Linctus House Releases Gigs Lyrics Comments

Details

Author
Robyn Hitchcock
According to our records, Robyn has played this song 77 times, most recently at Unknown Hotel on January 22, 2025. He first performed it at TT the Bear's on September 24, 1989, 35 years and 3 months earlier.
Title Artist Label Type Year
Eye Robyn Hitchcock Twin/Tone; Glass Fish Records Album 1990
Uncorrected Personality Traits Robyn Hitchcock Rhino Records Album 1997
I Wanna Go Backwards Robyn Hitchcock Yep Roc Records Album 2007
Selections From the I Wanna Go Backwards Box Set Robyn Hitchcock Yep Roc Records Promo 2007
Patreon 2022 Robyn Hitchcock Internet 2022
Venue Billed As City State Country Date
TT the Bear's Robyn Hitchcock Cambridge Massachusetts US 09/24/1989
Backstage Robyn Hitchcock Seattle Washington US 07/10/1990
University Centre Auditorium Robyn Hitchcock Victoria British Columbia Canada 07/12/1990
Tramps Robyn Hitchcock New York New York US 10/04/1990
The Nightstage Robyn Hitchcock Cambridge Massachusetts US 10/08/1990
Iron Horse Robyn Hitchcock Northampton Massachusetts US 10/11/1990
Blind Pig Robyn Hitchcock Ann Arbor Michigan US 10/18/1990
Maxwell's Robyn Hitchcock Hoboken New Jersey US 10/27/1990
Smith's Olde Bar Robyn Hitchcock Atlanta Georgia US 04/08/2002
Bottom Line Robyn Hitchcock New York New York US 04/12/2002
Bottom Line Robyn Hitchcock New York New York US 04/12/2002
Park West Robyn Hitchcock Chicago Illinois US 04/16/2002
Crocodile Café Robyn Hitchcock Seattle Washington US 04/21/2002
Great American Music Hall Robyn Hitchcock San Francisco California US 04/23/2002
Largo Robyn Hitchcock Los Angeles California US 04/27/2002
Maxwell's Robyn Hitchcock Hoboken New Jersey US 01/09/2004
Let It Be Records Robyn Hitchcock Minneapolis Minnesota US 11/04/2004
Beachland Ballroom Robyn Hitchcock Cleveland Ohio US 11/08/2004
Southpaw Robyn Hitchcock New York New York US 11/13/2004
Slim's Robyn Hitchcock San Francisco California US 11/17/2011
The Bell House Robyn Hitchcock New York New York US 11/19/2011
St. Leonard's Church Robyn Hitchcock London England UK 11/26/2011
McCabe's Robyn Hitchcock Santa Monica California US 01/21/2012
Ozen Bar Robyn Hitchcock Tel Aviv-Jaffa Israel 03/22/2012
Old Town School of Folk Music Robyn Hitchcock Chicago Illinois US 10/13/2012
Great American Music Hall Robyn Hitchcock San Francisco California US 03/19/2015
Teatro del Arte Robyn Hitchcock Madrid Spain 04/28/2015
Loco Club Robyn Hitchcock Valencia Spain 04/29/2015
Band on the Wall Robyn Hitchcock Manchester England UK 06/02/2015
Union Chapel Robyn Hitchcock London England UK 06/05/2015
Bird's Hill Provincial Park Robyn Hitchcock & Emma Swift Oakbank Manitoba Canada 07/11/2015
Mountain Winery Robyn Hitchcock Saratoga California US 09/04/2015
The Drake Hotel Robyn Hitchcock Toronto Ontario Canada 09/11/2015
The Southgate House Revival-Sanctuary Robyn Hitchcock Newport Kentucky US 09/23/2015
Golden Gate Park Robyn Hitchcock San Francisco California US 10/03/2015
City Winery Robyn Hitchcock New York New York US 11/20/2015
Sellersville Theater Robyn Hitchcock Sellersville Pennsylvania US 01/28/2016
The Landmark on Main Street Robyn Hitchcock Port Washington New York US 01/29/2016
South Orange Performing Arts Center Robyn Hitchcock South Orange New Jersey US 01/30/2016
The Alma Cafe Robyn Hitchcock Cape Town South Africa 02/12/2016
The Biltmore Theater Robyn Hitchcock Vancouver British Columbia Canada 03/10/2016
Arden Gild Hall Robyn Hitchcock Arden Delaware US 03/18/2016
Iron Horse Robyn Hitchcock Northampton Massachusetts US 03/22/2016
The Dock Robyn Hitchcock Ithaca New York US 03/24/2016
Cafe Nine Robyn Hitchcock New Haven Connecticut US 03/25/2016
Daryl's House Robyn Hitchcock Pawling New York US 03/26/2016
Open Arts Stage Robyn Hitchcock Bordentown New Jersey US 03/28/2016
The Grand Victory Robyn Hitchcock New York New York US 04/02/2016
The Barns at Wolf Trap Robyn Hitchcock Vienna Virginia US 04/06/2016
Cat's Cradle Robyn Hitchcock & Eugene Mirman Carrboro North Carolina US 04/21/2016
Largo at the Coronet Robyn Hitchcock Los Angeles California US 06/05/2016
3TEN Austin City Limits Live Robyn Hitchcock Austin Texas US 11/11/2016
City Winery Robyn Hitchcock Chicago Illinois US 11/17/2016
City Winery Robyn Hitchcock New York New York US 11/19/2016
Baby's All Right Robyn Hitchcock New York New York US 09/03/2017
Grace Emily Hotel Robyn Hitchcock Adelaide South Australia Australia 12/06/2017
Monty Hall Robyn Hitchcock Jersey City New Jersey US 02/16/2018
Randy Now's Man Cave Robyn Hitchcock Bordentown New Jersey US 04/04/2018
City Winery Robyn Hitchcock Atlanta Georgia US 11/07/2018
Hanoi Social Club Robyn Hitchcock & Emma Swift Hanoi Vietnam 12/01/2018
The Kate Robyn Hitchcock Old Saybrook Connecticut US 04/13/2019
Monarch Tavern Robyn Hitchcock Toronto Ontario Canada 06/24/2019
Eddie's Attic Robyn Hitchcock Decatur Georgia US 11/13/2019
The ArtsCenter Robyn Hitchcock Carrboro North Carolina US 11/14/2019
StageOne Robyn Hitchcock Fairfield Connecticut US 11/22/2019
Columbus Theatre Robyn Hitchcock Providence Rhode Island US 11/23/2019
Largo at the Coronet Robyn Hitchcock Los Angeles California US 12/13/2019
Fremont Abbey Arts Center Robyn Hitchcock Seattle Washington US 02/27/2020
The Chapel Robyn Hitchcock San Francisco California US 03/03/2020
Robyn & Emma's house Robyn Hitchcock & Emma Swift Nashville Tennessee US 06/24/2020
Robyn & Emma's house Robyn Hitchcock & Emma Swift Nashville Tennessee US 06/26/2020
Robyn and Emma's house Robyn Hitchcock & Emma Swift London England UK 09/25/2020
Robyn and Emma's house Robyn Hitchcock London England UK 04/06/2022
Starline Social Club Robyn Hitchcock Oakland California US 05/22/2022
Robyn and Emma's house Robyn Hitchcock London England UK 08/31/2022
Outpost in the Burbs Robyn Hitchcock Montclair New Jersey US 10/26/2024
Unknown Hotel Robyn Hitchcock & Emma Swift Tulsa Oklahoma US 01/22/2025

