Ready for your close-up in the wake of the disaster,
callous, condescending claims the network newscaster,
that with crimes of compassion correspondents have crossed the line,
Hollywood elite and ex-presidents unite,
we all wear a somber face for the cameras tonight,
it’s only apropos when the bodies are piling high…
What’s in it for us? is what the world bank asks,
when your country’s highest export is our lowest working class,
you know it’s not like common welfare is our raison d’etre,
you know we could have built those buildings out of real concrete,
could have given them clean water and healthy food to eat,
but they looked over the numbers, saw no profit to be made…
[Chorus:]
But where in the world was the world (before the big one came),
where in the world was the world (for disease and acid rain),
where in the world was the world (for the poisoned and the poor),
yeah where was the world when an ounce of prevention could have saved a pound of cure?
So we turn a blind eye and the deafest of ears
to the most poverty-stricken country in the western hemisphere,
throwing money at the problem now, too little and too late,
well you can’t blame fault lines for where they’ve fallen
but from a humanist perspective man I find it appalling,
that indifference and neglect resigned these souls to their sad fates…
Where was the world before it opened under,
taking what was left of, all that we neglected?
Where was the world before it opened under them?
The Nation of compassion only when the world is watching,
You're gonna fix it from the inside sounds like just another way to say you couldn't cope,
A noose or just a pretty necktie, and I sit back and watch you choke
Said you were gonna make a difference,
The only difference is you're on the other side,
I guess the grass is really greener,
I guess that check was really worth your pride
Cos I would rather work my fingers to the bone I swear that's all that keeps me sane,
And I will revel in the rubble while you catch the last outbound train,
You take the cake I take the pain,
Of watching as another one who used to be a punk gets brainwashed down the drain
I saw you in an elevator, used to be a punk but now you work for city hall,
You read my clash shirt, said you saw them back in 83 but that doesn't make us the same at all
You were gonna fix it from the inside its been a minute and the gears are still in place,
Cos some get buried in the landslide, but for some others thats just not the case
Cos I would rather work my fingers to the bone I swear thats all that keeps me sane,
And I will revel in the rubble while you catch the last outbound train,
You take the cake I take the pain,
Of watching as another one who used to be a punk gets brainwashed down the drain
I know sometimes it's hard to stick to your convictions,
Was it all just childish fiction
You evicted and got over, and I'm not playing like I'm holier than thou,
That's a weight that I don't need on my shoulders
But if it doesn't make you sick inside to see what you've become,
Then you never really meant it from the get go, son
If you could see the you that I see when I see you telling me
You called these "naive misgivings of a callow youth",
But I'm still here, hit the switch
And now I'm planning on living baby,
Take a look around cos maybe something else has happened,
Oh dear, no future but it shows up anyway,
Caught a raw deal but we're gonna stick around and play,
It's just a phase, you say, but you don't have a clue
That growing up is just a game for fools to lose...
If not me who if not now when?
Pick up what's left and start again.
Now take a breath count back from ten.
Digging in for the uphill battle...
Crossing lines and looking back on all the time my mind has blurred so well,
Looking forward see an old man on a corner flipping off the passers-by,
Telling the world to go to hell, that's life and you can take it how you want it,
With a twist and a grain of salt or as a bitter pill,
Aw kid you know sometimes I feel like giving up,
But if I haven't yet then I guess i never will...
This is you and I, this is do or die,
DIY personified and somehow we're all getting by,
You can find the answers in the simplest things,
there's gonna be a riot
it starts with this sound
everybody on the dancefloor
have nots are coming 'round
they took away our right now
to protest in peace
this is all we're left with
it's time we cut the leash
the great writ got thrown away
when they signed the '06 MCA,
and everything this fucking country
ever stood for has become unglued,
so fly your flags and blind your vision,
might just keep you out of prison,
when martial law is coming down on you
there's gonna be a riot
it starts with this sound
everybody on the dancefloor
have nots are coming 'round
they took away our rights now
til we had no more
this is all we're left with
and this means fucking war
this isn't liberty, homeland security,
this aristocracy, took it from you and me,
they've got immunity, move with impunity,
they're fucking ruining constitutionality,
now every cop on the street is an enemy soldier,
doesn't need probable cause to hold ya,
don't wanna have to say I told ya,
So a spark quick became a charge, turned into the current between the stars,
from the coast back to where you are like a siren’s call,
and maybe it was just in the cards, never stood a chance putting up my guard,
I never thought falling so hard wouldn’t hurt at all…
So honey come on and dry those tears,
though I may be gone for weeks and months,
when I come back I’m in it for the years,
and when I’m falling asleep in the backseat,
listening to the engine rumble under me,
I hope you know there’s only one place I’d rather be…
Like storm clouds clear to the bluest skies,
I knew from the minute I saw those eyes,
that whatever it took to make you mine I’d do,
another late night reach on a static line,
from another state in this great divide,
Just a couple more days’ son, things are looking up today,
set the date for the parade and ticker tape the city.
