Mountain Goats, The - September 15 1983 Lyrics

Long dinner with some friends way out, way out in Portmore
Servants of the pharaoh slip in through an open door
All business, bearing knives and zip guns
So get on the floor now, every last one, every last one

The heat drifts
Across the land
If I forget you, Israel
Let me forget my right hand

And on the floor, Michael James Williams feels his fingers start to freeze
And the whole scene's like a movie, paramedics on their knees
Try, try your whole life to be righteous and be good
Wind up on your own floor, choking on blood

The heat drifts
Across the land
If I forget you, Israel
Let me forget my right hand

And the house still smells like onions when the ambulance arrives
Gabriel in postal blue loads up the car and drives
To Spanish town, about three miles away
Where will the wicked run to on that last day, on that last day?

The heat drifts
Across the land
If I forget you, Israel
Let me forget my right hand