Clean Slate
Lyrics
One from East St. Louis with a scar beneath his eye
Left the kitchen spotless on the day he said goodbye
Breakaway republic dude, supremely filthy mouth
Copiah, Mississippi; points much further south
It's never light outside yet when they climb into the van
Remember at your peril, forget the ones you can
Leave home feeling empty, change planes in Taipei
Stay awake the whole time, end up several worlds away
The house was almost full that day, they made a space for you
This world is sad and broken, gotta fix a crack or two
Rest until you're rested, climb back onto the caravan
Remember at your peril, forget the ones you can
And then just when you think you've learned how to forget
You learn it's just the ones who haven't risen to the surface yet
Absence after absence, keep the place secure
This will be the last time that I do this, I'm pretty sure
No one lasts for long in this profession, so they say
Maybe see you again someday
Every endpoint fixed forever on the day its arc began
Remember at your peril, forget the ones you can
Forget the ones you can
Data
The song was released on July 19, 2023. There is an official lyric video.
Banter
- [JD's guitar breaks, Ben the tech fixes it, much cheering]
JD: Ben, what do you do for a living? I lick batteries for the Mountain Goats. [laughing, drum fill, guitar works, more cheering]
Peter, Ben has licked the battery and made it feel better. To Peter, I said, what am I gonna do now, and he says, you're playing piano now. So.
Peter: It's alright, Ben was gonna have to lick the battery at some point. [laughing]
JD: Better to get it out of the way. There's several Ted Nugent album covers that would agree with that general theme. That's what this song is really about. Right, Jon?
Wurster, yelling due to his criminal lack of mic: that's right! (2023-10-02 Belly Up Tavern)
- Matt? Let me explain what I'm asking. I would guess that one of the funniest things about being in a band with me is that I will write a song that is pretty good and complex, and I'll do pretty decent with my notes in the studio. And then it will go to the dark place where no one can see the notes. Well. Everyone else can see the notes, but not me. So Matt, which key is my friend in this song? F# is my friend! Not G#. Certainly not Ab. Little music joke there. G# and Ab are the same key, but I like the sound of Ab better so I will usually call it Ab. I've been trying to learn to call it G#. That's my resolution for the next year. Yes, Matt? Yes. F# is my friend. This song is about F# and how it is my friend. (2023-10-29 The Heights Theater)
Live Performances
Footnotes