Cos the blood on your hands has become nothing,
you’re coming home boy through hell and high water.
But Johnny, see well he ain’t coming,
it proved too much to take, he blew away the heartache,
with an army issue but he ain’t no, no he ain’t no KIA.
[Pre-Chorus:]
It just proved too much to take,
he said “there ain’t no better days for me”,
“cos’ all my friends are fading day to day”.
Tell me is this what you’re reading;
would you believe me when I say?
[Chorus:]
That the light that shined is dying dimming grey,
and it’s a minor melody, fading in front of me.
Another vacation day in the sun setting on no horizon,
as the phantom six-gun shooter lingers along.
And day by day man I decay,
and loose a hold of a heart too young to break.
I say the harmony you read we see in the dying eyes,
and you know nothing at all.
[Pre-Chorus:]
It just proved too much to take,
he said “there ain’t no better days for me”,
“cos’ all my friends are fading day to day”.
Tell me is this what you’re reading;
would you believe me when I say?
[Chorus:]
That the light that shined is dying dimming grey,
and it’s a minor melody, fading in front of me,
and I say I’ve reached the brink, and that there ain’t no better days,
Baby where you going with that rolled up twenty
and the razorblaze in your purse?
I know you think you’re slick and that you’re getting over,
but you’re only gonna make it worse.
Our eyes met across a crowded room
in the basement of a smoke-filled church.
Aw girl you know the world is headed straight for the grave
but there’s no reason you should get there first.
I can tell when I look in your eyes,
behind that brave face I know you’re terrified.
What I’m trying to say is you don’t have to run,
back to your painful past and the shit that you’ve done.
You can still come around from the choices you’ve made,
when the heat’s coming down girl, well, I’ll be your shade,
when the cold light of day is too bright for those crying eyes.
[Chorus:]
Drop another shot, chop another line.
Looking for a piece of the action, but that ain’t no way to find no peace of mind.
On and on and it ain’t never gonna end until you’ve overspent your borrowed time,
But in the meanwhile girl, you can take some of mine
But in the meanwhile girl, you can take some of mine
C’mon girl just pick up your phone,
I wanna know that you’re safe in all the places you roam.
Wish I could say I’m used to sleeping alone,
tossing turning uncertain if you’re coming home.
Hear the taxi door slam and you stumble upstairs,
smelling like breath mints and whiskey and smoke in your hair,
and crawl into bed like you’ve been here all along.
Baby please, just unlock the door,
so I can pick your shaking body off the bathroom floor.
Wrap you up in blankets, put the kettle on,
and we can wait for it to boil while I sing you this song.
Steel myself so I can take it all,
from the blame to the pain to the vitriol.
An American, in American crosshairs,
rights, well I guess they lost theirs,
executive orders coming down,
our forefathers could not foresee
these wrongs in the name of security,
the US constitution’s run aground…
[Chorus:]
They’ve got secret machines,
and satellites with laser beams,
and no one’s getting out of here alive,
one assassination under god,
the stars and stripes his calling card,
yeah you can run, there’s sure no place to hide…
Getting scared again, guess that’s just a cross borne free,
but liberty will cost more,
one match and the next amendment’s set ablaze,
an American, target on his back,
bound to the sound of a rifle’s crack,
and all that we’ve believed has been betrayed…
They call it heresy, all based on hearsay,
lies, propaganda and a healthy dose of fear
makes it hard to want to testify on his behalf,
they’ve redesigned the lines of the battlefield,
truth not a stock showing profit yield,
green light the kill shot, damn the aftermath…
Secret machines, philistines with full magazines,
another regime so pristine on your tv screen,
congress convenes, they send in the marines,
and they stifle the screams, it’s the same old routine,
from American dreams comes a nightmarish scene,
and the freedom to be goes head down on the guillotine,
we must intervene, if we don’t come between,
This is not a plea for peace but a call to war
though some shall decease and some shall suffer more some
see the light and turn and fight knowing that burning bright
is it's own reward
like a star goes nova before it dies
let's overthrow the thrones expose the lies
or aren't you sick of being victimized?
