Three Sheets to Kishkiyya · Track 121 · middle

Pickled Sheep's Eyes

VOLUME V — the CURES, crawling back to life. The idiom and the song's title hook: "Pickled Sheep's Eyes". Its true history: Mongolia (Genghis-era onward) — pickled sheep's eyes, sometimes chased with tomato juice (the 'Mongolian Mary'); a deadpan dare. Render this beat of the night as the band's affectionate, funny, celebratory tribute — the idiom itself is the chorus hook.

Lyrics

[Intro]
The curtains are drawn but the damage is done
You’re hiding your pulse from a very loud sun

[Verse 1]
I went to the kitchen to stare at the tile
And dig up a remedy out of the file
You’re shivering, fragile, a beautiful ruin
But I have the magic that I have been brewing
I found a jar in the back of the fridge
To help you walk over this terrible bridge

[Chorus]
Here are your pickled sheep's eyes
Sinking in tomato juice, a little surprise
The Mongolian Mary, a steppe-rider's dare
You have to drink fast so you don't see it stare
It’s a brutal conclusion to a beautiful night
Swallow the iris and step to the side

[Verse 2]
Let’s do a little history, shall we?
Back in 1206 when the empire began
They needed a fix for the court of the Khan
You conquer a continent, drink all the mare’s milk
And wake up regretting it under the quilt
The logic is flawless, the optics are grim
You swallow the watcher before it can swim

[Chorus]
So here are your pickled sheep's eyes
Sinking in tomato juice, a little surprise
The Mongolian Mary, a steppe-rider's dare
You have to drink fast so you don't see it stare
It’s a brutal conclusion to a beautiful night
Swallow the iris and step to the side

[Bridge]
They say an eye for an eye leaves the whole planet blind
But a sheep’s eye for liquor brings peace to the mind
It’s watching you now from the base of the glass
A milky white pupil, a ticket to pass

[Outro]
Don't chew.
Pickled sheep's eyes.
The Khan would be proud of the state of your head.
Pickled sheep's eyes.
Bottoms up. Try not to drop dead.

See? Good as new.