Keeping House

Keeping House
Album	Get Lonely
Released	2006
Artist	the Mountain Goats
Length	2:38

Keeping House is a bonus track from the album Get Lonely. It was available on the Japanese version of the Get Lonely CD.

Lyrics

You clean out your junk-drawer, you mop up some blood
While the first of the new creatures rises from the mud
Cursing the moment that saw him draw breath
The ghost on your doorstep is starving to death

You spray down the windows, you wipe them all clean
And you douse your old clothing with fresh gasoline
And the ghost on your doorstep is soaked wet with rain
And he clutches his stomach and howls at the pain

And you can stay busy all day
He’s never going away

So let all the lights blaze, keep your heart light
Play really loud music all hours of the night
And when you set the table, set it for two
The ghost on your doorstep has to eat, same as you
Same as you

Comments by John Darnielle About this Song

• "I know we did this one in the studio. It had a horn section on it. But it didn't fit on the album; it was too uptempo. Yeah, it was supposed to be on the Get Lonely album. It was written in a hotel room in Evanston, Illinois." -- 2007-06-16 - Zoop - Farm Sanctuary - Watkins Glen, NY

Live Shows this Song Was Played at

• 2007-06-16 - Zoop - Farm Sanctuary - Watkins Glen, NY
• 2009-06-13 - Zoop II - Farm Sanctuary - Watkins Glen, NY
• 2012-06-22 - Rio Theater - Vancouver, British Columbia
• 2012-06-25 - Mission Theater - Portland, OR
• 2024-01-18 - Neighborhood Theatre - Charlotte, NC
• 2024-01-19 - Saturn - Birmingham, AL
• 2024-01-27 - The Liberty - Roswell, NM
• 2024-01-31 - Rialto Theatre - Tucson, AZ