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Down to the Ark is an unreleased song by the Mountain Goats. It was written for radio program Weekend America's episode about Super Tuesday.

Lyrics[]

The candidates met up in North Dakota
And they donned their black robes there in the chapel hall
They said a brief invocation to their cloven-hoofed prince
And they signed their names in blood on the vestry wall

In Christ you know there's neither high nor low
And the void will claim all creatures small or bright
Seal up the borders or let everybody in
In the order of the serpent, there'll be neither left nor right

And we pull down our blindfolds
Reach out for the lever in the dark
Get a sticker for our shirts as we head into the sun
Proudly bearing the mark
Headed down to the ark

The applicants went down to Oklahoma
And they hired an accent coach to teach them the western twang
And several post-born babies learned the hard way
Vampires only kiss you when they've sharpened up their fangs, yeah

And as Minnesota fell, so went Missouri
We were meeting at VFWs in the snow
And we voted down the tax codes, and we voted down the war
So many names to choose from, just one way to go

And we pull down our blindfolds
Reach out for the lever in the dark
Get a sticker for our shirts as we head into the sun
Proudly bearing the mark
Headed down to the ark


Comments by John Darnielle About this Song[]

  • "Either you're a really good political satirist and you can do something that is poking fun but at the same time not being partisan, you know, or you can't, and I wouldn't — that's just not sort of what I do. I write little emotional psychodramas. So, you know, then, once I got my hook, that I was gonna portray all the candidates as, you know, people who drink the blood of infants, that was exciting to me. Because that's sort of my political position." -- 2008-02-02 - Weekend America Session - New York, NY

Things Referenced in this Song[]

Live Shows this Song Was Played at[]

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