The Plague

The Plague is a song by the Mountain Goats. It was supposed to be the A-side of the "Jam Eater Blues" single but John Darnielle "couldn't find the tape" of it. It appears as the first song on the 2020 live album The Jordan Lake Sessions: Volumes 1 and 2.

Lyrics

There will be blue skies 
Above the green and verdant plain
Churns will swell with fresh butter
There will be an abundance of sweet grain
And we will rise from our sleep
We won't have time to choose what things we'll keep

And rivers will all turn to blood
Frogs will fall from the sky
And the plague will rage through the countryside
La la la la
La la la la
La la la, la la la, la la la

There will be cotton clouds
Above the fields as white as cream
There will be loud singing in the churches 
As we all come out to take one for the team
And all our great schemes and plans 
Will slip like fishes from our hands

And rivers will all turn to blood
Frogs will fall from the sky
And the plague will cover the country with its anger
La la la la
La la la la
La la la, la la la, la la la
Hey

Comments by John Darnielle About this Song

• "It's about something that's coming, that's coming now, that's coming for us." -- 2001-08-03 - 40 Watt Club - Athens, GA

Live Shows this Song Was Played at

• 2001-07-19 - Capitol Theater - Olympia, WA
• 2001-08-03 - 40 Watt Club - Athens, GA
• 2002-03-07 - Independent Media Center - Urbana, IL
• 2004-05-21 - KEXP Session - Seattle, WA
• 2016-05-12 - The Pinhook - Durham, NC
• 2018-08-31 - The Wilbury - Tallahassee, FL
• 2020-02-21 - Swedish American Hall - San Francisco, CA
• 2020-10-22 - The Jordan Lake Sessions - Pittsboro, NC
• 2021-08-27 - The Athenaeum Theatre - Columbus, OH
• 2021-09-09 - City Winery - New York, NY
• 2021-12-15 - The Jefferson Theater - Charlottesville, VA
• 2022-05-02 - Belly Up Tavern - Solana Beach, CA
• 2022-05-11 - Aladdin Theater - Portland, OR

Videos of this Song

• 2016-05-12 - The Pinhook - Durham, NC
• 2020-10-22 - The Jordan Lake Sessions - Pittsboro, NC