Comments

From Robyn on Patreon in 2022
"Linctus House" is a break-up song that I wrote in 1988, named after a type of codeine-laced cough syrup commonly found in old school British pharmacies. I didn’t cushion my big schism with codeine, but I did spend a lot of time numbing myself in hotels. Indifference, that was the goal. Of course, if you tune out the lows, you tune out the highs: still, I was anything but high when I wrote it..

Lyrics

You know I used to call my baby up
And we'd get real close
Just like the telephone was a sofa
And our thoughts would mingle
And we'd leave our minds wide open
Like a big window in the evening air
And we'd say
"Hey baby, come on in and help yourself to my soul
Hey baby, come on in and help yourself to my soul"
But these days, even saying, "Hello, how are you?"
"I'm fine.  How are you?" takes a lot of sweat

Ain't that a shame
Ain't that a shame
But in Linctus House
In my flesh hotel
I don't care anymore

You know my baby and me
As Kimberley would say
We'd curl up like two dogs
In front of a fire
And our eyes would reflect each other
In the warm long heat of love
Yeah, the warm long heat of love
And I would hear the rain falling
On the leaves outside
I couldn't stand too close the window
'Cause I'd shiver if I left her side
But now I'd shake if we should meet
And I spend most of my time in the bushes

Ain't that a shame
Know what you're doing
Ain't that a shame
Know what you've done
But in Linctus House
In my flesh hotel
I don't care anymore

"I understand how everything sometimes
Turns out to be nothing," you say
But I wonder if you do
And if we understood each other
There'd be no need to talk
But even that, even talking is out of reach
Should I say it with flowers or
Should I say it with nails?
I'm not the kind to push you around
But I don't want to make myself vulnerable
And if I was on my knees
You'd have a pretty good view of my skull
And I happen to know you're carrying a chisel

But in Linctus Hotel
In my flesh hotel
I don't care anymore
No
In Linctus House
In my flesh hotel
I don't care

Ain't that a shame
Know what you're doing
Ain't that a shame
Know what you've done