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Mike Doughty — Sunken-Eyed Girl
Album: Haughty Melodic
Avg rating:
6.4

Your rating:
Total ratings: 764









Released: 2006
Length: 3:17
Plays (last 30 days): 0
Sunken-eyed girl in the sandwich shop
Ladle my soup from the kettle pot, so
Swoony my self with the smolder looks
Parsing that gaze for the right intention

Sunken-eyed girl don't let me go
You're the whole world and you barely know so

You are the drinks I drink and keep drinking and
Fall down stumble
All of the things I think and keep thinking and
Lay down tremble

All
These tears are bound to fall

Sunken-eyed girl on the Ludlow Street
Junkieland once but they swept it up, so
Sing in my mind, singing you're so sweet
I need a bundle of dope just to numb it out and I'm

Feeling so good that it hurts my skin
Feeling so good I could do myself in

You are the drinks I drink and keep drinking and
Wake up tremble
All of the blinks I blink and keep blinking and
Fall down stumble

I'm
No prize for you
No trophy too
Keep walking through
And I'm
Not worth a dime
I'll drag you down
Don't waste your time

Sunken-eyed girl on Delancey Street
Bulletproof glass in the KFC to
Keep the man safe in his paper hat
Keep the wrong hands off the biscuit fortune
Comments (90)add comment
 cely wrote:
Loved this voice, song writnig and rhymthic singing since Soul Coughing.  No disappointment here. 
 TOTALLY AGREE!

Loved this voice, song writnig and rhymthic singing since Soul Coughing.  No disappointment here. 
Looking forward to seeing him here in St Louis this Sunday.
Men at Work here.
 twoplain2sea wrote:
Ask kids, Sir sandwich is born twice, and reinvented life and junk food.
He's meeting the sir dracula to ask if any human milk was in his.
                       Say, there is iron rationale in it.

 
Makes perfect sense to me {#Ask}
Ask kids, Sir sandwich is born twice, and reinvented life and junk food.
He's meeting the sir dracula to ask if any human milk was in his.
                       Say, there is iron rationale in it.
"Sunken-eyed girl on the Ludlow Street
Junkieland once but they swept it up"

— They sure did - a few years back - Spent plenty a great evening on and around Ludlow (& Delancey) since then 
SoulCoughing-Eyed Girl
 Dahlia_Gumbo wrote:
I thought he was saying "sucking that girl"
 
{#Lol} Me too. Lends a whole new meaning to the lyrics: "sucking that girl on Ludlow Street" conjures up a fun picture in my diseased mind :)
Awful
Excellent tune
I thought he was saying "sucking that girl"
 Roverfish wrote:

Exactamundo. I don't hear the misogyny. But some people in this world search for things to offend them. That's why I left New York.

Still a very likeable tune.
 
That affliction is certainly not unique to NY, and I doubt Tucson is immune to it.  I agree with you, though, there are people everywhere who are searching "for things to offend them".  There are probably even some folks who find The Ventures' lyrics misogynistic.


 rachlan wrote:
I remember when the lower east side was like that... ludlow, delancy, not any more though. They "swept it up"
 
In the mid-80s I had a studio on Suffolk, just around the corner from Delancy.  Plenty of sunken-eyed people around then for sure!
Had this track as a 5, don't know what I was thinking. Apparently this song grows on you like nobody's business. I really dig the lyrics and story.
 TimeWaster wrote:

This song is not good.


 
You are not correct. {#Nyah}

This is his best post Soul Coughing tune in my estimation.

Been there. And that makes this song speak to me.

This song is not good.


 Atombender wrote:
I-uha Like-uah this-uha but-uha dont-uha get-uha why-uha he-uha adds-uha uha-uha too-uha each-uha word-uha.
Uha! {#Tongue}
 
You made me laugh (must have taken a little while to type that just right. But I like that part of his voice - goes back to his days as vocalist for Soul Coughing.....

nice jam
I-uha Like-uah this-uha but-uha dont-uha get-uha why-uha he-uha adds-uha uha-uha too-uha each-uha word-uha.
Uha! {#Tongue}
This sunken-voiced song is quite a rockin' jam-uh
and I think it's well worth cranking it up loud-uh
and I'm-uh tap tap tappin' it out-uh
on the top top top of my desk-uh

Yeah for sure Sunken Eyed Girl is a bit weird-uh
but I like it! and I'm still way in love with RP!

