Corsican Mastiff Stride

Corsican Mastiff Stride
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Album	Getting Into Knives
Released	October 23, 2020
Length	2:20
Next Track	"Get Famous"

Corsican Mastiff Stride is the first song on the album Getting Into Knives. It also appears as the 22nd song on the 2021 live album The Jordan Lake Sessions: Volumes 3 and 4.

Lyrics[]

We sail we sleep we scry by land
We dig a pit beneath the sand 
A place to keep the sun at bay
At dark we rise and find our way 

With our faithful companion by our side 
Put it all on the table and let it ride 
Close to the dropoff on our long slide 

The land we left becomes a dream 
The ghosts we knew, they rise like steam 
They leave some trails against the sky 
All but invisible to the eye 

With our faithful companion by our side 
Put it all on the table and let it ride 
Close to the dropoff on our long slide 

Call off the search party, 
Let mourners wail by the shore 
Point to the spot where our ship disappeared 
We're not coming home any more 

Should you succeed and breach the coast 
You tell your friends you've seen a ghost 
You tell them all there's nothing here worth dying for 
You leave it there 

With our faithful companion by our side 
Put it all on the table and let it ride 
Close to the dropoff on our long slide

Comments by John Darnielle About this Song[]

"This song is about a dog." -- 2021-04-19 - The Jordan Lake Sessions - Pittsboro, NC
John said that the song was about being shipwrecked, but it's alright because you have your dog with you, at 2022-05-18 - Thalia Hall - Chicago, IL
"Y'know, I generally don't seek out sponsorships, corporate relationships, anything, but I swear to god, if the breeders of Corsican mastiffs never hit me up on this one, I'm gonna be mad as hell." 2022-09-17 - Tulips - Fort Worth, TX

Things Referenced in this Song[]

The phrase "long slide" appears in Philip Larkin's poem "High Windows".
An older song, In League with Dragons, also contains a similar phrase ("headed on down the slide").

Live Shows this Song Was Played at[]

Videos of this Song[]

2020-12-04 - Studio Milwaukee Session - Raleigh, NC

Getting Into Knives
Track list: "Corsican Mastiff Stride" • "Get Famous" • "Picture of My Dress" • "As Many Candles As Possible" • "Tidal Wave" • "Pez Dorado" • "The Last Place I Saw You Alive" • "Bell Swamp Connection" • "The Great Gold Sheep" • "Rat Queen" • "Wolf Count" • "Harbor Me" • "Getting Into Knives"

The Jordan Lake Sessions: Volumes 3 and 4

Track list: "In the Craters on the Moon" • "Letter from Belgium" • "Woke Up New" • "Pez Dorado" • "Picture of My Dress" • "Whole Wide World" • "Dark in Here" • "Korean Bird Paintings" • "Snow Owl" • "Against Pollution" • "The Last Place I Saw You Alive" • "In Memory of Satan" • "Bell Swamp Connection" • "Rat Queen" • "Shelved" • "Sax Rohmer #1" • "This Year" • "Have to Explode" • "Game Shows Touch Our Lives" • "Until Olympius Returns" • "The Young Thousands" • "Corsican Mastiff Stride" • "Blood Capsules" • "Hair Match" • "Solidarity Forever" • "Soft Targets" • "Black Pear Tree" • "Wolf Count" • "Never Quite Free" • "Wild Sage" • "Jazz No Children" • "Hast Thou Considered the Tetrapod" • "Exegetic Chains" • "Going Invisible 2"

Corsican Mastiff Stride

Contents

Lyrics[]

Comments by John Darnielle About this Song[]

Things Referenced in this Song[]

Live Shows this Song Was Played at[]

Videos of this Song[]

Fan Feed

Corsican Mastiff Stride

Album	Getting Into Knives
Released	October 23, 2020
Length	2:20
Next Track	"Get Famous"