1. |
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I'm stepping back into my alma mater
Yeah, it's coming back to me
The hatred, the suspicions of futility
What was learned here?
How to get in line and blindly trust
The standards of those that I knew were idiots
And laziness as a device to prove that I'm not really powerless
If I could be fifteen again
I'd be telling all of my friends
"Let's not go to school anymore"
I wish I'd thought all this years before
Hours of subjugation serve to sap our creativity
Expression sublimated as we're fed distorted history
Blindly conform ourselves to the worst aspects of all our peers
We plant the seeds that strangle us in coming years
They're strangling me
Seven years of fighting, and I'm still not free
If I could be fifteen again
I'd be telling all of my friends
"Let's not go to school anymore"
I wish I'd thought all this years before
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2. |
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Well, I've been up all night poring over scriptures
From a dozen traditions, trying to delve into
The wisdom of the prophets, 5000 years
But I can find nothing to assuage my fears
One by one, they're each cast aside
Every one disqualified
I search, but I can't find any comfort
I can't tell you that I never
Think of where I'll spend forever
But I can't comprehend salvation
It's the process of elimination
It'd be easy for me to dismiss it off-hand
Insist reality ends with what I understand
I can sense something at the edge of my perceptions
But all I'm offered are guesses and deceptions
One by one, they're each cast aside
Every one disqualified
I search, but I can't find any comfort
I can't tell you that I never
Think of where I'll spend forever
But I can't comprehend salvation
It's the process of elimination
Dear God: Hope you got the letter. I've been having a hard time trying to wade through all of the information your "people" have compiled on you. I'm (kinda) pretty sure that there's a bit of truth, somewhere, but it's surrounded by thousands of years of interpretations, insights...theology custom fit to support the interests of the status quo--I think something got lost. And I wish I had an answer, an epiphany, something to give me a clue to who I really am. But it's not there.
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3. |
Man's Best Friend
00:54
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Mankind is undeserving of the trust and loyalty
That's been imparted to us by man's best friend unconditionally
We reward their affections with unspeakable acts of cruelty
An open hand to those who cannot understand
Our language gives us away: "I wouldn't treat a dog that way"
Inferring the acceptance of a tolerable level of abuse and neglect
But they return again and again
Eager to please, can't comprehend
How the humans they love can be so inhumane
We take them in our homes and they offer love and trust
Then we blame them when we fall short in helping them to adjust
Don't forget that we asked them to come and live with us!
Interspecies obligation!
Our language gives us away: "I wouldn't treat a dog that way"
Inferring the acceptance of a tolerable level of abuse and neglect
But they return again and again
Eager to please, can't comprehend
How the humans they love can be so inhumane
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4. |
Can't Say
01:52
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I've had something on my mind for quite some time now
Something that I'd like to say, but I just don't know how
Never the right time, right place or situation
My words can't get past my list of limitations
I've got something I'd like to say to you (can't say)
I've got something I'd like to share with you (can't say)
Got a lot that I want you to know (can't say)
I've got something, and I can't believe I've come this far but I can't say
And fuck, I swear, I know it's real--as real as I've ever
And I know these things I feel I'll feel forever
Still, I can't find a way for me to articulate
And so a part of me just wastes away
I've got something I'd like to say to you (can't say)
I've got something I'd like to share with you (can't say)
Got a lot that I want you to know (can't say)
I've got something, and I can't believe I've come this far and I can't say
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5. |
Dick
01:43
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I've always loved watching you throw the die
Watching my dreams get greener over on your side
You had it all in hand, but something slipped
And now you've got a hold of nothing but dick
I guess that's just the way it goes
You can build and build, but no one knows
Why we play these roles that no one chose
All that's yours and all that's mine
Isn't worth shit when you find they can take it away!
Now, I've tried accepting it, but it won't do
The misery this false tradition puts us through
It's a race I wish that I had never begun
I've barely started, someone else has won
And it's best not to answer that call
You just can't hold on to it all
The more there is, then the harder it falls
And all that's yours and all that's mine
Isn't worth shit when you find--
BLAZIN' SOLO!
I guess that's just the way it goes
You can build and build, but no one knows
Why we play these roles that no one chose
Count up yours, I'll count up mine
It's just a waste of time...