This is not a time for talk but a time to act
get up and walk it off or die lying on your back
pick up the pace or we lose the race
it's time to face up to what we lack
there's things you want and things you need
a brand new SUV a new disease
hi-def don't show no real realities.
[Chorus:]
Two steps back is a losing battle
and I don't think it's ever gonna stop
one push back and it's the gallows
one snap they call it suicide by cop.
Another old man in the same dead age
another blank space on an empty page
"the future is unwritten" yeah it's all the rage
but ain't no one writing shit in this fucking cage
except marks on a wall as days pass by
we chip away until we die
our legacies these bloody lullabies.
Two thousand and eight another bummer
not a sound from the encumbered numbers
no not a peep 'cos the scars run deep
so awash in grief we escape to slumber
who can sleep in these beds they made?
good fucking joke short sheet a shallow grave
alarm clock ringing bring the dead.
Five in the morning and they're on another coke war.
The lights in my eyes are glowing burning bright,
But I feel like drinking in spite of the fact I polished of another pint
Of toxic formula the sanity is gone but the beat goes on and on
Eleven AM and you missed your shift.
Screwed a kid like you and he don't deserve
That shit well oh look its another missed call
Support systems you built made you a wreck
But what to do when your family's on the wall
And you know he can't for long
How can this man with grace look at the road,
Stay on the path he's on
Walk em home, clean em up,
Ones to many but its never enough,
Take the blame or call that bluff to regression
Do you sit back let it all overcome,
Sacrifice your soul for the sake of one more crutch the regression
Well maybe if you didn't try to take responsibility
For the other peoples lack of clarity the anxiety
Would disappear would everything become so clear
But in the end this is what you fear
A sense of being in face of another tested failure
Well I’ve been brave, and I have been there for my friends,
and I’ve been enslaved by stupid shit that should have surely meant my end,
prior convictions, while they will give me no reprieve,
I still try not to contradict things I’ve believed…
And sometimes when I wake, the morning light,
shows me the things that I’ve done right,
tells me I’ll make it through the day,
tells me I’ll make it through the night…
So if my dad could see me now would he be proud,
that I’ve become the man I am, that I don’t do just what’s allowed,
that I mean every word I say to every face that’s in this crowd,
so if you’re listening, I’ll play it loud…
And I’ve lashed out, just like an animal in pain,
and I’ve looked everywhere but me to point the blame,
and I’ve been selfish, and motivated by my fears,
and so impossible to deal with through the years…
And sometimes when I hear that sad old song,
it brings me right back to my wrongs,
it brings me right back to despair,
right back to fuck it, I don’t care,
but sometimes when I wake, the morning light,
shows me the things that I’ve done right,
tells me I’ll make it through the day,
tells me I’ll make it through the night…
So if my dad could see me now would he be proud,
that I’ve become the man I am, that I don’t do just what’s allowed,
that I mean every word I say to every face that’s in this crowd,
so if you’re listening, I’ll play it loud…
So if my dad could see me now would he be proud,
that I’ve become the man I am, that I don’t do just what’s allowed,
so just in case there is a heaven, and in case you’re looking down,
in case you’re listening, I’ll play it loud,
in case you’re listening, old man, I’ll play it loud,
I know it gets fucking exhausting just tallying the costs
and counting all the change you get on the one free hand
that's not holding that gun to your head
Wake up with an order to stand down from somewhere above
and try to figure out why it is you hate to be loved
and what you wanna be if you grow up...
Resignations that you learn by rote
like oh so slowly cutting your own throat
when you can no longer tell the poison from the antidote
Is it all just self made sabotage,
shoot straight up in the air, stand and await the barrage,
is this for real or just another mirage,
wrenching away in this three chord garage?
Everybody gets just one, for some they come to fast,
and all thats left is a tape, a hollow voice from the past,
history you cant teach in a class,
a misery blitz then a click and a blast...
