Three Sheets to Kishkiyya · Track 116 · middle
Menudo
VOLUME V — the CURES, crawling back to life. The idiom and the song's title hook: "Menudo". Its true history: Mexico — the spicy tripe-and-hominy soup, culturally trusted to cure a hangover; a deep, enduring restorative. Render this beat of the night as the band's affectionate, funny, celebratory tribute — the idiom itself is the chorus hook.
Lyrics
[Intro] [Verse 1] The morning hits like a falling stone A hollow ache in the waking bone But out in the kitchen, the fire is low A heavy iron pot in the early glow The cow gave its belly to save your own A quiet magic the ancestors know [Chorus] Menudo, red as the rising sun Menudo, the damage is coming undone With the chili and the lime and the honeycomb tripe We sit at the table and wait for the light Let the hominy swell in the heavy broth And burn out the shadow, and sweat out the frost [Verse 2] It takes a long night to shatter the frame It takes a slow simmer to quiet the pain Down in Mexico they know how to mend A fractured vessel, a shivering hand We take in the heat like a suit of mail A spoon in the bowl when the body goes pale [Chorus] Menudo, red as the rising sun Menudo, the damage is coming undone With the chili and the lime and the honeycomb tripe We sit at the table and wait for the light Let the hominy swell in the heavy broth And burn out the shadow, and sweat out the frost [Bridge] Patience is the armor we pour from the pot Spicy and thick and punishingly hot The oregano scattered like dust on a crown We swallow the fire to anchor us down [Outro] The bowl is empty, the color returns We wear the survival, we bless how it burns Just a little more time in the quiet room Let the heavy earth hold you