Tulsa Imperative

Written by JD, originally performed by DiskothiQ, covered by the Mountain Goats enough that it gets a page here rather than on the covers page. Because this is my website. Also I like this song a lot.

Lyrics

Your mama's failed wheat field
Was a good place to lie down together
Three weeks deep into the guts of summer
We sweat like hogs, and I felt light as a feather

I saw a disk-like object
Reflected in your eye
And the noise grew louder
As we looked up to the sky

And the sleek silver body
Had lights along the side
And the sleek silver body
Had lights all underneath

I remember the warm air
Blowing in our faces
I remember the heat
Running through me[1]

There was no one worth telling
There was nothing we could do, and I was
Real quiet as I lifted the keys from the kitchen table
I was looking right at you

And your hand brushed against mine
And and it shook me inside as
All along the night sky
I watched our futures collide

And the car's new headlights
Cut through the darkness
As the oil dripped silently
To the pavement underneath

I remember the warm air
Burning our faces
I remember the heat
Running through me

Banter

This is a song that I wrote, and then I went over to Peter's house one day and played it for him, and he learned it, and then I gave it to his band. And then I took it back, which is called the [inaudible - Indian?] giver. But we're doing it together here. It's called Tulsa Imperative, and it's on the DiskothiQ album you should buy. I explained the rationale for that earlier, how you buy it, you like the record, we have the money, everybody's happy, it's great, makes people cry, it's a beautiful system. Almost [inaudible] in its simplicity. (1995-02-25)
I feel bad about my set list, because the first few times Rachel and me went out of town, the setlist was like, very similar to a, you know, the Pentateuch. You couldn't change a word in it, it was just, it was set in stone, and now, this is the second, third day in a row I look at it and go, nah, I'm gonna tell you about a record I have, can I do that for a second? Then I'll play something somebody asked for. It means I gotta go over to my suitcase!! This is my suitcase, you'll notice it makes me have to strain my muscles to lift it! My friends! That's because it's full of records!!! [yay!] It's aaaaall full of records and compact discs, aauohh look at them all! And, becuase you'll be able to see it better if I hold up the trunk (?) [loud thump]...ah, that's okay. [laughter] This is the new one, it's called Nothing for Juice, it was titled long before the Simpson verdict, it has nothing to do with that. So, you see the delightful fire alarm from a Swedish health pamphlet, and a wonderful quotation from Suetonius, and if you don't buy it, then I'm going to read you the quotation from Suetonius, and it's in Latin. So, I wish you would buy it from me, it's cheap-er than you would get it in the store, it's ten dollars, and I have most of the other stuff. Also. [shouting for translations and monkey song, general chaos]. This is a song I wrote, and I gave it to a friend of mine's band, but I recently talked with him and it's ok with him if I do it again. (1996-08-30)
I know some people are like, do we get to hear some of the hits at some point? Yes, but first I have to play another song I wrote in '93. (2016-10-29)