Black Molly

Black Molly
Album	In Release City
Released	1996
Artist	the Mountain Goats
Length	2:24
Previous Track	"The Living End" (Mr. Potatohead)
Next Track	"Sexmachine" (Napkin vs. Soda)

Black Molly is the 10th song on the compilation In Release City. It was re-released on the compilation Bitter Melon Farm.

Lyrics

Black mollies in the aquarium
Darting back and forth as though an earthquake were certain 
And I turned up the heater 
And I ripped off my shirt 
And I grabbed hold of my stereo 
And I threw it out the window 
You were in town again 
You'd come around again
You were dragging me down again 
With you  

Siamese fighting fish flashing like sparklers 
It started to rain 
And the telephone rang a couple of times 
I put a bullet through its cold dead brain 
And I got out my photographs of you 
And I put bullets though all of them too 
You were in town again 
You'd come around again 
You were dragging me down again 
With you

Comments by John Darnielle About this Song

• "This is a song about tropical fish." -- 2014-06-14 - Bottom of the Hill - San Francisco, CA
• "I've never been to Albany before. So it's a conflict where I tend to prefer the new songs with my band, right, but there's some people who've been waiting a long-ass time to see their personal favorite songs. So then I feel obligated to play the super-old ones, but then the people who are mainly into the newer ones are like 'I don't know what that one in the middle was about the guy who wanted to kill somebody or something.' This is one of those. If you are unacquainted with the fish identified in the first line, I had a few of them back when I wrote it. They are the color of obsidian." –– 2023-04-18 – Empire Live – Albany, NY

Things Referenced in this Song

• A black molly is a tropical fish as well as a name for amphetamine capsules.

Live Shows this Song Was Played at

• 1996-09-02 - Tokyo Rose - Charlottesville, VA
• 1996-09-03 - Fletcher's - Baltimore, MD
• 1996-11-18 - The Wag Club - London, England
• 1997-07-16 - Capitol Theater - Olympia, WA
• 1997-11-14 - University of Wisconsin Student Union - Madison, WI
• 1999-07-09 - Starfish Room - Vancouver, British Columbia
• 1999-10-09 - Crossing Border - Amsterdam, The Netherlands
• 2000-10-15 - Go! Rehearsal Studios, Room 4 - Carrboro, NC
• 2001-04-21 - The Olde Club - Swarthmore, PA
• 2001-10-19 - Mission Space - Baltimore, MD
• 2002-03-08 - WNUR Session - Evanston, IL
• 2002-03-08 - The Empty Bottle - Chicago, IL
• 2002-11-01 - The Empty Bottle - Chicago, IL
• 2003-04-09 - Will's Pub - Orlando, FL
• 2004-02-10 - Cafe Du Nord - San Francisco, CA
• 2005-06-20 - Doug Fir Lounge - Portland, OR
• 2009-06-14 - Zoop II - Farm Sanctuary - Watkins Glen, NY
• 2011-06-20 - The Fillmore - San Francisco, CA
• 2011-06-23 - El Rey Theater - Los Angeles, CA
• 2013-06-04 - Strand-Capitol Performing Arts - York, PA
• 2014-06-10 - The Showbox - Seattle, WA
• 2014-06-11 - Wonder Ballroom - Portland, OR
• 2014-06-14 - Bottom of the Hill - San Francisco, CA
• 2014-06-17 - Mayan Theatre - Los Angeles, CA
• 2014-06-18 - Crescent Ballroom - Phoenix, AZ
• 2021-08-10 - The Mohawk - Austin, TX
• 2021-09-09 - City Winery - New York, NY
• 2023-04-18 - Empire Live - Albany, NY