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6. |
Meantime
01:39
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And so you say you're waiting for the optimum occasion
When the shit gets so fucked up the proletariat will rise
Above the wreckage of their broken lives and the bodies of their brethren
So you can agitate, educate, and organize
But what about the meantime?
What about today?
These are fuckin' human beings living in a world of shit, today!
It's easy to sit back and spout revolutionary rhetoric
When it's not your back against the wall
Don't call me down for trying to work within the system
Instead of waiting for The Man to fall
'Cos what about the meantime?
What about today?
These are fuckin' human beings living in a world of shit, today!
It's not condoning the system to advocate for the oppressed
It's acknowledging the situation and working for a change in our time
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7. |
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Locked all the doors, now I'm crying 'cos I can't kick 'em down
I always end up feelin' this way with someone like you around
Not that it's your fault; no, I take all the blame
But sometimes I don't feel suited up for the game
It's a long time comin'
Now I know my fate's here
I know it's much more than reacting just to what I feel
All the signs point one way
And now I'm out of breaks
It's just a question of how much more I can take
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8. |
Straight Talk
01:29
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I know that when you feel so strong, it gets so hard to see
The line between "truth" and "belief" gets awful fuckin' blurry
We pride ourselves on honesty, clear minds, and thinking straight
But when it's time to lay it out, then we exaggerate
I don't have to stretch the facts to prove my point of view
Straight talk is all I'll ever give to you
Straightedge is a part of me, too
In my skin, my blood, my mind
And I get nervous seein' it, but I don't get fuckin' blind
The sky won't fall down if you have a fuckin' drink
And acting like it will won't bring you closer to how I think
I don't have to stretch the facts to prove my point of view
Straight talk is all I'll ever give to you
Drugs and alcohol are so fucking lame
On so many levels, it's a losing game
Corrupt corporations, domestic violence
Alcohol's the leading cause of accidental death
It steals your time and money
It fucks with your health
I don't have to trump it up
The situation tells itself
Straight Talk!
I know that when you feel so strong, it gets so hard to see
The line between "truth" and "belief" gets awful fuckin' blurry
Straightedge is a part of me, too
In my skin, my blood, my mind
And I get nervous seein' it, but I don't get fuckin' blind
I don't have to stretch the facts to prove my point of view
Straight talk is all I'll ever give to you!
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9. |
She Says I Suck
01:57
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She says I'm not the man I useta be
I've changed and now she wants to leave
She says we don't work together anymore
There's so many other things she needs to explore
She says I'm not the kind of boyfriend that she needs
I'm not the man she thought I'd be
She needs her space, needs to be free
And that means getting rid of me
And she says...she says I suck
She says I've changed, but I think it's her
I just don't want to take her shit anymore
Everything's always my fault these days
I guess that I'm not too sad to see her go away
She says I suck
She says I suck
She says I suck
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10. |
So Close
01:49
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The workers have got some problems
And the revolution won't solve them
Years of conditioning
Bred to insure complacency
There's walls that can't be smashed
Barriers that outlast the builders
They took solidarity and they killed her
The labor movement was a casualty of the cold war
Where only commies talk about rich and poor
Class and power go undiscussed
'Cos a man who cries "UNITE!" is a man you can't trust
And some walls can't be smashed
Barriers that outlast the builders
They took solidarity and they killed her
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11. |
Kill the Truth
01:01
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We were young, we were invincible
For seven years, we were immortal
With the will and all the answers
I lost the dream, now I don't sleep at night
Out of time and out of place
I can't even stand to see my face
Like a star that's lost its glow
It can be years before you know
Now I feed on the blood of youth
I keep the truism and kill the truth
I found the virus, gave myself completely
Some ideas are poison?
These are killin' me!
Out of time and out of place
I can't even stand to see my face
I remember what you said
"Why hold a torch when the flame is dead?"
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12. |
Free Market Labor
01:34
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And so you cling to the concept of free market labor
Paint yourself as an example of a self-made man
Born into privilege, never missed a meal in your life
But you bought your own car, so you say you identify
It's not a life, it's not a living
When you're free to starve or to take what they're giving
The threat of poverty keeps wages down, workers down
Keeps us down!
