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Tulsa Imperative is an unreleased song by the Mountain Goats. John Darnielle could not get a good take of the song within a day after he wrote it, so (as per usual at the time) he decided not to release it. However, Peter Hughes enjoyed the song enough to record a version of it for his band DiskothiQ's first album, The Wandering Jew, in 1994.[1] It appears as the ninth song on the 2022 live album The Jordan Lake Sessions: Volume 5.

Lyrics[]

Your momma's failed wheat field 
Was a good place to lie down together
Three weeks deep into the guts of summer
We sweat like hogs, and I felt light as a feather

I saw a disk-like object
Reflected in your eye
And the noise grew louder 
As we looked up to the sky

And the sleek silver body
Had lights along the side
And the sleek silver body
Had lights all underneath

I remember the warm air
Blowing in our faces
I remember the heat 
Running through me
 
There was no one worth telling
There was nothing we could do, and I was 
Real quiet as I lifted the keys from the kitchen table
I was looking right at you

And your hand brushed against mine 
And and it shook me inside as
All along the night sky 
I watched our futures collide

And the car's new headlights 
Cut through the darkness
As the oil dripped silently 
To the pavement underneath

I remember the warm air 
Burning our faces
I remember the heat 
Running through me

Comments by John Darnielle About this Song[]

Things Referenced in this Song[]

Live Shows this Song Was Played at[]

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