I'm in love. Oh, if I wasn't in love with my boyfriend. Ti voglio bene Mike Doughty!
wierd Al Yankovic is wierd...this ain't too bad!!!
Mike Doughty is so weird! ...in a good way.
Sounds a bit like The Lemonheads
This is groovy, simple, perfect pop music with swell lyrics. More Doughty, please.
Saw him do this in a small club last week - most excellent !! he is a great entertainer.....
Boppin'
I remember when the lower east side was like that... ludlow, delancy, not any more though. They "swept it up"
LOVE m doughty. long live he, and his old soul coughing!
meydele wrote:
I am pretty quick to note misogyny in anything, but I don't hear it here. As someone said, it is definitely objectifying women, but from a standpoint of yearning, not disgust. I have no issues with his music as a woman or a feminist. I think this song is really about drug addiction, and how it makes it impossible to connect with anyone on any level that matters. The woman he's talking to is unreachable, mostly because he's in his own world of misery and dependence. Check the lyrics. Bob Dylan - now there's a misogynist.
Sorry Gurls, this is a gay song about a gay couple so there is no "gyny" there at all to worry about. Big sillies.
This song comes on and my first reaction is to turn it UP.
I am pretty quick to note misogyny in anything, but I don't hear it here. As someone said, it is definitely objectifying women, but from a standpoint of yearning, not disgust. I have no issues with his music as a woman or a feminist. I think this song is really about drug addiction, and how it makes it impossible to connect with anyone on any level that matters. The woman he's talking to is unreachable, mostly because he's in his own world of misery and dependence. Check the lyrics. Bob Dylan - now there's a misogynist.
2 points for "sunken-eyed girl", "Haughty melodic" and various other poetic handsprings. 4 for music = 6. minus one because it is irritating. 5
The misognyny comments are completely ridiculous. I have been listening to Doughty since early Soul Coughing days and never have I ever considered anything of the kind and really don't have much of an idea where you get that from. I saw Doughty in a small club a couple of years back, he is an excellent performer and if you get the chance to check him out, I highly recommend. Though, it can never top the SC show I went to in '97.
Daniel_Pittenger wrote:
No kidding. Everyone needs a muse...how many songs are NOT about love or relationships, blah, blah, blah. I've been single for years, and I'm bitter as someone three times my age.
That would make you about 358. Maybe you have a chance yet.
I love Mike Doughty, and I have a hard time seeing how this song is misogynistic. Maybe resentful, but not of women, the girl, like a lot of stuff from HM, represents a bad relationship he had with heroin and a relationship based on additcion and dependance. So, now that he's put that behind, he deserves to look back on it with some resent/regret. But I just don't see any misogyny.
celadonstone wrote:
I hear yearning, too, for unattainable women. What a recurring theme in music.
No kidding. Everyone needs a muse...how many songs are NOT about love or relationships, blah, blah, blah. I've been single for years, and I'm bitter as someone three times my age.
For the most part I was really disappointed with this album.
There are so many comments concerned about any tinges of misogyny in this tune. Makes we wonder where you all are when Hank Dogs "18 Dogs" is played here. Sexism goes two ways, you know.
helene wrote:
Now that's misogyny! I haven't studied Mike Doughty's lyrics on the page, but when I hear his songs (which I do quite a bit), I don't hear misogyny. I do hear objectification of women, but coming from yearning, not mistrust or hate. The point of view seems to be from far away -- maybe somebody who doesn't understand that women are just people like men are. We should also remember that just because a song is in the first person, it doesn't mean it's autobiographical. The writer does not necessarily endorse the views of his or her characters, any more than a novelist does.
I hear yearning, too, for unattainable women. What a recurring theme in music. If a-bear doesnt like the Doughty, its fine. But I do. Jay and Silent Bob are hilarious, I personally love 'irony humor'. PS-I learned Doughty made up the title of this album by anagramming "Michael Doughty". If you're curious about your anagrams, try this link: (click here)
anniebear wrote:
ya know, I really dislike this guy. I find his lyrics full of misogyny, and that puts him on my "shit list" :P I sure wont waste my time on him, to be certain
You strike me as the type of person who could find misogyny in Raffie lyrics.
