Maize Stalk Drinking Blood

Maize Stalk Drinking Blood
Album	Full Force Galesburg
Released	1997
Artist	the Mountain Goats
Length	2:26
Previous Track	"Song for the Julian Calendar"
Next Track	"Evening in Stalingrad"

Maize Stalk Drinking Blood is the 12th song on the album Full Force Galesburg.

Lyrics

Lying in the hot sun today
Watching the clouds run away
Thought a little while about you
The sky was a petrifying blue
And while the geese flew past
For no reason at all
I let the sky fall
This is an empty country, and I am the king
And I should not be allowed to touch anything

I picked myself up off the ground
Shook the grass from my hair and I
Walked around
Felt the warm sun in my eye
Strangers were passing by
I shinnied up the black walnut tree
Let the hard blue sky fall right through me
And I saw the sad young cardinals trying to sing
And I should not be allowed to touch anything

Comments by John Darnielle About this Song

• "MSDB is not about a romantic relationship, I hate to say, but that's all right. ["What's the narrator so worked up about then?"] death." -- John on Twitter

Live Shows this Song Was Played at

• 1997-04-04 - Duke Coffeehouse - Durham, NC
• 1999-01-27 - Cat's Cradle - Carrboro, NC
• 1999-01-30 - CD Exchange - Bloomington, IN
• 1999-07-23 - CBGB - New York City, NY
• 1999-10-09 - Crossing Border - Amsterdam, The Netherlands
• 2001-02-10 - The Maintenance Shop - Ames, IA
• 2009-10-10 - Queen Elizabeth Hall - London, England
• 2009-10-15 - Magnet - Berlin, Germany
• 2009-11-14 - The Fillmore - San Francisco, CA
• 2011-04-10 - The Grey Eagle - Asheville, NC
• 2011-06-21 - The Detroit Bar - Costa Mesa, CA
• 2012-01-22 - Central Square Records - Seaside, FL
• 2012-02-03 - The Blind Tiger - Greensboro, NC
• 2016-02-24 - Sidebar Theatre - Tallahassee, FL
• 2016-02-27 - Noise Pop 2016 - Swedish American Hall - San Francisco, CA
• 2016-02-28 - Noise Pop 2016 - Swedish American Hall - San Francisco, CA
• 2016-04-01 - Bearsville Theater - Woodstock, NY
• 2016-04-02 - College Street Music Hall - New Haven, CT
• 2016-04-03 - Columbus Theatre - Providence, RI
• 2016-04-04 - Port City Music Hall - Portland, ME
• 2016-04-06 - Asbury Hall - Buffalo, NY
• 2016-04-07 - Beachland Ballroom - Cleveland, OH
• 2016-04-08 - The Blind Pig - Ann Arbor, MI
• 2016-04-09 - The Vogue - Indianapolis, IN
• 2016-04-11 - City Winery - Chicago, IL
• 2016-04-12 - City Winery - Chicago, IL
• 2016-04-13 - City Winery - Chicago, IL
• 2016-04-17 - City Winery - New York, NY
• 2017-10-17 - John Dee - Oslo, Norway
• 2017-12-14 - Holocene - Portland, OR
• 2019-05-07 - Mr. Smalls - Millvale, PA
• 2019-11-18 - St. Luke's - Glasgow, Scotland

Videos of this Song

• 1999-01-30 - CD Exchange - Bloomington, IN
• 2009-11-14 - The Fillmore - San Francisco, CA
• 2011-04-10 - The Grey Eagle - Asheville, NC
• 2012-01-22 - Central Square Records - Seaside, FL
• 2016-02-28 - Noise Pop 2016 - Swedish American Hall - San Francisco, CA
• 2016-04-08 - The Blind Pig - Ann Arbor, MI
• 2016-04-13 - City Winery - Chicago, IL