Counterfeit Florida Plates

Counterfeit Florida Plates
Album	Transcendental Youth
Released	2012
Artist	the Mountain Goats
Length	2:23
Previous track	"The Diaz Brothers"
Next track	"In Memory of Satan"

Counterfeit Florida Plates is the ninth song on the album Transcendental Youth.

Lyrics

Steal some sunscreen
From the CVS
Use too much
And make a great big mess
Wait where shadows mask or hide my scent
So many so-called friends
Working for the government

Dig through the trash
Sleep on the grates
And watch for the cars
With the counterfeit Florida plates

Scribble cyphers on the library bathroom wall
Map a path from here to home
Can't quite catch em all
Calculate magnetic north
And turn the other way
Wait for the coming disaster
I could do this all day

Dig through the trash
Sleep on the grates
And watch for the cars
With the counterfeit Florida plates

It seems like everyone's cut me free
And left me to the tender cares of my faceless enemy

Feel so hungry
Probably pass out soon
Look for a tree to lean up against
Whistle a tune-less tune
This may be the night my point-men finally come
Wait for the fog to catch up with me
So I can at least feel numb

Dig through the trash
Sleep on the grates
And watch for the cars
With the counterfeit Florida plates
With the counterfeit Florida plates
With the counterfeit Florida plates

Comments by John Darnielle About this Song

• "I had a narrator in this song called 'Counterfeit Florida Plates' who was schizophrenic — he was starting to see things and he had no place to sleep at night." -- Shuffle Magazine interview, January 2012

Live Shows this Song Was Played at

• 2012-01-21 - Tipitina's - New Orleans, LA
• 2012-01-22 - Central Square Records - Seaside, FL
• 2012-01-24 - The Social - Orlando, FL
• 2012-01-28 - The EARL - Atlanta, GA
• 2012-01-30 - 40 Watt Club - Athens, GA
• 2012-03-24 - Merkin Concert Hall - New York, NY
• 2012-04-02 - The Barbican - London, England
• 2012-04-21 - The Gargoyle - St. Louis, MO
• 2012-05-09 - The Toff in Town - Melbourne, Australia
• 2012-09-11 - WFUV Session - New York, NY
• 2012-09-19 - Soundcheck - WNYC Session
• 2012-10-06 - Reynolds Industries Theatre - Durham, NC
• 2017-06-21 - Welcome to Night Vale Birthday Party - The Bell House - New York, NY

Videos of this Song

• 2012-01-24 - The Social - Orlando, FL
• 2012-03-24 - Merkin Concert Hall - New York, NY
• 2012-04-02 - The Barbican - London, England