Tollund Man | |
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Album |
Sweden |
Released |
1995 |
Artist |
the Mountain Goats |
Length |
2:34 |
Previous Track |
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Next Track |
Tollund Man is the 12th song on the album Sweden. It also appears as the 19th song on the 2020 live album The Jordan Lake Sessions: Volumes 1 and 2.
Lyrics[]
I was sitting at the edge of the marsh when the council came to bring me the news. they handed me a bowl of cooked wild grasses and they gave me the ceremonial shoes. goodbye young Danish women. goodbye Danish sky. goodbye cold air, I am going away. goodbye, goodbye, goodbye.
Comments by John Darnielle About this Song[]
- "I was in college and I took an archaeology class—I didn't make it to the end of it, but I kept the textbook, and then when I was looking in the textbook in the idle hours I had to myself when I was no longer attending the class, I saw this guy...They had thrown him into a swamp, because he did something—history doesn't record what it was that he did, it might have been it was just sorta his turn to go. He'd been perfectly preserved by the swamp. You could see the expression on his face and his whiskers; it was hard to look at him. So I did what my other self did. I said 'I gotta write a song about that!'" -- 2007-09-21 - Sonar - Baltimore, MD
- "This next song is about a guy ... whom they found in Denmark. He had been living, well, not living, he had been perfectly preserved in a bog for 3000-4000 years. He had a rope around his neck and he was so perfectly preserved that you could see what the last thing he ate was if you looked at the contents of his stomach." -- 2003-02-18 - Uffes Källare - Växjö - Gothenberg, Sweden
Things Referenced in this Song[]
- The Tollund Man is known as one of the most well-preserved bodies from pre-history and was found on May 6th, 1950 near Silkeborg, Denmark.
- In response to the question, "you used to sing an extra verse at the end of Tollund Man, what was that? improv? abandoned lyrics?" John reported, "it was whatever came to mind at the time. sometimes lines from Berryman or Shakespeare."
Live Shows this Song Was Played at[]
- 1996-02-25 - Tower Musikclub - Bremen, Germany
- 1996-11-07 - VPRO Radio - Amsterdam, Netherlands
- 1996-11-09 - Zwijnzicht - Dordrecht, Netherlands
- 1996-11-11 - Schauspielhaus - Bochum, Germany
- 1996-11-13 - Dreikonigkeller - Frankfurt, Germany
- 1997-06-17 - Brownie's - New York City, NY
- 1997-12-06 - The Empty Bottle - Chicago, IL
- 1998-05-15 - The Empty Bottle - Chicago, IL
- 2000-10-16 - Gate City Noise - Greensboro, NC
- 2002-10-08 - McGarrigle's - Sligo, Ireland
- 2002-10-09 - The Cobblestone - Dublin, Ireland
- 2002-10-10 - ICA - London, England
- 2002-11-01 - The Empty Bottle - Chicago, IL
- 2002-11-06 - Knitting Factory - New York, NY
- 2002-11-08 - Go! Rehearsal Studios, Room 4 - Carrboro, NC
- 2002-11-13 - Opolis - Norman, OK
- 2003-01-29 - Mean Fiddler - London, England
- 2003-02-01 - Briton's Protection - Manchester, England
- 2003-02-05 - Hanbury Ballroom - Brighton, England
- 2003-02-06 - Spitz - London, England
- 2003-02-14 - Substanz - Munich, Germany
- 2003-02-18 - Uffes Källare - Växjö - Gothenberg, Sweden
- 2003-04-04 - Macrock Festival - Court Square Theatre - Harrisonburg, VA
- 2003-04-06 - Go! Rehearsal Studios, Room 4 - Carrboro, NC
- 2003-04-09 - Will's Pub - Orlando, FL
- 2003-06-27 - Mains D'oeuvres, Mofo Festival - Paris, France
- 2003-07-02 - The Guinguette Pirate - Paris, France
- 2003-09-26 - Walter's on Washington - Houston, TX
- 2003-10-03 - Berbati's Pan - Portland, OR
- 2003-10-04 - Tractor Tavern - Seattle, WA
- 2004-10-08 - Knitting Factory - New York, NY
- 2005-05-05 - Knitting Factory - New York, NY
- 2005-10-14 - The Empty Bottle - Chicago, IL
- 2005-10-17 - Lee's Palace - Toronto, Ontario
- 2007-03-31 - Fritz's Corner @ Debaser - Stockholm, Sweden
- 2007-05-05 - Local 506 - Chapel Hill, NC
- 2007-09-20 - The Black Cat - Washington, D.C.
- 2007-09-21 - Sonar - Baltimore, MD
- 2007-09-22 - North Star Bar - Philadelphia, PA
- 2007-09-25 - Lee's Palace - Toronto, Ontario
- 2007-09-27 - Rex Theatre - Pittsburgh, PA
- 2007-12-08 - Union Chapel - London, England
- 2009-06-14 - Zoop II - Farm Sanctuary - Watkins Glen, NY
- 2010-04-16 - Fowlers Live - Adelaide, Australia
- 2012-06-10 - Halfway Festival - Białystok, Poland
- 2013-01-20 - Rock for Roe at The Pinhook - Durham, NC
- 2016-05-12 - The Pinhook - Durham, NC
- 2017-10-15 - Pumpehuset - Copenhagen, Denmark
- 2020-10-29 - The Jordan Lake Sessions - Pittsboro, NC
- 2021-08-07 - Variety Playhouse - Atlanta, GA
- 2021-08-11 - The Mohawk - Austin, TX
- 2021-08-19 - Gothic Theatre - Englewood, CO
- 2021-08-20 - Larimer Lounge - Denver, CO
- 2021-08-24 - Space - Evanston, IL
Videos of this Song[]
- 2003-06-27 - Mains D'oeuvres, Mofo Festival - Paris, France
- 2003-07-02 - The Guinguette Pirate - Paris, France
- 2020-10-29 - The Jordan Lake Sessions - Pittsboro, NC
Sweden |
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Track list: "The Recognition Scene" • "Downtown Seoul" • "Some Swedish Trees" • "I Wonder Where Our Love Has Gone" • "Deianara Crush" • "Whole Wide World" • "Flashing Lights" • "Sept 19th Triple X Love! Love!" • "Going to Queens" • "Tahitian Ambrosia Maker" • "Going to Bolivia" • "Tollund Man" • "California Song" • "Snow Crush Killing Song" • "Send Me an Angel" • "Neon Orange Glimmer Song" • "FM" • "Prana Ferox" • "Cold Milk Bottle" |
The Jordan Lake Sessions: Volumes 1 and 2 |
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Track list: "The Plague" • "Aulon Raid" • "Cry for Judas" • "Amy AKA Spent Gladiator 1" • "Until I Am Whole" • "Younger" • "Heel Turn 2" • "Southwestern Territory" • "The Diaz Brothers" • "Genesis 30:3" • "1 Samuel 15:23" • "Heretic Pride" • "Estate Sale Sign • "Getting Into Knives" • "Lion's Teeth" • "This Year" • "No Children" • "Lovecraft in Brooklyn" • "Tollund Man" • "Cotton" • "Pigs That Ran Straightaway into the Water, Triumph Of" • "In League with Dragons" • "Southwood Plantation Road" • "Lakeside View Apartments Suite" • "Tallahassee" • "My Little Panda" • "Love Cuts the Strings" • "International Small Arms Traffic Blues" • "Stabbed to Death Outside San Juan" • "Damn These Vampires" • "Foreign Object" • "Golden Boy" • "See America Right" • "Up the Wolves" • "This Year" • "Spent Gladiator 2" |