Lyric discussion by alia612 

Cover art for Prowl Great Cain lyrics by Mountain Goats, The

"Like a caterpillar crawling out along the surface of the blade" is a reference to a line from Col. Kurtz in Apocalypse Now: "I watched a snail crawl along the edge of a straight razor. That's my dream; that's my nightmare. Crawling, slithering, along the edge of a straight razor... and surviving."