Resignations that you learn by rote
like oh so slowly cutting your own throat
when you can no longer tell the poison from the antidote
a revolution burned note by note and in return you learn who's the turncoat
when you can no longer tell the poison from the antidote
Floater in the wreckage but you don't have to be,
pick a direction start to paddle or stay lost at sea,
flounder in the shallows so aimlessly
or you can take a breath and plunge into the darkest deep,
yeah only one thing in this world that's gonna save your life,
staring back from the mirror every day and night,
the only one who'll understand your plight,
1 in 4 were on the shores,
now they're begging and they're bribing in the post-war cold, t
he scattered shells their internal wars,
the broken the discarded ones.
Who crawled along exploding cars,
survivors lost in a lost cause,
the bullet in his heart will he take it all on,
will he die on the sand or on the boulevard with gun.
To the front of his forehead
maybe it will bring a little peace and solace,
quiet the cry the unending riot,
lives to dream of his former life now rubble…
under the gaze of our eyes, a solemn sigh…
No salvation, no sanity,
he's just a silhouette forgotten in headlines.
Now their rotting under neon lights
no life worth living, former armor piercing
war-relics, rusting away.
Could this be what they had in mind
were the GI's blind during the war cries,
promise all the things they can't afford
no security for the veterans tonight.
Johnny got fucked by the GI bill,
choking on that bitter pill,
took what seemed the safest bet
and now he's home drowning in debt.
He hates his wife his life's a mess,
house and car got repossessed,
said it ain't right man I'm a vet
I can't do nothing but hide it the tension and the fury comes
The violence today, it's the mainstream you see,
but aw hell this kid, he needs to bleed
Well sorry pardon me, I didn't know this talk revolved around me
As you sit there with your transparent eyes
take a look at your life and realize your own reality.
Let's start by looking around, let's observe the dichotomy,
your alter ego's showing through it's pathetic,
I'll soon forget it, what happened to old days?
I'm sick of all your bitching, when you've got everything,
I'm drawing the line it's clear to see,
it's clear to me, your lack of credibility.
Because I can't, I won't, play in to your retort
Your luxury rebellion's nothing but a fucking eyesore
Remember I'm the kid that wiped your tears up off the street
I'm laughing as you're burning all your bridges
I gotta go and find another way,
I gotta fight this fire in a conscious way
Fuck you that's how I'll stay,
get your petty bullshit out my face.
So while your self-medicating,
with all of mommy and daddy's money, try to tell me how I'm phony
With your shape shifting personalities.
Your sympathy's eighty-sixed
No, you're not alone
As I recall, I was there about a year ago
Yesterday I found a faded photo in the bottom of a drawer,
The kid that's in the picture, he don't grace us with his smiling face no more
I saw him on that day so long ago, he told me everything was fine
Take a good long look around this place, tell me what's not a warning sign
Was it the addiction that was kicking you around?
Was it the restrictions that the world was giving down?
Some fell victim some found solace in this sound
Everybody gets to make a choice and this is my way...
Tried to picture where you'd be today, can't see you in the present tense
I think about that place you disappeared to man, and why I never went
They say the darkest part of night is always right before the dawn
Wish you'd been able to see through, wish you'd been able to hold on...
Was it the addiction that was kicking you around?
Was it the restrictions that the world was giving down?
Some fell victim some found solace in this sound
Everybody gets to make a choice and this is my way...
Soon the clouds will break, the sun will cast its light on the fallen ones
And all the pain they've seen will disappear
Soon the clouds will break, my son, sins cast aside, new days begun
This shit gets hard to take over the years...
I remember once, I think it was your birthday, got so high we couldn't see
Then we got shot at in that parking lot, laughed til we couldn't breathe
I wish that stupid shit had meant to you just what it meant to me
A ghost of an empty shell but he'll never know,
that he's got to keep sight.
So where's the reassurance that the mind is thinking clearly,
never knows what not to do.
Starting walking tall and then the slur became the words
the night is closing in he's feeling small and goes to bed without her.
A ghost of an empty shell but he'll never know,
that he's got to keep sight tonight well hell.
Should have seen this coming; the night,
the vice, the moonlight no clarity.
When all he needed was the feeling
that his heart and soul was beating,
was it out of time and out of sync?
Facing the brink with all the insecure thinkers
and walking white lines in a failed attempt to feel her.
Walking afterglow dim lit shadows and he drowns the hours.
The night, the vice, the price, is always unforgiving,
he lost the sense of being in the bottles.