bubble gum for right now. im spittin it out.
ooh its so indie. lame.
johnny_h wrote:
misogyny?.. To quote Jay <& Silent Bob>, "What the f_ck are you bitches babbling about?"
Now that's misogyny! I haven't studied Mike Doughty's lyrics on the page, but when I hear his songs (which I do quite a bit), I don't hear misogyny. I do hear objectification of women, but coming from yearning, not mistrust or hate. The point of view seems to be from far away -- maybe somebody who doesn't understand that women are just people like men are. We should also remember that just because a song is in the first person, it doesn't mean it's autobiographical. The writer does not necessarily endorse the views of his or her characters, any more than a novelist does.
Crap.
Cool pedal steel playing on this. Wonder who did it?
There is a song with a male female duet that is exactly the same as the chorus on this but I don't know who it's by and it will bother me until it's resolved.
misogyny?.. To quote Jay <& Silent Bob>, "What the f_ck are you bitches babbling about?" Here's a link to the lyrics https://www.mikedoughty.com/music/lyrics/70 You have to have a really skewed thought process to get misogyny out of that. Maybe you're looking too hard. Chill the hell out, enjoy the music!
Is it just me or is it self-depricating misogyny...he kinda uses it to make fun of himself. The one thing I get from his songs about girls is an intense love of the subject...regardless of the words.
anniebear wrote:
ya know, I really dislike this guy. I find his lyrics full of misogyny, and that puts him on my "shit list" :P I sure wont waste my time on him, to be certain
huh?
Say what you want... all I know is this song's got my toes-a-tappin'
Austin2Florida wrote:
As a woman, I don't find this offensive. Sounds like a depressed guy who knows that he's no good for anyone at the present time. I kind of like this song.
Exactamundo. I don't hear the misogyny. But some people in this world search for things to offend them. That's why I left New York. Still a very likeable tune.
anniebear wrote:
ya know, I really dislike this guy. I find his lyrics full of misogyny, and that puts him on my "shit list" :P I sure wont waste my time on him, to be certain
Truly sorry to see that your world sucks so bad that a song like this can get under your skin. You poor victim. It must be tough when everything in the world is about you.
rah wrote:
i got your back -- it's not necessarily the literal meaning of the lyrics, but the attitude they convey... this guy seems to have a frat-boy-esque disregard or lack of respect for women. just our collective four-cents, perhaps...
I totally don't see the misogyny of which you or anniebear speak of.. or the frat-boy-esque attitude.. anniebear's comment was in purple and on other forums I'm on that means the comment was intended to be sarcastic.. so maybe that's what it was?
hippiechick wrote:
This guy's music makes me feel like I'm too old to get him. If he lived in Chicago, he'd live in Wrigleyville
hee hee
Roverfish wrote:
Unless his misogyny is in inflicting himself on this woman he adores, I don't see it. I'm not the world's biggest Mike Doughty fan, but you're looking for icebergs in the desert. Likeable tune anyway.
As a woman, I don't find this offensive. Sounds like a depressed guy who knows that he's no good for anyone at the present time. I kind of like this song.
rah wrote:
i got your back -- it's not necessarily the literal meaning of the lyrics, but the attitude they convey... this guy seems to have a frat-boy-esque disregard or lack of respect for women. just our collective four-cents, perhaps...
i had to look up what mysogyny meant, learn something new everyday. ugly word, ugly meaning, ugly post. if you actually listened to the song you'd him warn the girl who he thinks is 'the whole world': "I'm No prize for you No trophy too Keep walking through And I'm Not worth a dime I'll drag you down Don't waste your time"
This guy's music makes me feel like I'm too old to get him. If he lived in Chicago, he'd live in Wrigleyville
I lika thisa songa. Maybeam i should buyam this onam.
rah wrote:
i got your back -- it's not necessarily the literal meaning of the lyrics, but the attitude they convey... this guy seems to have a frat-boy-esque disregard or lack of respect for women. just our collective four-cents, perhaps...
Frat-dood-esque? Perhaps. If you look at the lyrics to this toon he is actually warning the girl about himself. Gotta at least give him credit for that. Fun song. Not going to analyze it any more.
Guys and gals, you really need to hear his work from the Soul Coughing days to fully appreciate his solo stuff. Woman hater? I seriously doubt it. And what 'attitude' are you referring to?
anniebear wrote:
