His body is the Gelson's
Her soul, the fallen star
At midnight twice a week she comes, she leaves
And no one's hassled her so far
The courters have arrived in nail polish, in tailored slacks
Reformed past, all recognition
Resplendent in donor class panache
Is a scheme to enrich assholes
What the godhead had in mind
When he hid here such revelations
As only singers could describe?
Mahashmashana
All is silent
And in the next universal dawn
Won't have to do the corpse dance, do the corpse dance
Do the corpse dance with these on
The one about the country's boyfriend
That he never ever would live down
Must not have made it to the angels
Who passed the holy Roman noses 'round
His pale bullets found your bloodline
In a midnight blue cayenne
She is patient, the act of creation
May one day produce a happy man
Shaken like a pawl fly
Obscene as a lick
Love's the birthright of young people
And she ain't leaving without his
Mahashmashana
All is silent now
And in the next universal dawn
Won't have to do the corpse dance, do the corpse dance
Do the corpse dance with these on
He spoke into a hot mic
He sang like a bird
He hadn't had a single drink yet
There's no mistaking what you heard
A perfect lie can live forever
The truth don't fare as well
It isn't perched on lips mid-laughter
It ain't the kind of thing you tell
Like there's no baby in the king cake
Like there's no figure on the cross
They have gone the way of all flesh
And what was found is lost
Yes, it is
Yes, it is
Yes, it is
Yes, it is
Yes, it is
Yes, it is
Yes, it is
Yes, it is
Father John Misty - Mahashmashana Album Lyrics
Father John Misty - Mahashmashana Lyrics
Writer: Drew Erickson, Josh Tillman
Copyright: Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Copyright: Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
She Cleans Up
I had a vision that Mary of Magdalene
Saw the future that awaits just before good Friday eve
Figured the wages of salvation were a little too steep
Said no one's f*cking with my baby, lord, and got on to the teet
Cleaning up
Cleaning up
Clean up
She cleans up
What is the one about the female alien
Scarlett drives the Scottish countryside inside of a white van
Oh, I dreamt about it last night and it did my whole day in
Under something man I'm never gonna touch that shit again
Cleaning up
Cleaning up
She cleans up
Cleaning up
I know just how this thing ends
Hallelujah, woman, they got me confused with him
I know, I get just how this thing ends
Hallelujah, baby, I know who butters my bread
When was the accident? Well, I presume you mean
The condition of the silk kimono that didn't come cheap
No did you sit down in a crime scene
Just don't look between your knees
Man, it's certainly a look
Did she at least get the movie?
Cleaning up
Cleaning up
She cleans up
Cleaning up
Use your discretion so I don't have to use mine
I spent a hundred bucks on gas
Baby, let's just have a good time
How do you wait out for your son
Now the rabbit's got the gun?
She ain't joining you for dinner
Been on the menu too long
Cleaning up
Cleaning up
She cleans up
Cleaning up
I know just how this thing ends
Hallelujah, guess we gave the karmic wheel a spin, oh, yeah
I know just how this thing ends
The aggriever goes aggressor and we do it all again
Take it from a demon
You can't say I never said
Take it from a demon
That the devil don't protect it's friends
Take it from a demon
He'll never work in this town again
Take it from a demon
He'll make sure an angel goes down next
I know just how this thing ends
The misogynists daughter made him rethink what he said
I know just how this thing ends
She has trouble reconciling
Pops with the things that she read
I know just how this thing ends
Hundred billion babies born every millennium
Oh, no, I know just how this thing ends
Man, I hope nobody messes with the wrong rejected men, oh
I know just how this thing ends
Sure your politics are perfect with the gun aimed at your head
I know just how this thing ends
It's a good thing God gave us someone on whom we can depend to clean up
Saw the future that awaits just before good Friday eve
Figured the wages of salvation were a little too steep
Said no one's f*cking with my baby, lord, and got on to the teet
Cleaning up
Cleaning up
Clean up
She cleans up
What is the one about the female alien
Scarlett drives the Scottish countryside inside of a white van
Oh, I dreamt about it last night and it did my whole day in
Under something man I'm never gonna touch that shit again
Cleaning up
Cleaning up
She cleans up
Cleaning up
I know just how this thing ends
Hallelujah, woman, they got me confused with him
I know, I get just how this thing ends
Hallelujah, baby, I know who butters my bread
When was the accident? Well, I presume you mean
The condition of the silk kimono that didn't come cheap
No did you sit down in a crime scene
Just don't look between your knees
Man, it's certainly a look
Did she at least get the movie?
