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Psalms 40:2 Lyrics

Pulled off the highway in Missouri
And lo, our hearts were heavy laden
Made for the chapel with some spraypaint
For all the things we'd held in secret

Lord, lift up these lifeless bones
Light cascading through the windows
All the rainbow's heavy tones

He has fixed his sign in the sky
He has raised me from the pit and set me high

Left that place in ruin
Drunk on the spirit and high on fumes
Checked into a Red Roof Inn
Stayed up for several hours and then slept like infants

In the burning fuselage of my days
Let my mouth be ever fresh with praise

He has fixed his sign in the sky
He has raised me from the pit and set me high

Each morning new
Each day shot through
With all the sharp, small shards of shrapnel
That seem to burst out of me and you

Head down toward Kansas
We will get there when we get there, don't you worry
Feel bad about the things we do along the way
But not really that bad

We inhaled the frozen air
Lord, send me a mechanic if I'm not beyond repair

He has fixed his sign in the sky
He has raised from the pit and he will set me high
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Cover art for Psalms 40:2 lyrics by Mountain Goats, The

I get the sense of a religious fanatic trying to send a message to mainstream worshipers, kind of like a modern day Martin Luther, but instead of nailing his complaints to the church doors, he's using spray paint, "tagging for the Lord," you might say. The music matches so well the sense that the narrator feels that he really has found the answer to things the rest of us don't understand, and that he has a duty (and desperate need) to share it with us.

Cover art for Psalms 40:2 lyrics by Mountain Goats, The

This is a song about a pair or group of misguided, troubled individuals on a road trip. Along the way they cause all sorts of ruckus and trouble, including but not limited to defacing a church. Despite this, the narrator, either being still religious or used to be and is no longer, is still looking for redemption from God for the state he or she is in.

Much love for "Each morning new, each day shot through!". This song rocks and JD is the one of the few reasons religion intrigues me.

Cover art for Psalms 40:2 lyrics by Mountain Goats, The

Psalm 40 starts out (and afterward continues likewise):

(1) I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. (2) He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. (3) And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God...

Cover art for Psalms 40:2 lyrics by Mountain Goats, The

This song is so fucking killer. Maniacal faith, in a good way.

Cover art for Psalms 40:2 lyrics by Mountain Goats, The

john has said that it's about some teenagers defacing a church.

& subsequently, i'm assuming, about equal parts bitterness and reverence towards religion.

John explained this song at a show I saw this weekend. He told a story about him and Peter Hughes driving from a show in Lawrence, Kansas. He introduced it by saying that "people in my country love all things kitsch." They pulled off the highway to tour a chapel in which children with giant eyes reenact the stations of the cross.

"The tour of the (? name) chapel with the children with giant eyes by two guys on meth has been tragically underdocumented"

I think he is expressing his incredulity with some people's interpretation of religion.

Not Valid

That's the Precious Moments Chapel in Carthage, MO. The Roadside America entry: http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tour/94day5.html

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Cover art for Psalms 40:2 lyrics by Mountain Goats, The

The first line should read, "Lo our hearts," echoing biblical diction.

Cover art for Psalms 40:2 lyrics by Mountain Goats, The

The first line should read, "Lo our hearts," echoing biblical diction.

and the last word in the line should be "laden" --

Pulled off the highway. . . and lo, our hearts were heavy laden

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Cover art for Psalms 40:2 lyrics by Mountain Goats, The

Intense.

Lord, send me a mechanic if I'm not beyond repair.

Cover art for Psalms 40:2 lyrics by Mountain Goats, The

That's the Precious Moments Chapel in Carthage, MO. The Roadside America entry: http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tour/94day5.html

Cover art for Psalms 40:2 lyrics by Mountain Goats, The

Minor typos;

"With all the sharp small shards of shrapnel that seem to burst out of me and you"

Lyric Correction