Torch Song

Torch Song
Album	The Hound Chronicles
Released	1992
Artist	the Mountain Goats
Length	1:30
Previous track	"Alpha Negative"
Next track	"שקט (Be Quiet)"

Torch Song is the fifth song on the Mountain Goats' second cassette, The Hound Chronicles. It appears as the eighth song on the 2022 live album The Jordan Lake Sessions: Volume 5.

Lyrics

(We'll just try that again.)
The sun was coming up, and our friend was sound asleep
But we saw through the window that the water ran so deep
That you couldn't make out the ocean floor
Then I saw you in the light
I couldn't take it any more

Give me your hand
Give me everything you've got
And the light from window will fall on us burning hot 
Just like a torch

The air was humid; I will not forget
When we stepped outside, I hear your footsteps
Now in my mind, it's a soft sound
Almost imperceptible against the giving ground

Let me kiss your eyelids with my lips
Let me feel the heat coming off your fingertips
Just like a torch

Comments by John Darnielle About this Song

• "The thing about old Mountain Goats songs is, if you don't like it, it'll be over in about forty-five seconds." -- 2016-10-29 - Hi-Dive - Denver, CO

Live Shows this Song Was Played at

• 1994-08-23 - Baystate - Northampton, MA
• 1996-11-02 - Gothenburg Radio - Gothenburg, Sweden
• 2001-06-23 - Bottom of the Hill - San Francisco, CA
• 2004-02-11 - Dennis Kucinich Headquarters - San Francisco, CA
• 2004-10-11 - The Black Cat - Washington, D.C.
• 2006-06-14 - The Troubadour - West Hollywood, CA
• 2007-03-11 - The El Rey - Los Angeles, CA
• 2009-04-01 - Portage Theater - Chicago, IL
• 2009-11-14 - The Fillmore - San Francisco, CA
• 2011-04-01 - Paradise Rock Club - Boston, MA
• 2016-10-29 - Hi-Dive - Denver, CO
• 2017-09-06 - The Orange Peel - Asheville, NC
• 2021-08-15 - Meow Wolf - Santa Fe, NM
• 2022-08-25 - The Jordan Lake Sessions - Pittsboro, NC
• 2022-09-07 - Bell's Beer Garden - Kalamazoo, MI
• 2023-09-19 - Brooklyn Made - New York, NY

Videos of This Song

• 2004-02-11 - Dennis Kucinich Headquarters - San Francisco, CA

The Hound Chronicles
Side One: "The Garden Song" • "Going to Wisconsin" • "Spilling Toward Alpha" • "Alpha Negative" • "Torch Song" • "שקט (Be Quiet)" • "The Cow Song" • "(Untitled)" • "Going to Chino" Side Two: "Standard Bitter Love Song #4" • "Going to Mexico" • "Lab Rat Blues" • "Going to Kansas" • "The Water Song" • "Going to Spain" • "Keep It on Your Mind"