Grubstake
Hail Mary Mallon Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

Encore Pop-junk outside Grubstake.
Grubstake?
Grubstake.
Nutcase!
Fuckface!

Smacked him in the glasses til the Polk Street bus came
Bus came,
Bus came,
Dumb late.
Sup, Aes?

5th row, 2 o'clock, tattoos, pigtails
Pigtails?
Pigtails.
Thick tail?
Shit's real.

I think I seen her hookin' at the Burger King, Lyndale!
Lyndale?
Lyndale.
Big deal.
Big chill.

Played out x6
Huh?
What?

Shit! Jumped off outside of the roxy
Roxy?
Roxy.
Boxing?
Rocky.

Hail Mary Mallon got too much posse
Posse?
Posse.
Cocking?
Squad deep.

Left the after hours smelling Old Gold musty
Musty?
Musty.
Drunk, B?
Ugly.

Kicking at the girls while he earls in the front seat
Front seat?
Front seat.
Lunch meat?
Disgusting.

Played out x6
Huh? What?

Miss Mary Mallon, Mallon in the kitchen
Kitchen
Kitchen

Cyborg city showing typhoid symptoms
Sickness.
Bitches.

Played out x6
Huh?
What?

Coolin' on the sidewalk, outside crepe truck
Crepe truck?
Crepe truck
Baked up?
Straight up.

Traded the jalopy for a nickel bag of fake bud
Wait, what?
Fake bud!
Wait fuck!
Wake up!

9:30, back home, no chick, sober
Sober?
Sober.
No shirt?
Stouffer's.

Came in like a lion but you went out like a gopher
Closure,
So hurt!
Over?
No, sir.





Played out x6
Huh? What?

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Hail Mary Mallon's song Grubstake paint a picture of a wild night filled with encounters with unsavory characters while wandering the streets of a city. The song starts with the repetition of "Grubstake," which is a term for a small amount of money given to someone to help them get started. This may hint at the theme of being down on luck and needing help.


The lyrics continue with the singer and their friends encountering a "nutcase" and a "fuckface" outside of the restaurant Encore Pop-junk. They then proceed to smack one of these individuals in the glasses until the Polk Street bus comes. The song jumps back and forth between the different encounters, with mentions of a woman with pigtails and tattoos, potential prostitution, and the after-hours scene. The chorus repeats the phrase "played out," suggesting that the night is becoming repetitive or dull.


Line by Line Meaning

Encore Pop-junk outside Grubstake.
A group of performers are playing music outside a place called Grubstake.


Grubstake?
Someone asks what Grubstake is.


Grubstake.
Grubstake is confirmed to be a place.


Nutcase!
Someone calls someone else a name.


Fuckface!
Someone responds to being called a name with another name-calling.


Smacked him in the glasses til the Polk Street bus came
Someone hit someone else in the face while they were wearing glasses until a bus arrived.


Bus came,
The bus has arrived.


Bus came,
The bus has arrived.


Dumb late.
The bus is late.


Sup, Aes?
Someone greets someone else named Aes.


5th row, 2 o'clock, tattoos, pigtails
A description is given of a person: located in the 5th row at 2 o'clock, with tattoos and pigtails.


Pigtails?
Someone questions the mention of pigtails.


Pigtails.
It is confirmed that the person described has pigtails for hair.


Thick tail?
Someone misheard the description of the person’s hair, asking if they have a ‘thick tail’.


Shit's real.
The person with pigtails is confirmed to be real.


I think I seen her hookin' at the Burger King, Lyndale!
Someone claims to have seen the person described before, implying they were selling sex at a fast food place called Burger King at Lyndale.


Lyndale?
Someone questions where Lyndale is.


Lyndale.
Lyndale is confirmed to be a place.


Big deal.
The fact that someone saw the person with pigtails before is not a big deal.


Big chill.
Someone responds in a chilled and laid back manner.


Played out x6
A phrase is being repeated six times.


Huh?
Someone questions what is happening.


What?
Someone further questions what is happening.


Shit! Jumped off outside of the roxy
Someone says ‘Shit!’ and shares that they jumped off somewhere outside a place called the Roxy.


Roxy?
Someone questions what the Roxy is.


Roxy.
The Roxy is confirmed to be a place.


Boxing?
Someone misheard “the Roxy,” asking if it has to do with boxing.


Rocky.
Someone corrects the person who misheard, clarifying that the place being referred to is Rocky which is often related with movies about boxing.


