Heard this on First Wave the other day and realized I never knew the words to this Fables of the Reconstruction classic. So here they are, the lyrics to which you also probably mumbled along back in the mid-Eighties.
When the world is a monster
Bad to swallow you whole
Kick the clay that holds the teeth in
Throw your trolls out the door
If you’re needing inspiration
Philomath is where I go by dawn
Lawyer Jeff, he knows the lowdown
He’s mighty bad to visit home
(I’ve been there, I know the way)
Can’t get there from here
(I’ve been there, I know the way)
Can’t get there from here
(I’ve been there, I know the way)
Can’t get there from here
(I’ve been there, I know the way)
When your hands are feeling empty
Stick head jumping off the ground, ground
Tris is sure to shirr the deer out
Brother Ray can sing my song
CHORUS
Hands down, Calechee bound
Landlocked, kiss the ground
Dirt of seven continents going ’round and ’round
Go on ahead, Mr. Citywide, hypnotized, suit-and-tied
Gentlemen, testify
If your world is a monster
Bad to swallow you whole
Philomath, they know the lowdown
Throw your trolls out the door
CHORUS
Mmmsmurffalminkmermilerf. You couldn’t understand them, so they had to be deep,
I remember an old interview where someone was complaining about mumbled lyrics and Stipe basically said, “Just make up your own, they’ll probably be better than mine anyway.”
I can remember hearing Fables and thinking “oh the lyrics are much clearer on this album!”
Oh, and Rickenbackers for the win.
Peter Buck knew what was up.