Cleaning up
Cleaning up
She cleans up
Cleaning up
Use your discretion so I don't have to use mine
I spent a hundred bucks on gas
Baby, let's just have a good time
How do you wait out for your son
Now the rabbit's got the gun?
She ain't joining you for dinner
Been on the menu too long
Cleaning up
Cleaning up
She cleans up
Cleaning up
I know just how this thing ends
Hallelujah, guess we gave the karmic wheel a spin, oh, yeah
I know just how this thing ends
The aggriever goes aggressor and we do it all again
Take it from a demon
You can't say I never said
Take it from a demon
That the devil don't protect it's friends
Take it from a demon
He'll never work in this town again
Take it from a demon
He'll make sure an angel goes down next
I know just how this thing ends
The misogynists daughter made him rethink what he said
I know just how this thing ends
She has trouble reconciling
Pops with the things that she read
I know just how this thing ends
Hundred billion babies born every millennium
Oh, no, I know just how this thing ends
Man, I hope nobody messes with the wrong rejected men, oh
I know just how this thing ends
Sure your politics are perfect with the gun aimed at your head
I know just how this thing ends
It's a good thing God gave us someone on whom we can depend to clean up
Writer: Tor Sol Magnus Sjoden, Per Gunnerfeldt, Oskar Bengt Emil Carls, Drew Erickson, Sebastian Declan Murphy, Linus Hillborg, Joshua Tillman, Elias Junqvist, Henrik Mats Hockert
Copyright: Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Copyright: Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Josh Tillman and the Accidental Dose
She put on Astral Weeks
Said "I love Jazz", and winked at me
This is the last place I oughta be
But I can't drive, and I sure can't sleep
Around this time, I publicly
Was treating acid with anxiety
I was unwell, and suddenly
Her clown portraits spoke to me
You're in no shape
You're in no shape
All the kings horses, all the kings men
You may never be whole again
A publicist and a celibate started talking politics
And by small degrees, she got 'em to admit
They're tacit fascists
Without knowing it
And oh this went
On and on
Performance art? Elaborate con?
Baby, who wears pearls at 4am
This Pynchon yuppie found
Meaning's end
In no shape
In no shape
All the kings horses, all the kings men
You may never be whole again
You may never be whole again
You may never be whole again
I saw something I shouldn't see
The awful truth, bare reality
That I'd forfeit my existence
If someone let me just play with them
Dawn long broke by the time
I realized I'd lost my mind
I ate an ice cream
Dazed in the street
But it'd never taste quite as sweet
Again
Said "I love Jazz", and winked at me
This is the last place I oughta be
But I can't drive, and I sure can't sleep
Around this time, I publicly
Was treating acid with anxiety
I was unwell, and suddenly
Her clown portraits spoke to me
You're in no shape
You're in no shape
All the kings horses, all the kings men
You may never be whole again
A publicist and a celibate started talking politics
And by small degrees, she got 'em to admit
They're tacit fascists
Without knowing it
And oh this went
On and on
Performance art? Elaborate con?
