Lyric discussion by SilentCaim 

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

Okay, Cambodia in 1979 was seeing the fall of the Khmer Rouge, the brutal regime of the infamous Pol Pot. This would suggest something much more serious happening with the "you" in this song, perhaps even a Pol Pot supporting communist being turned in to the Vietnamese by another communist, which would give weight to the notion of living to fight another day.

In this context, marking the hours until these dark times fade could mean seeing out the immediate routing of the Khmer Rouge or dealing with the small fighting kept up by the remains of the Khmer Rouge for many years after the immediate deposition. I lean towards the immediate aftermath option because the imagery of gutted warehouses and trucks rolling out for indeterminate amounts of time suggests a total lack of current stability.

The jewels from a graveyard could be a reference to the many giant graveyards caused by the Khmer Rouge regime and the desperation of the times.

And finally, I think Great Cain is meant to be the idea of the beast of shame finding no prey in the field of the narrator's heart.

I think "the jewels from the graveyard" reference all the vicitims of the regime, especially the children. Many bodies were found in mass graves (or simply strewn around the countryside in the open). Perhaps it has to do with giving them a proper burial...bringing them home to their rightful families. Just a thought.