Marduk T-Shirt Men's Room Incident

Marduk T-Shirt Men's Room Incident
Album	Heretic Pride
Released	2008
Artist	the Mountain Goats
Length	3:21
Previous Track	"How to Embrace a Swamp Creature"
Next Track	"Sept. 15 1983"

Marduk T-Shirt Men's Room Incident is the 11th song on the album Heretic Pride.

Press Kit notes

Marduk T-Shirt Men's Room Incident

People talk about songs that develop like visions and usually I am pretty mistrustful of such stories.

But this one sort of just jumped up out of nowhere one day.

I am joined on this song, as on "New Zion," and "How to Embrace a Swamp Creature," by Rachel Ware Zooi + Sarah Arslanian.

They are members of the Bright Mountain Choir, who used to sing with me back in the very earliest days of the Mountain Goats. We haven't worked together in a long time + it was so wonderful to hear them sing again. 

Lyrics

Slumped up against the sink
Hair plastered to her cheeks
Marduk t-shirt sticking to her skin
Refugee from a disco in old east Berlin

Weightless, formless, blameless, nameless

Stray syllables were gurgling
From her throat one at a time
Face hidden from my view
I let myself imagine she was you

Only weightless, formless, blameless, nameless

And when I washed my hands
I ran the water hotter than I could stand
Half rising to a crouch
Sinking back down to the floor
When you’re walking keep your head low
Try to leave no traces when you go

Stay weightless, formless, blameless, nameless

Comments by John Darnielle About this Song

• "although I generally don't weigh in on interpretive questions, I'm going to make an exception here. I would not be interested in singing from the perspective of a rapist. some writers might; good luck to them; I wouldn't. richardob is correct in his interpretation. the narrator is moved by the plight of the woman he sees; the details of the plight are obscure to the reader/listener, permanently, since we're only hearing the report of an observer with minimal information. the lyric seems pretty clear and straightforward to me...[quotes the first verse]...this is the narrator reporting, honestly, on the evidence of his senses. He has thoughts and feelings arising from this information, and he reports the same. we don't know what the deal is with the woman. we're never going to know. that is kind of the point." -- Mountain-Goats.com forums, on speculation that it might be about rape
• "This is the other song I tend to fuck up live. I'm not trying to jinx myself, just being honest with you." -- 2008-03-02 - Bottom of the Hill - San Francisco, CA
• "This song is about the inevitable Ron Paul/John Darnielle presidency." -- 2008-03-20 - First Unitarian Church - Philadelphia, PA

Things Referenced in this Song

• Marduk is a Swedish black metal band, named after the Babylonian god Marduk.

Live Shows this Song Was Played at

• 2008-02-26 - Doug Fir Lounge - Portland, OR
• 2008-02-27 - WOW Hall - Eugene, OR
• 2008-02-29 - Bimbo's - San Francisco, CA (partial)
• 2008-03-02 - Bottom of the Hill - San Francisco, CA
• 2008-03-04 - Troubadour - Los Angeles, CA
• 2008-03-05 - Troubadour - Los Angeles, CA
• 2008-03-14 - Museum of Fine Arts - Boston, MA
• 2008-03-18 - Webster Hall - New York, NY
• 2008-03-19 - Music Hall of Williamsburg - Brooklyn, NY
• 2008-03-20 - First Unitarian Church - Philadelphia, PA
• 2008-03-22 - The Black Cat - Washington, D.C.
• 2009-03-24 - Pearl Street - Northampton, MA
• 2009-03-25 - Somerville Theater - Somerville, MA
• 2012-09-07 - Hopscotch Festival - Fletcher Opera Theater - Raleigh, NC
• 2012-10-11 - Theater of Living Arts - Philadelphia, PA
• 2014-04-15 - Pearl Street Ballroom - Northampton, MA

Videos of this Song

• 2008-02-29 - Bimbo's - San Francisco, CA (partial)
• 2008-03-02 - Bottom of the Hill - San Francisco, CA