Baby, who wears pearls at 4am
This Pynchon yuppie found
Meaning's end
In no shape
In no shape
All the kings horses, all the kings men
You may never be whole again
You may never be whole again
You may never be whole again
I saw something I shouldn't see
The awful truth, bare reality
That I'd forfeit my existence
If someone let me just play with them
Dawn long broke by the time
I realized I'd lost my mind
I ate an ice cream
Dazed in the street
But it'd never taste quite as sweet
Again
Writer: Drew Erickson, Josh Tillman
Copyright: Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Copyright: Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Mental Health
In the panopticon
They never turn the cameras on
The guards and the narcs went home
"They do a fine enough job on their own"
Your true self
Oh, they'd love if you could find it
Makes you much less hard work to predict
One of these label's bound to fit
Oh, identity
Your milk white shadow
Just try something that you wouldn't do
And it's always one step ahead of you
Mental health
Mental health
No one knows you like yourself
You two should speak
In the presence of a licensee
This hallucination
The cathedral in the prison
Where the dreams of a citizen
Can only tell you what is wrong with them
Forgetting:
The engine of civilization
Coffee and a cigarette
Found no better means of revolt yet
Ah
Mental health
Mental health
Maybe we're all far too well
Mental health
Mental health
A less pathetic cry for help
Mental health
Mental health
There's no higher virtue held
In this crazy world
It's more than a little bit absurd
Oh, insanity
Babe it's indispensable
For the true endeavor of your soul
To find the edge and baby go go go
Oh magic child
Run baby run baby run baby run
The one regret that's really pretty tough
Is knowing I didn't go nearly far enough
Oh magic Child
This dream we're born inside
Feels awful real sometimes
But it's all in your mind
They never turn the cameras on
The guards and the narcs went home
"They do a fine enough job on their own"
Your true self
Oh, they'd love if you could find it
Makes you much less hard work to predict
One of these label's bound to fit
Oh, identity
Your milk white shadow
Just try something that you wouldn't do
And it's always one step ahead of you
Mental health
Mental health
No one knows you like yourself
You two should speak
In the presence of a licensee
This hallucination
The cathedral in the prison
Where the dreams of a citizen
Can only tell you what is wrong with them
Forgetting:
The engine of civilization
Coffee and a cigarette
Found no better means of revolt yet
Ah
Mental health
Mental health
Maybe we're all far too well
Mental health
Mental health
A less pathetic cry for help
Mental health
Mental health
There's no higher virtue held
In this crazy world
It's more than a little bit absurd
Oh, insanity
Babe it's indispensable
For the true endeavor of your soul
To find the edge and baby go go go
Oh magic child
Run baby run baby run baby run
The one regret that's really pretty tough
Is knowing I didn't go nearly far enough
Oh magic Child
This dream we're born inside
Feels awful real sometimes
But it's all in your mind
Writer: Drew Erickson, Josh Tillman
Copyright: Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Copyright: Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Screamland
The optimist
Swears hope dies last
And shoots the lamplight clean from the brakeman's hand
It's always the darkest right before the end
And you could say that no one here really believes
In the future, in perfection, that things aren't what they seem
Like a sucker with a scratcher, like a f*ck up with a dream
Stabbing at the ashtray like it might give up the truth
Like it might finally confess who else you're nearly faithful to
Stay young
Get numb
Keep dreaming
Screamland
Picked me up and drove by the light of the moon
Four hours to the desert from the drawing room
This year's wine tasted suspicious but just enough like love
God must be with the outcasts 'cause when I call, you come
And at this late hour
Won't have to beg mercy for defeat
Just drop your hands the way love taught you
Ash white and voodooed
Deathless as a weed
Since I lied to keep you, I'm starting to feel
Like how long can you love someone for the weakness they conceal
Stay young
Get numb
Keep dreaming
Screamland
