9 Meanings
Add Yours
Follow
Share
Q&A
Commandante Lyrics
i'm gonna drink more whiskey than brendan behan.
and i'm gonna send my belongings all to tripoli.
and i'm gonna ride home to california
with a banjo on my knee.
i'm never gonna turn off the television.
i'm just gonna let it run all night.
i'm gonna plant root vegetables out in the backyard
and come summer i am going to treat you right.
so put on your chairman mao coat
and let me clear my throat.
let's turn this whole town upside-down
and shake it 'til the coins come falling out of its pockets,
yeah put on your che guevara pin
call the troops on in
we're gonna sail through the night sky like a pair of bottle rockets.
i got a great big secret written down somewhere.
i got a rosary to protect us both from harm.
i got a storage locker full of cow figurines
and a laundry list of grievances longer than my arm.
and i am never going back to cincinatti.
all those bridges have burned down to the ground.
i got the jet pack strapped to my back
and i am waiting for you to come around.
yeah, put on your chairman mao coat
and let me clear my throat.
let's turn this whole place upside-down
and shake it 'til the coins come dropping out of its pockets.
yeah put on your che guevara pin
call the troops on in.
we're gonna sail through the night sky like a pair of bottle rockets.
and i'm gonna send my belongings all to tripoli.
and i'm gonna ride home to california
with a banjo on my knee.
i'm just gonna let it run all night.
i'm gonna plant root vegetables out in the backyard
and come summer i am going to treat you right.
and let me clear my throat.
let's turn this whole town upside-down
and shake it 'til the coins come falling out of its pockets,
yeah put on your che guevara pin
call the troops on in
we're gonna sail through the night sky like a pair of bottle rockets.
i got a rosary to protect us both from harm.
i got a storage locker full of cow figurines
and a laundry list of grievances longer than my arm.
and i am never going back to cincinatti.
all those bridges have burned down to the ground.
i got the jet pack strapped to my back
and i am waiting for you to come around.
and let me clear my throat.
let's turn this whole place upside-down
and shake it 'til the coins come dropping out of its pockets.
yeah put on your che guevara pin
call the troops on in.
we're gonna sail through the night sky like a pair of bottle rockets.
Song Info
Submitted by
sarabroc On Dec 12, 2005
More The Mountain Goats
No Children
This Year
Dance Music
Dilaudid
The Best Ever Death Metal Band in Denton
Add your song meanings, interpretations, facts, memories & more to the community.
I've always taken it as a pretty earnest celebration of giddy teenage (or neo-teenage) love -- not so much a swipe at the people who wear Che Guevara T-shirts (although you're right, they're morons), but a total endorsement of that feeling of being in love when you think you and your special someone can take on the world, overthow governments, do anything because you're just so goddamn happy. A zillion pop songs have failed to get that feeling right, but this one does it, 'sfaras I'm concerned.
cutest song ever.
one of my favorite mountain goats songs. anyone have any idea what it means?
Brenden Behan was a drunk playwright, for starters. I think what the song means is sometimes you have to fight for love to work - like a dictator or freedom fighter. It may result in propelled satisfaction, even were the bottle rockets you've become to be explosive.
He changes a lot of the lyrics on live versions, but it all seems to be joking stuff, nothing too serious. Example: Put on your Che Guevara hat, you look real hot in that.
I've also heard it as "put on your che guevara hat / you look real cute in that"
I've also heard it as "put on your che guevara hat / you look real cute in that"
And also: the title refers both to the Mao/Che imagery and the fact that the whole thing's written in the imperative mood.
Brendan Behan was very drunk for most of his life, but he was also a revolutionary in his late teens. He was in the IRA but got nicked when he was sixteen for trying to blow up Liverpool docks and was sent to a borstal. After he got out he got nicked again when he was nineteen for trying to kill two english detectives and went to jail for a long time and came out disillusioned and cynical.
"put on your chairman mao shirt and kiss me on the mouth until it hurts"
is also a lyric he uses in some live shows. i love how many alternate verses there are.
I take this song as a bit of a swipe at the type of retards who wear Che Geuvara t-shirts and the like but don't have a fucking clue who he is or what he represents.