The Mountain Goats — Spent Gladiator 2 Jordan Lake Sessions Volume 2

[Intro] On the saxophone, Matt Douglas On the bass, Peter Hughes On the drums, Jon Wurster And I'm Edward de Vere, often credited with authorship of Shakespeare's plays but that's false [Verse 1] Like a spent gladiator Crawling in the Colosseum dust Who can count on his remaining limbs All the people he can trust Like the one who stands behind him Cheering him on Ecstatic when he stands defiant Wild with abandon when he's gone [Chorus] Just stay alive Keep your eye on the pay line [Verse 2] Likе a village on the steppе About to get collectivized When the men emerge with rifles from the haystacks Everybody looks surprised Like the mice in the forgotten grain Way up on the top shelf Like someone who's found a small town to escape to Keeps one eye on his abandoned, former self [Chorus] Just stay alive Just stay alive Like a fighter who's been told it's finally time for him to quit Show up in radiant colors And then stand there and get hit [Verse 3] Like the clock that ticks in Dresden When the whole town's been destroyed Like that nagging flash of insight You will go down to your grave genuinely desperate to avoid Like the bloody-knuckled gunman Permanently stationed at the breach Like that old board game with the sliders And the precious little children on the beach [Chorus] Stay alive Learn how to spit some blood at the camera Just stay alive, stay alive Stay alive, stay alive Stay alive, stay forever alive, oh [Outro] Thank you, good night