Rotten Stinking Mouthpiece

Rotten Stinking Mouthpiece
Album	All Survivors Pack
Released	2011
Artist	the Mountain Goats
Length	4:02
Previous track	"Estate Sale Sign"
Next track	"Sourdoire Valley Song"

This song is the sixth track on All Survivors Pack.

Lyrics

lob some spit at the window
watch it run down the pane
it's only the guilty
 who concern themselves
with clearing their names

you bring tidings of hope,
 false tidings
when you come here
there's two friends who did me wrong
 that you're protecting
it's so clear

and when you speak it's those two
 who speak through you
who'll speak for me?
the burning and the electricity

sun goes down San Francisco
friends are hard to find
chew them up just as quick
 as I can find them
try to clear my mind

remember hours at the table
gauze flight light easing through
if there's one thing
 that I'm not going to do tonight
it's die for you

'cause when you speak it's those two
 who speak through you
who'll speak for me
the burning and the electricity

Comments by John Darnielle About this Song

• John had said that is was his "secret favorite song" (2012-10-13 - Music Hall of Williamsburg - Brooklyn, NY).

Things Referenced in this Song

This song references the movie, The Indestructable Man . Lon Chaney Jr. developed cancer prior to filming and underwent surgery. As a result he had no voice for the movie and could only 'lumber around', forever condemned to remain in the shadow of his father, Lon Chaney.

Live Shows this Song Was Played at

• 2011-04-08 - Cat's Cradle - Carrboro, NC
• 2011-05-28 - Brudenell Social Club - Leeds, England
• 2011-05-29 - King Tut's Wah Wah Hut - Glasgow, Scotland
• 2011-11-18 - WITS at the Fitzgerald - Minneapolis, MN
• 2011-12-06 - Second City - Chicago, IL
• 2012-06-23 - Columbia City Theater - Seattle, WA
• 2012-06-27 - Swedish American Hall - San Francisco, CA
• 2012-07-01 - McCabe's Guitar Shop - Santa Monica, CA
• 2012-09-01 - Front Porch Music Festival - Livermore, CA
• 2012-10-13 - Music Hall of Williamsburg - Brooklyn, NY
• 2012-11-04 - Mountain Stage - Keith-Albee Performing Arts Center - Huntington, WV
• 2012-12-01 - Mercy Lounge - Nashville, TN
• 2012-12-03 - Cain's Ballroom - Tulsa, OK
• 2012-12-04 - Granada Theater - Dallas, TX
• 2012-12-05 - Emo's East - Austin, TX
• 2013-07-06 - Festival for the Eno - Durham, NC
• 2014-04-16 - Somerville Theatre - Somerville, MA
• 2014-04-20 - Old Town School of Folk Music - Chicago, IL
• 2014-06-27 - Boys Rock for Girls Rock - Haw River Ballroom - Saxapahaw, NC
• 2015-09-10 - Vega - Lincoln, NE
• 2015-11-23 - Heliogàbal - Barcelona, Spain
• 2016-04-03 - Columbus Theatre - Providence, RI
• 2016-04-11 - City Winery - Chicago, IL
• 2016-09-28 - Majestic Theater - Madison, WI
• 2017-04-12 - The Corner Hotel - Melbourne, Australia
• 2019-05-09 - Woodward Theater - Cincinnati, OH
• 2021-08-18 - The Black Sheep - Colorado Springs, CO
• 2024-07-25 - The Vogue - Indianapolis, IN

Videos of this Song

• 2011-11-18 - WITS at the Fitzgerald - St. Paul, MN
• 2012-11-04 - Mountain Stage - Keith-Albee Performing Arts Center - Huntington, WV
• 2012-12-01 - Mercy Lounge - Nashville, TN
• 2014-04-16 - Somerville Theatre - Somerville, MA

All Eternals Deck

Track list: "Damn These Vampires" • "Birth of Serpents" • "Estate Sale Sign" • "Age of Kings" • "The Autopsy Garland" • "Beautiful Gas Mask" • "High Hawk Season" • "Prowl Great Cain" • "Sourdoire Valley Song" • "Outer Scorpion Squadron" • "For Charles Bronson" • "Never Quite Free" • "Liza Forever Minnelli" Bonus tracks: "Brisbane Hotel Sutra" • "Used to Haunt" All Survivors Pack: "Catherine Antrim’s Kid" • "Rotten Stinking Mouthpiece"