Satanic Messiah EP, by the Mountain Goats (2024)

1.

We were hungry,there was no foodWe were restlessthere were too many things to doSo we gatheredin a concrete roomEyes up at youand in a small room in Brazil,we were waitingand in a small room in Brazil,we were waitingWe were howlinglike dogsWe were feelingthe full brunt of the ageGuys from our neighborhoodlooking down at usAll of you, all of youRage, rage, rageand in a small room in Brazil,we were waitingand in a small room in Brazilwe were waiting

2.

Shuffled up Sixth Street in the rainKept my head down as I looked past the peopleAnd in the department store, I found what I was looking forThis is the church, this is the crucibleThey come out to Broadway and they look for meI'm on the red steps smoking a cigaretteEasy to recognize, black bandages on my eyesThis is the church, these are the congregantsSun sets on the broad square and lights come upFeel like this town's gonna put a quick end to meBut if I came here to drown, I'm gonna take a few people downThis is the church, occupied by the enemy

3.

I saw the posters popping up around the cityPale blue and washed-out redI went down to the arena, pushing throughHoping I'd run into youSweet freshly-scrubbed smell of the crowdAll the excitement in their eyesWe were all made young when he stepped onto the stageLike an animal escaping from his cageRaise the trumpetSound the drumHe whom the prophet spoke of long ago has comeAll of us too dazed to leave when it was overDawdled by the vendors for a minuteGathered underneath a summer skyI was hoping you'd pass byBut though I didn't see you that day, or the nextI'm pretty sure that you were thereMaking your way among the young and happy hordeHeaded down to your rewardRaise the trumpetSound the drumHe whom the prophet spoke of long ago has come

4.

Running like a band of angry schoolboysUp and down the well-lit streets todayBashing in the heads of tax collectorsAnd anybody else who's in our wayBathing in the sunlight that's our birthrightWaiting for someone to set the sceneLast time he came to townA few stray coins came raining downWe scrambled in the dirt for themLike ants around the queenWe take aim at the dawning dayAnd we shootStarving to death, starving to deathFor the low-hanging fruitThen all at once here comes the motorcadeSlow and steady down the beaten trackAnd as we're bashing out the windows of the limoWe notice there's nobody in the backAnd the helicopter lands atop the palaceThe royal guard assembles at the gateThe country's gonna burnAnd we'll still have to wait our turnLast among contenders of the super-featherweightsWe take aim at the dawning dayAnd we shootStarving to death, starving to deathFor the low-hanging fruit