la la la
la la la la la la la la la la
la la la la 






sail on.


sail on down the road
'bout a half a mile or so 
and i tried to make you stay, 
but now you're going
it was plain to see that a small town boy like me
just wasn't your cup of tea that was wishful thinking
i gave you my heart and i tried to make you happy
you gave me nothing in return
you know it ain't so hard to say, 'would you please just go away?'

you come to comfort me 
but i don't need your sympathy
and the way you look at me, well it's condescending.
i feel my stomach churn
and didn't you ever learn 
not to tell someone something ifyou don't mean it
i gave you my heart and i tried to make you happy
you gave me nothing in return
you know it ain't so hard to say, 'would you please just go away?'

sail on.
sail on.
sail on.





if these are wrong, or you know guitar chords, or just want to say hi, 
please write me at nall@themountaingoats.net