You give a sneer and a sigh to the impoverished
Say you don't understand why they don't just get a job
Born into privilege, you never missed a meal in your life
But you had a paper route at twelve, so you say you identify
It's not a life, it's not a living
When you're free to starve or to take what they're giving
The threat of poverty keeps wages down, workers down
Keeps us down!
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13. |
Bagged and Bored
02:25
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She's a real collectible (but weren't they all?)
Their memories sitting in a box waiting for a rainy day
She's the girl in green in Avengers Annual #10
She's the sister in black in Sandman #8
They all were, they all are
And I can't help myself from feeling sorry
They all were and they all are
She's a first issue for sure, but without the platinum cover
A joy front-to-back, the first time around
Then back to the shelf, no longer in mint condition
Her cover's been torn and I've broken her spine
They all were, they all are
And I can't help myself from feeling sorry
They all were and they all are
And if I've learned one thing
It's that "fully developed" should pertain to character only
And if I've learned one thing:
If this behavior doesn't stop, my comic books are all I'm gonna have
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14. |
Keep it Down
02:32
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I'm asked "Why?" as if I got a choice
When I've got eyes, I've got a voice
"But keep it down!"
I've got something stuck inside of me
Gotta give it life, let it sing
"But keep it down!"
Keep it down...
Keep it down...
Keep it down...
Keep it down...
I don't owe you anything
I don't ask for the gifts you bring
The silence that you're asking for is treason
I am not beholden to you
To curtail the things I do
I will not keep it down!
I don't owe you anything
I don't owe you anything
I don't owe you anything
I don't owe you anything
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15. |
Rosemary's Baby
01:31
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Being friends with you is a thankless task
I'm curious about your motives
But I'm afraid to ask
It's sorta like the songs you useta sing
Before the vagueness in your lyrics distorted everything
And to see it from this side
You wouldn't know how it feels
And to play it from this side
You just would not know
Now it's not as if there's a knife in my back
And it's not like without you, I'm gonna crack
I just can't help thinking about days gone by
But it's not as if I've gotta ask you why
And to see it from this side
You wouldn't know how it feels
And to play it from this side
You just would not know
A GROOVY KIND OF BLAZIN' SOLO!
Gotta pare it down and cut out all the fat
Go bare bones and show 'em where it's at
Keep on goin' and never quit
And who cares who you make feel like shit?
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16. |
Instride
01:42
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Taking it all in stride
But some things cannot be denied
We're lying and pretending
Hate the friends that we're defending
I don't wanna go downtown
I got my own world inside of me
Something you may never see
I don't wanna call you on the phone
I wanna be alone inside of me
Some things are better left to die
I bite my lips, I hide my eyes
We're grabbing and we're breaking
All the ones we're bent on taking
I don't wanna go downtown
I've got my own world inside of me
Something you may never see
I don't wanna call you on the phone
I wanna be alone inside of me
I wouldn't have believed it
But there's even less for me in here today than yesterday
All the things I used to do with my time
Have less and less to do with me…
I don't wanna go downtown
I've got my own world inside of me
Something you may never see
I don't wanna call you on the phone
I wanna be alone inside of me
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17. |
6 Foot Sore Thumb
02:47
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Never been one to follow the herd--
Aw, who'm I kiddin'? I'm a fuckin' nerd
Always the last one selected
Never one of the respected
Always at least one step behind the times
Coloring outside of the lines
I can't even figure out how to fit in with the rejected
Countercultural by default
Absorbed into the catch-all
Where all the refuse goes
All of us what doesn't know
And even in the ranks of nerddom
I feel like a six-foot sore thumb
When you're locked out of the geek brigade
Then you're fuckin' low
But I'm gonna be alright tonight!
I'm gonna make it after all!
I keep telling myself, trying to convince myself
But I'm too smart to fool myself
I play it cool, I talk much shit
If I can't have, I don't want it
But meanwhile? Secretly, inside?
Jealous of the cool guys
The ones who always know what to say
What clothes to wear, what games to play
I can't even figure out what comic books to buy
But I'm gonna be alright tonight!
I'm gonna make it after all!
I keep telling myself, trying to convince myself
But I'm too smart to fool myself
I had that dream again
The one where I fit in
And despite my role as an iconoclast
I gotta say it was kinda cool
Everyone laughed at all my jokes
I was the envy of the little folks
The ones who're just like me
It was beautiful...
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