Hail Mary Mallon got too much posse
Hail Mary Mallon has a large group of people with them.


Posse?
Someone questions what is meant by ‘posse’.


Posse.
‘Posse’ is confirmed to mean a group of people.


Cocking?
Someone misheard the song lyrics ‘got too much posse,’ questioning if they said ‘cocking’ instead.


Squad deep.
The meaning of ‘posse’ is further clarified when someone uses the term ‘squad deep.’


Left the after hours smelling Old Gold musty
Someone left an after-hours place smelling like Old Gold brand cigarettes and must.


Musty?
Someone questions the use of ‘musty’ to describe the smell.


Musty.
‘Musty’ is confirmed to be the right word to describe the smell.


Drunk, B?
Someone asks if the person who left the after hours place smelling like cigarettes and must is drunk.


Ugly.
The smell of cigarettes and must is described as ‘ugly.’


Kicking at the girls while he earls in the front seat
Someone is kicking girls while he gets sick in the front seat of a car.


Front seat?
Someone questions where the person was getting sick.


Front seat.
The person was getting sick in the front seat of a car.


Lunch meat?
Someone misheard the previous line, asking if the girl was being kicked was ‘lunch meat.’


Disgusting.
The person kicking the girl is described as ‘disgusting.’


Miss Mary Mallon, Mallon in the kitchen
Miss Mary Mallon is in the kitchen.


Kitchen.
Miss Mary Mallon is in the kitchen.


Cyborg city showing typhoid symptoms
A place where people seem mechanical or robotic is showing symptoms of Typhoid.


Sickness.
Typhoid is described as a sickness.


Bitches.
A derogatory term for women is used.


Coolin' on the sidewalk, outside crepe truck
Someone is hanging out on the sidewalk, near a crepe truck.


Crepe truck?
Someone questions if there is a crepe truck nearby.


Crepe truck
There is a crepe truck nearby.


Baked up?
Someone questions if the person who is outside the crepe truck is high.


Straight up.
The person who is outside the crepe truck is not high.


Traded the jalopy for a nickel bag of fake bud
Someone traded their old car in exchange for a small bag of fake marijuana.


Wait, what?
Someone is confused about this trade.


Fake bud!
It is confirmed that the person traded their car for fake marijuana.


Wait fuck!
The person who made the trade is now feeling regret.


Wake up!
Someone is telling the regretful person to ‘wake up’ and realize what they have done.


9:30, back home, no chick, sober
Someone is home at 9:30, without a girlfriend or being under the influence of drugs/alcohol.


Sober?
Someone questions whether the person is sober.


Sober.
The person is not under the influence of anything.


No shirt?
Someone questions if the person is not wearing a shirt.


Stouffer's.
The person confirms that they are not wearing a shirt, but are instead wearing a Stouffer’s brand food item.


Came in like a lion but you went out like a gopher
Someone started out strong but ended up weak.


Closure,
The idea that someone started out strong is finished.


So hurt!
This failure hurt someone.


Over?
Someone questions whether this situation is over or not.


No, sir.
The situation is not over, and someone responds in a respectful manner.


Played out x6
A phrase is being repeated six times.


Huh?
Someone questions what is happening.


What?
Someone further questions what is happening.




Contributed by Sophie K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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Comments from YouTube:

@Jackonian

The chemistry between Aesop and Rob really shines here, especially where they bat it back and forth with each line. It's fucking ace.

@Jackonian

Also the lyrics and music video make it feel like they went out to a diner and just started improvising while they ate, for shits and giggles, it's fun to watch like that :v

@mitchellmobley7700

Drone Bird you took the words right out of my mouth. especially the teamwork and feeling like they're messing around

@StormXTS

"It's fucking ace"... more like "It's fucking aes"... har har har

@mjjjhaney1

I got the chance to see them live in Chapel Hill, a few years ago. I didn't even really dig Rob Sonic, until that eve. They blew the roof off of the building. The back and forth was exactly like the album. It was amazing. Rob had enough energy to melt Montana. I have been a huge fan, ever since. Aes is a living legend, too; no question.

@mjjjhaney1

Doing it live: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuJ36O1KWVc

@OswaldBatesIIIEsq

Nine years later and I still love this song.

@jjhoopz6953

September 2021 still rockin!

@na-dm6jb

3/7/22 still banging 😋

@joshuameaders8053

Aesop rock and my all-time favorite artist. People ask, and are like "who?" and I show them and they are like "what?"

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