Estate Sale Sign

Estate Sale Sign
	;
Album	All Eternals Deck
Released	2011
Artist	the Mountain Goats
Length	2:47
Previous track	"Birth of Serpents"
Next track	"Age of Kings"

Estate Sale Sign is the third song on All Eternals Deck. A demo of the song is the third track on All Survivors Pack. It also appears as the 13th song on the 2020 live album The Jordan Lake Sessions: Volumes 1 and 2. This song has an official animated music video directed by Awesome and Modest, found here.

Lyrics[]

Crude little wooden idols
And aviator shades
The trinkets and the treasures we
 brought back from the Crusades
Some guy in an Impala shakes his
 head when he rides by
But I remember when we shared
 a vision, you and I

Worked hard to build this altar
We made it earn its keep
The cracks across its surface
 spiderweb while we're asleep
The sacrificial stains all
 spreading out and soaking through
But I remember when
 we kept it pretty, me and you

And high above the water
The eagle spots the fish
Every martyr in this jungle
Is gonna get his wish

Stock shots stupid stock shots
From the Pomona mall
Set up like unloved icons
 gathering dust up on the wall
From films no one remembers
They call down silently
But I remember when their names
 were dear to you and me
Yeah

Pennies on the dollar
Everything's gotta go
The things that we
 can't even give away
I don't wanna know
Try to see if secrets burn when
 you hold them up into the light
I remember when we loved
 each other day and night

And high above the water
The eagle spots the fish
Every martyr in this jungle
Is gonna get his wish

Comments by John Darnielle About this Song[]

"This is a song about some people. [cheers] Well, I'm glad that, that y'all are pro-people. I think that these two stand on the fence in the pro-people versus anti-people, uh, great debate that we all live with in our daily lives." -- 2011-03-28 - Bowery Ballroom - New York, NY
"This is a song about, um, you may find it necessary to get rid of all your stuff, at some point. Because all of the stuff seems toxic. This song is about the toxicity. That seems like not much of a theme for a song, but we did the best we could with our theme that we were assigned, by the crew of evil monks in robes with glass eyes who tell us what to write about. This is called 'Estate Sale Sign'." -- 2011-04-03 - The Opera House - Toronto, Ontario

Things Referenced in this Song[]

"brought back from the Crusades" brings to mind the plight of the Templars, who returned from the crusades with idols that later lead to their persecution.