[Verse 1]
The sun came up above the strange, white plain
Blood red flowers all white with rain
And the spirit wasn't really willing anymore
But the flesh was very, very strong
And I've got very little money left and I got no sense
But I'll have none of your goddamned impudence
The sun came up above the new, white fields
Everything was new again
[Chorus]
Pure power stripped of meaning
Sky burning, spring cleaning
[Verse 2]
Daisies on the hillside like cancer on the skin
Pretty little yellow eyes that flutter in the wind
I'd be grateful my children aren't here to see this
If you'd ever seen fit to give me children
And my defenses may be working with a skeleton crew
But I'll be skinned alive before I'll take this from you
The sun came up above the ocean out west
All the colors of the rainbow
[Chorus]
Stand up straight, you can see the house leaning
Day breaking, spring cleaning
This line is an inversion of Matthew 26:41:
“Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
The will to refute temptation has gone, but the bodily forces of instinct and habit continue to drive submission.
If something is working with a skeleton crew, it is hardly operating because it has the bare minimum amount of staff.
When a house is leaning, there is something terribly wrong with the foundation. There is something terribly terribly wrong with the foundation of the relationship in this song.
The Alpha Couple, a fictional couple featuring in many of the Mountain Goats songs, including Baboon, never had children, as referenced in the song ‘No Children’ on Tallahassee.
The line implies the narrator wanted children and their partner didn’t