| Pale Green Things | |
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Album |
The Sunset Tree |
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Released |
2005 |
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Artist |
the Mountain Goats |
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Length |
4:19 |
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Previous Track |
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Pale Green Things is the 13th and final song on the album The Sunset Tree. It is John Darnielle's personal favorite song from that album.[1]
Lyrics[]
Got up before dawn Went down to the racetrack Riding with the windows down Shortly after your first heart attack You parked behind the paddock Cracking asphalt underfoot Coming up through the cracks Pale green things Pale green things You watched the horses run their workouts You held your stopwatch in your left hand And a racing form beneath your arm Casting your gaze way out to no man's land Sometimes I'll meet you out there Lonely and frightened Flicking my tongue out at the wet leaves Pale green things Pale green things My sister called at 3 A.M. Just last December She told me how you'd died at last At last And that morning at the racetrack was one thing I remembered I turned it over in my mind Like a living Chinese finger trap Seaweed in Indiana sawgrass Pale green things Pale green things
Comments by John Darnielle About this Song[]
- "...I am especially fond of 'Pale Green Things' which I think is maybe the deepest down I’ve ever reached, which is why I’ve only played it live once or twice." -- 3:AM Magazine interview
- In a 2014 interview, John talks about the moment his sister called him to tell him his stepfather had died. He says while "you don't wish death on anybody... it's wonderful when your abuser dies.. to know that the person who used to hurt you no longer can is very very very deep."
Things Referenced in this Song[]
- Revelation 6:8 describes Death, the fourth horseman of the apocalypse, riding a pale green horse.
Live Shows this Song Was Played at[]
- 2005-05-08 - The Middle East - Cambridge, MA
- 2013-01-15 - An Evening of Awesome - Isaac Stern Auditorium at Carnegie Hall - New York, NY
- 2020-02-22 - Swedish American Hall - San Francisco, CA
- 2021-08-19 - Gothic Theatre - Englewood, CO
- 2021-08-27 - The Athenaeum Theatre - Columbus, OH
- 2021-09-07 - City Winery - New York, NY
- 2021-09-24 - Gateway City Arts - Holyoke, MA
- 2021-10-23 - White Eagle Hall - Jersey City, NJ
Videos of this Song[]
References[]
| The Sunset Tree |
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Track list: "You or Your Memory" • "Broom People" • "This Year" • "Dilaudid" • "Dance Music" • "Dinu Lipatti's Bones" • "Up the Wolves" • "Lion's Teeth" • "Hast Thou Considered the Tetrapod" • "Magpie" • "Song for Dennis Brown" • "Love Love Love" • "Pale Green Things" |