Love must find a way, love must find a way
After every desperate measure, just a miracle will take
Love must find a way, our love must find a way
After every desperate measure, just a miracle will take
Roll the stone away, I want to go
Where everyone is perfect beneath their robes
Honey, take me down to the water's edge
Mama said that we could get my hip brace wet
Maybe we are living in a state of grace returned
Maybe faith like this has at least one practitioner
Rings up to the knuckles, sutures in the bath
Here lie the born losers, God won't take them back
Stay young
Get numb
Keep dreaming, oh
Screamland, oh
Keep dreaming, oh
Screamland
Screamland
Screamland, oh
Screamland, oh
Screamland, oh
Swears hope dies last
And shoots the lamplight clean from the brakeman's hand
It's always the darkest right before the end
And you could say that no one here really believes
In the future, in perfection, that things aren't what they seem
Like a sucker with a scratcher, like a f*ck up with a dream
Stabbing at the ashtray like it might give up the truth
Like it might finally confess who else you're nearly faithful to
Stay young
Get numb
Keep dreaming
Screamland
Picked me up and drove by the light of the moon
Four hours to the desert from the drawing room
This year's wine tasted suspicious but just enough like love
God must be with the outcasts 'cause when I call, you come
And at this late hour
Won't have to beg mercy for defeat
Just drop your hands the way love taught you
Ash white and voodooed
Deathless as a weed
Since I lied to keep you, I'm starting to feel
Like how long can you love someone for the weakness they conceal
Stay young
Get numb
Keep dreaming
Screamland
Love must find a way, love must find a way
After every desperate measure, just a miracle will take
Love must find a way, our love must find a way
After every desperate measure, just a miracle will take
Roll the stone away, I want to go
Where everyone is perfect beneath their robes
Honey, take me down to the water's edge
Mama said that we could get my hip brace wet
Maybe we are living in a state of grace returned
Maybe faith like this has at least one practitioner
Rings up to the knuckles, sutures in the bath
Here lie the born losers, God won't take them back
Stay young
Get numb
Keep dreaming, oh
Screamland, oh
Keep dreaming, oh
Screamland
Screamland
Screamland, oh
Screamland, oh
Screamland, oh
Writer: Josh Tillman
Copyright: Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Copyright: Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Being You
I'm nodding yes
I'm making my face like "I am listening"
"That's nice"
You've seen all his films
Even the late ones like Desire, Rancho, Last Rites
I grab the bill
My hand says "I insist"
Funds are moving, I am doing this
Just a spitting image of someone that I knew
Just a perfect parody I can barely do
And I wonder what it's like
I wonder what it's like to be you
Can you tell me how it feels?
Can you tell me how it feels being you?
After the jump I'm not even sure who's left
Maybe the stunt guy was my true self
Under the skin we're not much on the eyes
A real mess where a soul must reside
In my memory there's a show I call the past
I watch and decide just what I would do next
Just a spitting image of someone I forget
Such a perfect panoply
A lucky contestant
Come on down
And I wonder what it's like
I wonder what it's like to be you
Can you tell me how it feels?
I wanna know how it feels being you
Being you
Being you
Being you
I'm making my face like "I am listening"
"That's nice"
You've seen all his films
Even the late ones like Desire, Rancho, Last Rites
I grab the bill
My hand says "I insist"
Funds are moving, I am doing this
Just a spitting image of someone that I knew
Just a perfect parody I can barely do
And I wonder what it's like
I wonder what it's like to be you
Can you tell me how it feels?
Can you tell me how it feels being you?
After the jump I'm not even sure who's left
Maybe the stunt guy was my true self
Under the skin we're not much on the eyes
A real mess where a soul must reside
In my memory there's a show I call the past
I watch and decide just what I would do next
Just a spitting image of someone I forget
Such a perfect panoply
A lucky contestant
Come on down
And I wonder what it's like
I wonder what it's like to be you
Can you tell me how it feels?
