John Grant Performs Live on Letterman

As we explained last spring, John Grant "operates in the lineage of the great, usually straight, brokenhearted piano man." And it may seem like an unlikely choice to appear on David Letterman's show. But the host seemed to enjoy Grant's sardonic wit, having him perform his song "GMF," and saying it was "very entertaining and "the loveliest song I heard about an asshole" (or at least that's what we think he said since it was 'bleeped' out).

The song is from his new album, Pale Green Ghosts, and it contains the "cruelly elegant couplet": "Half of the time I think I'm in some movie/ I play the underdog, of course/ I'm wondering who they'll get to play me/ Maybe they could dig up Richard Burton's corpse."

Watch the clip below: