Lyric discussion by Cithaeron 

Cover art for Cao Dai Blowout lyrics by Mountain Goats, The

Maybe it's obvious, but this song is also metaphorical; it talks about how the memory of the narrator's father haunts him and daunts him, but he's trying to face it on his own. I wonder whether it's about John Darnielle's own father or not.

Also, Cao Dai is a syncrenistic religion (link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cao_Dai ), but I have no idea how it relates to the song.

My Interpretation