Mocktop Moot from Nodknots by Noddle

# Mocktop Moot

Teapots argue with magicians between these grooves. During an unusually feverish Liltfair night, we captured this debate-gone-sideways where nothing stays put—especially meaning. The harpsichord tangle that opens the track happened when Freddie spilled chamomile across the keyboard and three keys stuck together, creating that delicious dissonant pattern we couldn't have planned. Happy accidents rule Murmury.

This track evolves from orderly tap-shoe clicks into complete cheerful chaos, mirroring how the Knots and Clockhoppers start with civilized debate before dissolving into glorious nonsense. The rubber-band mandolin (Morris literally replaced two strings with elastic bands from a post office) provides that wobbling tension throughout—sounds almost like logic stretching until it snaps.

When we perform "Mocktop Moot" live, the stage becomes the debate floor. We scatter vintage teacups throughout the audience, encouraging them to tap spoons against porcelain during the chorus. The bridge transforms into complete theatrical mayhem—Penny jumps between amplifiers shouting riddles while Freddie answers in clock-tick percussion. Sometimes we invite audience members to invent their own questions mid-song, which we immediately answer with complete nonsense.

The fusion here blends Lewis Carroll-inspired wordplay with Canterbury scene progressive touches and vaudevillian theatrics. That call-and-response section where contradictions pile atop one another pulls directly from English folk singing traditions, but we've warped it through a kaleidoscope of toy instruments and deliberate musical "mistakes." The stomping chorus—closest thing we have to an anthem—lets listeners momentarily grab something solid before we gleefully yank it away again.

Deep down, this song celebrates the beautiful failures of debate and the joy of never reaching conclusions. Every argument in Murmury ends exactly where it began—with a teapot whistling and a question that answers itself.

Tracklist

3.	Mocktop Moot	3:30

Lyrics

Mocktops gather, swivel bright
Knot-whiskers twitch and check the height
Porcelain spoons in mandolin loops

Say—did you bring the clock with no hands
To barter the blink for a jar of sands?
Knots juggle daylight with grins askew
Rules melt and stick to the bottom of shoes
Questions tumble, answers swoop
Mirth circles wide in this curious troupe

Magicians crinkle the ordinary up close
Knots whistle stories through harpsichord ghosts
Teapots propose a debate in a cup
Spooning riddles and turning them up
Echo the moot—repeat, reframe—
Each answer wears its opposite’s name

Mocktop moot, what’s the root, what’s the root? (what’s the root?)
Up is a hat, down’s a boot, swap the suit!
Turnabout logic—laugh as you shoot—
Questions refuse to salute!
Mocktop moot, what’s the root, what’s the root? (shout it true!)
Tangle the sense till it smiles at you!

“If a Knot was not, would a Hopper hop?”
“If a rule unrules, do the minutes stop?”
“What’s flat as a wish, round as a blink?”
“Pour me some meaning I promise to wink—”
“Under which thumb does a question sing?”
Round and round the Moot’s bells ring—

Mocktop moot, what’s the root, what’s the root? (what’s the root?)
Up is a hat, down’s a boot, swap the suit!
Turnabout logic—laugh as you shoot—
Questions refuse to salute!
Mocktop moot, what’s the root, what’s the root? (what’s the root?)
Tangle the sense till it smiles at you!

Moot unwinds, still spinning new
Spin me your answer—I’ll pass it through

Credits

from Nodknots, released July 15, 2025

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