I wanna know how it feels being you
Being you
Being you
Being you
Writer: David Vandervelde, Drew Erickson, Zach Tillman, Josh Tillman
Copyright: Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Copyright: Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
I Guess Time Just Makes Fools of Us All
Our naked bodies go on trial
Just for laughing at the joke
Just for saying of the bargain
What any salesgirl already knows
Most of us old men die in the firing line
Just waiting for our number to be called
I guess time just makes fools of us all
Now the king regales his stepsons
When he's loaded as a gun
Says, "A real man is like a country
You need a map to find your one"
Now why do you suppose you must approach the throne
With its back up against the wall?
I guess time just makes fools of us all
The greatish minds of my generation
Gladly conscripted in war
Of defending any goliath
That would deign darken the door
Now with your genius for picking battles
It's no wonder every helmet is too small
I guess time just makes fools of us all, mm
I guess time just makes fools of us all
My drink is watered down
My champion's on his knees
He lost the rematch, he lost the comeback
He lost for charity
But that's the job
It's what gets the asses in the hall
They came for a beating
And he came to brawl
Go and serve your client notice
That of all the young gods that I have known
Yours is easily the least famous
To turn down the cover of the Rolling Stone
Lily white faces so familiar
And yet impossible to recall
I guess time just makes fools of us all
After a millennia of good times
God said hey now, let's have a dream
Where we raise the stakes a little
Come on, let's make things interesting
Parachute into the Anthropocene
An amnesiac, a himbo Ken doll
I guess time does makes fools of us all
I killed a rattlesnake this morning
It was coiled up behind the truck
Put it in reverse and hit him clean
But something he said went in and stuck
"Hey I can sell you a million records
I mean your image could use an over hall
Don't you know time just makes fools of us all"
The headlights heading southbound
The loser's exodus
That's where you'll find me in Las Vegas
Doing my greatest hits
Me and Dixie we had ourselves a ball
I followed my dreams
And my dreams said to crawl
The groom is a liar
And the bride is a shill
The priest says, "If these two don't make it
Who among us ever will?"
Don't ask the love you dare for a prediction
Wherein the lovers of tomorrow are involved
I guess time just makes fools of us all
Oh, I guess time just makes fools of us all
Oh, I guess time just makes fools of us all
Just for laughing at the joke
Just for saying of the bargain
What any salesgirl already knows
Most of us old men die in the firing line
Just waiting for our number to be called
I guess time just makes fools of us all
Now the king regales his stepsons
When he's loaded as a gun
Says, "A real man is like a country
You need a map to find your one"
Now why do you suppose you must approach the throne
With its back up against the wall?
I guess time just makes fools of us all
The greatish minds of my generation
Gladly conscripted in war
Of defending any goliath
That would deign darken the door
Now with your genius for picking battles
It's no wonder every helmet is too small
I guess time just makes fools of us all, mm
I guess time just makes fools of us all
My drink is watered down
My champion's on his knees
He lost the rematch, he lost the comeback
He lost for charity
But that's the job
It's what gets the asses in the hall
They came for a beating
And he came to brawl
Go and serve your client notice
That of all the young gods that I have known
Yours is easily the least famous
To turn down the cover of the Rolling Stone
Lily white faces so familiar
And yet impossible to recall
I guess time just makes fools of us all
After a millennia of good times
God said hey now, let's have a dream
Where we raise the stakes a little
Come on, let's make things interesting
Parachute into the Anthropocene
An amnesiac, a himbo Ken doll
I guess time does makes fools of us all
I killed a rattlesnake this morning
It was coiled up behind the truck
Put it in reverse and hit him clean
But something he said went in and stuck
"Hey I can sell you a million records
I mean your image could use an over hall
Don't you know time just makes fools of us all"
The headlights heading southbound
The loser's exodus
That's where you'll find me in Las Vegas
Doing my greatest hits
Me and Dixie we had ourselves a ball
I followed my dreams
And my dreams said to crawl
The groom is a liar
And the bride is a shill
The priest says, "If these two don't make it
Who among us ever will?"
