Song for the Julian Calendar

Song for the Julian Calendar
Album	Full Force Galesburg
Released	1997
Artist	the Mountain Goats
Length	2:17
Previous Track	"US Mill"
Next Track	"Maize Stalk Drinking Blood"

Song for the Julian Calendar is the 11th song on the album Full Force Galesburg.

Lyrics

Sun twinkling on the river this evening
I tasted chocolate on my tongue
Darkness climbing up the ladders to the sky
Rung by agonizing rung
I heard firecrackers popping next door
Wondered what it was I'd bargained for
When I lay quiet on the floor and you were knocking 

Let me be your witness
Let me walk out on the edge
The sun refused to shine on my backyard today
Darkness climbing up the house
Coming through the window ledge
I heard the firecrackers bursting on the sidewalk
Heard you talking your baby talk
Saw the bright lights again and I
Felt the shock when you were knocking 

Comments by John Darnielle About this Song

• "This is about as overtly Christian as I ever got." -- 2005-10-23 - Lunt Hall Basement Haverford College - Haverford, PA
• "This was on 'Full Force Galesburg'.... I don't know what I thought I was working on then, but now I understand that this is a record about transitions and about moving from one place to another, and feeling uprooted and adrift in both great and weird ways." -- 2015-04-07 - Cat's Cradle - Carrboro, NC

Things Referenced in this Song

• Kyle Barbour's "The Annotated Full Force Galesburg" explains the reference to the Julian calendar.

Live Shows this Song Was Played at

• 1997-06-17 - Brownie's - New York City, NY
• 1999-01-29 - Mercury Paw - Louisville, KY
• 2000-10-15 - Go! Rehearsal Studios, Room 4 - Carrboro, NC
• 2000-10-16 - Gate City Noise - Greensboro, NC
• 2000-10-19 - WFMU Session - WFMU Studios - Jersey City, NJ
• 2004-02-26 - The Maintenance Shop - Ames, IA
• 2004-03-05 - T.T. the Bear's - Cambridge, MA
• 2005-10-23 - Lunt Hall Basement Haverford College - Haverford, PA
• 2005-10-27 - Remis Auditorium - Museum of Fine Arts - Boston, MA
• 2005-11-04 - Duke Coffeehouse - Durham, NC
• 2008-12-07 - Fowlers Live - Adelaide, Australia
• 2009-03-19 - Duke Coffeehouse - Durham, NC
• 2009-06-13 - Zoop II - Farm Sanctuary - Watkins Glen, NY
• 2009-09-18 - Ithaca College - Ithaca, NY
• 2012-10-16 - Bowery Ballroom - New York, NY
• 2014-04-17 - Club Helsinki - Hudson, NY
• 2015-04-07 - Cat's Cradle - Carrboro, NC
• 2022-09-18 - Tipitina's - New Orleans, LA