The Bad Doctor

The Bad Doctor
Album	Songs for Petronius
Released	1992
Artist	the Mountain Goats
Length	3:39
Next Track	"Alpha Double Negative: Going to Catalina"

The Bad Doctor is the first song on the single Songs for Petronius. It was re-released on the compilation Bitter Melon Farm.

Lyrics

If you were anywhere near his door
You saw it swing open and you heard the moon roar
Trying to yank herself right out of her orbit
The whole natural world painted red, just like a target

It was a cold dark day
With low clouds standing in the way
And the stars jockeying for position
On the slow thick morning of the death-dealing physician
Oh yeah
Oh yeah
Oh yeah
Oh yeah

And you could feel his features in the air
A wide smile and perfect hair
He had complete control of the rising tides
And a medicine bag hanging at his side

It was a cold dark day
With low clouds standing in the way
And the stars jockeying for position
In the flowing blue world of the death-dealing physician
Oh yeah
Oh yeah
Oh yeah
Oh yeah

And the rain came down like water from a faucet
I saw him at the crossroads but I never saw him cross it
One minute he was on this side, and the next he was over on the other
So went his rounds, one sad patient after another

It was a cold dark day
With low clouds standing in the way
And the stars jockeying for position
In the crushed velvet world of the death-dealing physician

It was a cold dark day
With low clouds standing in the way
And the stars jockeying for position
In the impossibly large office of the death-dealing physician
Oh yeah
Oh yeah 
Oh yeah
Oh yeah

Comments by John Darnielle About this Song

• "I stopped playing this song because people thought it was about Jack Kevorkian, which it is not. It's about a malevolent force that runs around dispensing death in the guise of medicine — actual widespread death, not the merciful death of Jack Kevorkian." -- 2012-06-28 - Swedish American Hall - San Francisco, CA

Live Shows this Song Was Played at

• 1992-12-17 - Munchie's - Pomona, CA
• 1994-08-18 - Under ACME - New York, NY
• 1996-03-14 - Broadway Kino - Essen, Belgium
• 1996-03-23 - Covent Garden Rough Trade - London, England
• 1997-06-17 - Brownie's - New York City, NY
• 1997-06-22 - Cat's Cradle - Carrboro, NC
• 1997-06-26 - The Empty Bottle - Chicago, IL
• 2009-06-14 - Zoop II - Farm Sanctuary - Watkins Glen, NY
• 2012-06-28 - Swedish American Hall - San Francisco, CA
• 2014-06-08 - Knitting Factory - Boise, ID
• 2015-10-03 - Neighborhood Theatre - Charlotte, NC

Songs for Petronius
Side One: "The Bad Doctor" • "Alpha Double Negative: Going to Catalina" Side Two: "Pure Intentions" • "The Lady from Shanghai" • "Pure Love"