Don't ask the love you dare for a prediction
Wherein the lovers of tomorrow are involved
I guess time just makes fools of us all
Oh, I guess time just makes fools of us all
Oh, I guess time just makes fools of us all
Writer: Joshua Michael Tillman
Copyright: Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Copyright: Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Summer's Gone
What becomes of the longing
Once your love's been spent?
And the world becomes a stranger
But maybe not all that strange yet
What do you tell the mad man
Who wants to see you dead?
When against your will comes wisdom
And 40 more years left ahead
Wish it all away
The heat of the day
Until summer's gone
Until summer's gone
I drive around the city
The place I knew is gone
There's no fun to left to fear but
To Georgie it's still Babylon
The girls look good in riches
Finer still in rags
And the old shirts stretch across me
A lecherous old windbag
Wish for skies of gray
In the heat of the day
Until summer's gone
Until summer's gone
Until summer's gone
Until summer's gone
But you eat a peach
Or you skin your knee
And time can't touch me
Once your love's been spent?
And the world becomes a stranger
But maybe not all that strange yet
What do you tell the mad man
Who wants to see you dead?
When against your will comes wisdom
And 40 more years left ahead
Wish it all away
The heat of the day
Until summer's gone
Until summer's gone
I drive around the city
The place I knew is gone
There's no fun to left to fear but
To Georgie it's still Babylon
The girls look good in riches
Finer still in rags
And the old shirts stretch across me
A lecherous old windbag
Wish for skies of gray
In the heat of the day
Until summer's gone
Until summer's gone
Until summer's gone
Until summer's gone
But you eat a peach
Or you skin your knee
And time can't touch me
Writer: Drew Erickson, Josh Tillman
Copyright: Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Copyright: Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Mahashmashana is the sixth studio album by American musician Josh Tillman under the stage name Father John Misty, released through Sub Pop and Bella Union on November 22, 2024. The album was produced in Los Angeles by Tillman and Drew Erickson with frequent collaborator Jonathan Wilson acting as executive producer.
The album artwork was designed by artist Joe Roberts. Its title refers to the Sanskrit word Mahāśmaśāna (महाश्मशान), meaning "great cremation ground". The album was preceded by the singles, "I Guess Time Makes Fools of Us All", "She Cleans Up", "Screamland" and "Josh Tillman and the Accidental Dose".
He compared the theme of the album to its predecessor, Chloë and the Next 20th Century, claiming it was "an experiment in seeing what happens when I erase myself from my work" and Mahashmashana "is definitely work about erasing myself".
Members of the Swedish post-punk band Viagra Boys receive a co-writing credit on "She Cleans Up", with Tillman taking inspiration from their 2022 song, "Punk Rock Loser".
Mahashmashana has received critical acclaim from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 85, based on 19 reviews, which indicates "universal acclaim". Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave it 8.3 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus.
-Wikipedia
Performed By:
Father John MistyThe album artwork was designed by artist Joe Roberts. Its title refers to the Sanskrit word Mahāśmaśāna (महाश्मशान), meaning "great cremation ground". The album was preceded by the singles, "I Guess Time Makes Fools of Us All", "She Cleans Up", "Screamland" and "Josh Tillman and the Accidental Dose".
He compared the theme of the album to its predecessor, Chloë and the Next 20th Century, claiming it was "an experiment in seeing what happens when I erase myself from my work" and Mahashmashana "is definitely work about erasing myself".
Members of the Swedish post-punk band Viagra Boys receive a co-writing credit on "She Cleans Up", with Tillman taking inspiration from their 2022 song, "Punk Rock Loser".
Mahashmashana has received critical acclaim from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 85, based on 19 reviews, which indicates "universal acclaim". Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave it 8.3 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus.
-Wikipedia
Genre(s): Art pop, art rock, orchestral pop
Producer(s): Drew Erickson, Josh Tillman, Jonathan Wilson
Length: 50:21
Released: November 22nd, 2024
Year: 2024