The Past Is a Grotesque Animal Songtext
von of Montreal

The past is a grotesque animal
And in its eyes you see
How completely wrong you can be
How completely wrong you can be
The sun is out, it melts the snow that fell yesterday
Makes you wonder why it bothered

I fell in love with the first cute girl that I met
Who could appreciate George Bataille
Standing at a Swedish festival discussing "Story of the Eye"
Discussing "Story of the Eye"

It′s so embarrassing to need someone like I do you
How can I explain? I need you here and not here too
How can I explain? I need you here and not here too

I'm flunking out, I′m flunking out
I'm gone, I'm just gone
But at least I author my own disaster
At least I author my own disaster


Performance breakdown, and I don′t want to hear it
I′m just not available
Things could be different, but they're not
Oh-oh-oh
Things could be different, but they′re not

The mousy girl screams, "Violence! Violence!"
The mousy girl screams, "Violence! Violence!"
She gets hysterical (ooh, ooh, ooh)
'Cause they′re both so mean (ooh, ooh, ooh)
And it's my favorite scene (ooh, ooh, ooh)
(Ooh, ooh, ooh)

But the cruelty′s so predictable, (ooh, ooh, ooh)
(Ooh, ooh, ooh)
It makes you sad on the stage (ooh, ooh, ooh)
Though our love project has so much potential (ooh, ooh, ooh)
But it's like we weren't made for this world (ooh, ooh, ooh)
And though I wouldn′t really want to meet someone who was
(Ooh, ooh, ooh)
(Ooh, ooh, ooh)
(Ooh, ooh, ooh)

Do I have to scream in your face? (ooh, ooh, ooh)
I′ve been dodging lamps and vegetables (ooh, ooh, ooh)
Throw it all in my face, I don't care (Ooh, ooh, ooh)
(Ooh, ooh, ooh)


Let′s just have some fun, let's tear this shit apart
Let′s tear the fucking house apart (ooh, ooh, ooh)
Let's tear our fucking bodies apart (ooh, ooh, ooh)
(Ooh, ooh, ooh)
Let′s just have some fun (ooh, ooh, ooh)
(Ooh, ooh, ooh)
(Ooh, ooh, ooh)

Somehow you've red-rovered the gestapo circling my heart
And nothing can defeat you (ooh, ooh, ooh)
No death, no ugly world (oh, ooh, ooh)

You've lived so brightly (ooh, ooh, ooh)
You′ve altered everything (ooh, ooh, ooh)
I find myself searching for old selves
While speeding forward through the plate glass of maturing cells

(Ooh, ooh, ooh)
(Ooh, ooh, ooh)
(Ooh, ooh, ooh)
(Ooh, ooh, ooh)
(Ooh, ooh, ooh)

I′ve played the unraveler (ooh, ooh, ooh)
The parhelion (ooh, ooh, ooh)
But even apocalypse is fleeting (ooh, ooh, ooh)
There's no death, no ugly world (ooh, ooh, ooh)

Sometimes I wonder (ooh, ooh, ooh)
If you′re mythologizing me like I do you (ooh, ooh, ooh)
(Ooh, ooh, ooh, if you're mythologizing me like I do you)
(Ooh, ooh, ooh)

We want our film to be beautiful, not realistic (ooh, ooh, ooh)
Perceive me in the radiance of terror dreams (ooh, ooh, ooh)
You can betray me (ooh, ooh, ooh) (ooh, ooh, ooh)
You can (ooh, ooh, ooh)
You can, you can betray me (ooh, ooh, ooh)
(Ooh, ooh, ooh)

Teach me something wonderful (ooh, ooh, ooh)
Crown my head, crowd my head with your lilting effects
Project your fears on to me (ooh, ooh, ooh)
I need to view them (ooh, ooh, ooh)
See there′s nothing to them (ooh, ooh, ooh)
I promise you there's nothing to them (ooh, ooh, ooh)
(Ooh, ooh, ooh)

I′m so touched by your goodness (ooh, ooh, ooh)
You make me feel so criminal (ooh, ooh, ooh)
(Ooh, ooh, ooh)
How do you keep it together? (ooh, ooh, ooh)
I'm all, all unraveled (ooh, ooh, ooh)
(Ooh, ooh, ooh)
(Ooh, ooh, ooh)

But you know, no matter where we are (ooh, ooh, ooh)
We're always touching by underground wires (ooh, ooh, ooh)

(Ooh, ooh, ooh)
(Ooh, ooh, ooh)
(Ooh, ooh, ooh)
(Ooh, ooh, ooh)
(Ooh, ooh, ooh)
(Ooh, ooh, ooh)
(Ooh, ooh, ooh)
(Ooh, ooh, ooh)

I′ve explored you with the detachment of an analyst (ooh, ooh, ooh)
But most nights, we′ve raided the same kingdoms (ooh, ooh, ooh)
And none of our secrets are physical (ooh, ooh, ooh)
None of our secrets are physical (ooh, ooh, ooh)
None of our secrets are physical now (ooh, ooh, ooh)

(Ooh, ooh, ooh)
(Ooh, ooh, ooh)
(Ooh, ooh, ooh)
(Ooh, ooh, ooh)
(Ooh, ooh, ooh)
(Ooh, ooh, ooh)
(Ooh, ooh, ooh)
(Ooh, ooh, ooh)

(Ooh, ooh, ooh)
(Ooh, ooh, ooh)
(Ooh, ooh, ooh)
(Ooh, ooh, ooh)
(Ooh, ooh, ooh)
(Ooh, ooh, ooh)
(Ooh, ooh, ooh)
(Ooh, ooh, ooh)

(Ooh, ooh, ooh)
(Ooh, ooh, ooh)
(Ooh, ooh, ooh)
(Ooh, ooh, ooh)
(Ooh, ooh, ooh)
(Ooh, ooh, ooh)
(Ooh, ooh, ooh)
(Ooh, ooh, ooh)

(Ooh, ooh, ooh)
(Ooh, ooh, ooh)
(Ooh, ooh, ooh)