Pseudothyrum Song

Pseudothyrum Song
Album	Isopanisad Radio Hour
Released	2000
Artist	the Mountain Goats
Length	3:48
Previous Track	"Dutch Orchestra Blues"
Next Track	"The Last Limit of Bhakti"

Pseudothyrum Song is the fifth song on the EP Isopanisad Radio Hour.

Lyrics

Why do you treat me this way
And why do you try so hard to break my spirit
I think someone was mean to you when you were little
That's what I think
I think someone was mean to you

Why do you cling to such petty points of contention
And why don't you allow me one or two small victories now and then
I think someone was mean to you when you didn't deserve it
That's what I think
I think someone was mean to you

But I
I am not that guy, can you get that straight
I am a completely different person
From the one you have in mind

Why do you stand by the things you say long after
You don't mean to hurt anybody anymore
I think someone was mean to you
For a long, long time
That's what I think
I think someone was mean to you

Comments by John Darnielle About this Song

• "...I can't remember why I called it what I called it... this is the problem when you title songs the way that I do. Every once in a while, one of them's going to get away from you. This is one where it's like, like you, if I looked up 'pseudothyrum' I would know what it means, but I'm still not sure what it had to do with the song. The title has slipped free of its captor. ...It struck me, actually, though, weirdly, given what I know about myself in 1999, it's an oddly emotionally mature song. In that sense, it was an outlier." -- 2019-07-20 - Union Transfer - Philadelphia, PA

Things Referenced in this Song

• A pseudothyrum, from the Greek pseudothórum, is a secret door or entrance.

Live Shows this Song Was Played at

• 1999-07-23 - CBGB - New York City, NY
• 2014-05-02 - Kresge Recital Hall - Knox College - Galesburg, IL
• 2019-07-20 - Union Transfer - Philadelphia, PA
• 2019-11-22 - Sala 0 - Madrid, Spain
• 2021-08-12 - White Oak Music Hall - Houston, TX
• 2021-08-15 - Meow Wolf - Santa Fe, NM
• 2021-09-09 - City Winery - New York, NY
• 2021-10-23 - White Eagle Hall - Jersey City, NJ
• 2023-02-16 - Water Street Music Hall - Rochester, NY
• 2023-10-13 - Fox Theater - Boulder, CO
• 2023-11-24 - The Rialto Theatre - Raleigh, NC
• 2023-12-02 - The Queen - Wilmington, DE
• 2023-12-03 - Aura - Portland, ME
• 2023-12-06 - Infinity Hall - Hartford, CT