Trojan Curfew Lyrics
Beneath the doric arch
And they talk how small we humans are
They drink to agamemnon
They toast his pyhrric march
And wait for the sacrifices
Sheep are barley-grazing on a field of green
Vines ripen to find
Troy will prevail
Trojan curfews prevail
Down around some doric arch
And the trashed blonde scandi
Mistook me for a swede
Her slurred medieval accent
Was like a puddle at my feet
You could see chopped tobacco in her teeth
On a rock hard strip of concrete
Near a field of green
We sign deutschmarks are fine
Aren't you too pale
Does it hurt you?
So pale
Trojan curfews prevail
perhaps the reason I like this song so much is that I'm a classical languages major, and am kind of obsessed with roman/trojan culture. obviously, Troy did not prevail. I think Maklmus's use of language is incredible. I mean, who else would say something like "Her slurred Medieval accent / was like a puddle at my feet." it's some wonderful poetry, beautiful language. and the sound...ahh...incredible.
Love this song. Having spent a lot of time in the Greek islands in my day, particularly on Ios, I found the irony of the lyrics so simple to understand and yet so poignant and true. Ios is considered a 'party' island and is extremely popular with Scandinavians (Swedes, Danes and such.) The beautiful irony which SM alludes to is that, on just about any sweet summer night, you can sit in the town's hiostoric plaze, with its Greek columns and tavernas all around, and be surrounded by "trashed blonde Scandis" and just totally absorb the vibe and the irony of the moment. The irony being that a couple of 1000 years ago, the Greek inhabitants of the island were sitting in the same square, perhaps under a different set of circumstances, but sitting there nonethesame doing the same thing as those who are enjoying the moment now are doing.
that is so friggin' rich. SM totally gets it.
Flaccid waves converging
One of my favorite songs ever. I also think the slide guitar adds to the paradisy/vacationy meaning within the song. The instrumental outro is what made me go out and get the cd and become a Malkmus fan for life... an underrated great of our time.
I talked to Malkmus about this song after a gig in Leeds, UK. We talked about how in Jason and the Argonauts the gods look down up on the humans and play them like chess and how he liked that idea. I got to tell him that 'Her slurred medievil accent was like a puddle at my feet' was one of my favourite ever lyrics.
While I appreciate anyone's acknowledgment and analysis of this tune, I say wrong be you all. This is about any hip/college town on a Friday night. Those who live beyond the typical "get drunk and find a hole to fuck" know what S.M. is talking bout. Think about song in a way where you are going out on a weekend night, only you are sober the whole time. Watching the public do what they think they need to do, you'll see everyone bleeding their money to the bar and holding on to a twinkle in...
While I appreciate anyone's acknowledgment and analysis of this tune, I say wrong be you all. This is about any hip/college town on a Friday night. Those who live beyond the typical "get drunk and find a hole to fuck" know what S.M. is talking bout. Think about song in a way where you are going out on a weekend night, only you are sober the whole time. Watching the public do what they think they need to do, you'll see everyone bleeding their money to the bar and holding on to a twinkle in their eye so they can do what everyone is there to do essentially: fuck someone.