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Clemency for the Wizard King

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Clemency for the Wizard King
In league with dragons S

Album

In League With Dragons

Released

April 26, 2019

Length

2:46

Previous Track

"Passaic, 1975"

Next Track

"Possum By Night"

Clemency for the Wizard King is the fourth song on In League with Dragons.

Lyrics[]

We who train in the way of the blade
We who sleep in the accursed glade
We come before you now
We come before you now

We who in his favor would stand
Who lovingly await his most fearsome command
We come before you now
We come before you now

Cut loose the handcuffs
Let him go free

We who travel by starlight
We who slipped past your guards in the night
We come before you now
We come before you now

We who boldly lay claim to our own
We who have seen the chamber of the one true throne
We who have seen the kindness of the cracks of his face
We who will die if we must in this place

We come before you
Outnumbered and unafraid
Well-trained in the way of the blade

Cut loose the handcuffs
Let him go free (let him go free, let him go free, let him go free)

Comments by John Darnielle About this Song[]

  • "It is a song about how if you are in the tribe that serves and worships the wizard king, and he gets taken prisoner by some evil-minded people who don't understand what he's all about, it's your job to go and demand that he be granted clemency. That's why this song is called 'Clemency for the Wizard King'." -- 2019-04-26 - 9:30 Club - Washington, D.C.
  • "This is a song that I was asked to write... a lot of people were reporting to me that their kings had gone missing, and of course it's hard to know what to do when your wizard king gets kidnapped! It's a struggle, you know, that we all can relate to, and I was trying to write songs that were more universally relatable." --2023-02-15 - Mickey's Black Box - Lititz, PA
  • In response to the question "What's your favorite @mountain_goats song and why is it The Best Ever Death Metal Band Out of Denton?" (sic)
    • "gotta go with “Clemency for the Wizard King” here" -- Twitter
    • "the thing is, my answer will always be informed by the where & when of it. Here's @MattyBones & me (Bram Gielen on guitar in the other iso behind us) singing the actual used-on-the-album vocal track. Live vocal harmony with something like five other musicians playing along. Magic" -- Twitter

Things Referenced in this Song[]

Live Shows this Song Was Played at[]

Videos of this Song[]


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