Three Sheets to Kishkiyya · Track 52 · middle

Pray to the Porcelain God

VOLUME III — being SICK, the small-hours reckoning at the porcelain. The idiom and the song's title hook: "Pray to the Porcelain God". Its true history: US, mid-20th c. — kneeling before the white toilet as if praying to a deity; the reverend's mock-sacrament. Render this beat of the night as the band's affectionate, funny, celebratory tribute — the idiom itself is the chorus hook.

Lyrics

[Intro]
Let us gather in the smallest room.
The vespers ring at 3 AM tonight.

[Verse 1]
The midnight matins in the quiet wing.
You navigate the hallway in the dark.
Your heavy knees drop down upon the rug,
A sudden penitence inside your heart.
The icy basin waiting in the gloom,
The holiest appliance in the room.

[Chorus]
And now you pray to the porcelain god.
The oldest ritual of the over-served.
You fold your trembling hands upon the edge,
Accepting every penance you deserve.
Bow down before the water, clear and broad,
And pray to the porcelain god.

[Verse 2]
In 1960s dormitories, coast to coast,
The students found a novel way to grieve.
A gleaming white cathedral in the stall,
Where every broken sinner finds reprieve.
The great American enamel throne,
Where human frailty is fully known.

[Chorus]
And now you pray to the porcelain god.
The oldest ritual of the over-served.
You fold your trembling hands upon the edge,
Accepting every penance you deserve.
Bow down before the water, clear and broad,
And pray to the porcelain god.

[Bridge]
The congregation of a single guest,
Staring down into the blinding void.
The handle acts as our redeeming bell,
To wash away the logic we destroyed.
The rush of water taking down the gin,
Until next weekend when we start again.

[Outro]
Rise up, my child. The benediction falls.
The echoes dying in the plaster walls.
The service ends. The faithful softly nod.
Go in peace from the porcelain god.
Just leave the fan running... the acoustics here are far too resonant.