ya know, I really dislike this guy. I find his lyrics full of misogyny, and that puts him on my "shit list" :P I sure wont waste my time on him, to be certain
i got your back -- it's not necessarily the literal meaning of the lyrics, but the attitude they convey... this guy seems to have a frat-boy-esque disregard or lack of respect for women. just our collective four-cents, perhaps...
I love this guy!
I used to live on Delancey street, it was very Ghetto then in the early nineties. I lived right by the Williamsburg bridge and the traffic rattled my bones when I slept at night. There are some fancy restaurants down there now apparently, though I haven't been back in years and years. Still, the Doughty song captures the flavor of the neighborhood somehow, its very essence.
always nice to hear mr.doughty! although i love soul coughing work much more.
anniebear wrote:
ya know, I really dislike this guy. I find his lyrics full of misogyny, and that puts him on my "shit list" :P I sure wont waste my time on him, to be certain
Can you give an example of misogynistic lyrics? There's none that I can see in this song.
Did you mean this song... probably not as it would seem the opposite of misogyny. Other older songs are real hard to understand lyrically and for all I know they are misogynistic but I doubt it. anniebear wrote:
ya know, I really dislike this guy. I find his lyrics full of misogyny, and that puts him on my "shit list" :P I sure wont waste my time on him, to be certain
Pop yuck. If we need something with similarly themed lyrics, how 'bout "I used to love her/ But I had to kill her"? Violent Femmes, maybe?
This is pretty damn cool. Reminds me a bit of Sebadoh, but... happier/poppier?
I liked Soul Coughing, but I really dig this. It's considerably more complex and a little more 'personal.'
Huge fan of Soul Coughing, so glad that Mike Doughty has solo release. While not as funky and original as S.C.- it's still a deserving album... keep playing it! Especially like the Busting Up A Starbucks song.
I was totally unfamiliar with Mike Doughty and Soul Coughing, and bought this CD on the strength of this song and the other two played on RP. Quite good from beginning to end. I particularly enjoy "His Truth is Marching On", even though I'm not religious.
anniebear wrote:
ya know, I really dislike this guy. I find his lyrics full of misogyny, and that puts him on my "shit list" :P I sure wont waste my time on him, to be certain
sunkeneyed girl in the sandwich shop ladle my soup from the kettle pot so swooning my self with the smolder looks parsing that gaze for the right intentions sunkeneyed girl don't let me go you're the world and you barely know so ... i'm no prize for you no trophy too keep walking through and i'm not worth a dime i'll drag you down don't waste your time
Unless his misogyny is in inflicting himself on this woman he adores, I don't see it. I'm not the world's biggest Mike Doughty fan, but you're looking for icebergs in the desert. Likeable tune anyway.
ya know, I really dislike this guy. I find his lyrics full of misogyny, and that puts him on my "shit list" :P I sure wont waste my time on him, to be certain
That middle section with the pedal steel guitar was pretty sweet.
Doughty is at his peek. Loved Soul Coughing...but appreciate his current solo stuff even more. Thrive.....
anyone who writes a song called "Busting Up a Starbucks" would get a thumbs-up from me, even if I didn't like this song...but it rocks, so he gets two thumbs-up
Yeah, I like the version from Smofe + Smang more, too. The "fake bridge" section on that recording is always hilarious - the "38 Special song from the 80's". I also got hooked on Soul Coughing thanks for "Unmarked Helicopters" and I still think that's one of their best songs. But I've got every Soul Coughing and every Doughty CD, too. I do hope he someday gets the Nobel Prize for Rock, as he says he's aspiring to.
wow, i have yet to hear something i don't like from this guy
certainly brings back times of listening to the xfiles soundtrack with Soul Coughing's black helicopters track. Love this guy.
I like this, but it's coming in too close to the Soul Coughing track...
Mike Doughty is awesome--I recommend checking him out--particulary in his role as frontman for Soul Coughing Dragonfly_Launch wrote:
Don't know this guy. But bouncy and slightly dark at the same time. I'm willing to hear more.
Wow! If the rest of the album has this energy, I'm sold!
Don't know this guy. But bouncy and slightly dark at the same time. I'm willing to hear more.
looking forward to hearing the entire cd.... Love the Doughty!
Amazing! i mean, i like the slower version of this better, from Smofe and Smang, but to be honest, any Mike Doughty is good Mike Doughty.