So he fills them up, toughens up, searches for some dumb luck,
a classy act fuck up giving up in what he called believing;
as far as I can tell he knows nothing other than his own destruction.
A ghost of an empty shell but he'll never know,
that this isn't real time he's thinking blind.
So what happened, the next morning,
where's the guy who blinded all the light
from ever shining through he, he's just waiting,
for the opportune moment and you know he's going to tell you well.
Hey kid forget today she's nothing but a runaway,
your inhibition bullshit is coming down my way,
cause I'm your friend lets pop the cap
there's noting here to hold you back,
the ghost of the empty shell is here, and he says her.
Walking after glow dim lit shadows
and he drown the hours,
the walking after glow dim lit shadows
Tomorrow she'll put make-up on the bruises,
tomorrow she'll be making up excuses,
but I've known you since we were three,
what makes you think you can lie to me,
and I'm trying to respect your privacy,
despite the fact that it's killing me...
You say you love him but I don't know why,
he beats you up, he don't provide,
so you're stuck working doubles down at the local dive,
dodging dirty hands for a petty wage but you bottle up the rage cos you gotta survive...
I got a Louisville Slugger in the back of my ride,
make the call and I'll be there by your side,
hey girl you don't have to take that shit from anybody...
That sticky summer night in his backseat,
he made you bleed, planted his seed,
now you've got not one but two more mouths to feed,
I know you wanted your kid to have a dad but name is not the same as deed...
I know you know there's more to life than this,
taking the blame, the pain, whenever he gets pissed,
nothing stronger than a mother's love for her only kid,
except for maybe her battered bones, bruised by blows from his father's fists...
I got a Louisville Slugger in the back of my ride,
make the call and I'll be there by your side,
hey girl you don't have to take that shit from anybody,
got a Louisville Slugger in the back of my ride,
say the word and I'll make him fucking cry,
you are my friend I will defend until the end...
What happened to the girl that I once knew,
I remember way back when, when nobody could tell you what to do,
now you just sit there and let 'em turn the screws,
hey girl I've said my piece, the rest is up to you...
I got a Louisville Slugger in the back of my ride,
hey girl you gotta decide if this is how you wanna live your life,
trapped like a rat in a bad situation,
frozen by feelings of fear and frustration,
Louisville Slugger in the back of my ride,
it's yours for the taking, your rage more than justified,
seeing red, black and blue, and you know that it's true,
Saturday Morning a familiar friend
Dropped from the sky, gave them the same message
It said, in regard to your livelihood
It belongs to Uncle Sam
Don't load that AK 47
That's what CNN said
They think terror, organized faction
Would you organize too?
We are the laser freedom killer (where do they go?)
Co-ordinated hell fire (when they've got no homes)
And if they could they wouldn't be there
Would you organize too?
We are the angels under cloaks in devil's clothing
Would you resist, would you insist?
Would you organize too?
If they dropped hell on you?
All or nothing when they're all dead
And you've got no family to defend
Would you pick up the gun, put it in your hand?
Their perspective, something we'll never understand
Come away with me my friend, from the dark decaying steel and men,
just pack your bag we’re heading West, this town will take you down with it.
Into the scrap yard, burial ground, cos the only job left in this town,
is to think about what could have been; it’s the only road left leading.
I’m left with this long lasting ill effect, from the eye to eye we had,
and as I made my way through the decaying West I thought:
The next time I’m around, will you be nowhere to be found?
Till then lets wake the fallen, the fallen in the town.
[Chorus:]
I’m out on the floor in the Jackson dawn, with the wayward rowdy ones.
Forgetting they’re forgotten, but I can’t say for sure.
Cos every time I meet them, they say “hey can I come along?”
“This town is taking me down and I can’t hang on for long…”
Yea there ain’t no room for them no, they’re all the son’s of the old model they go,
“Am I just a sad façade?” “Will I amount to nothing much?”
They extend a hand and a “later man”, “I’m afraid we’ll never meet again…,”
“Don’t worry my friend I reckon you’re the only one that’s keeping me here…”
Look at all the kids, forgetting they’re forgotten,
given up on living cos they’re rotting in the steal and,
did you hear the stories, of the manifest disparity and,
“what do I got to do to be in a rock and roll and reggae band?”
Stare down, the double white lines, and leave this town behind.
Cos the old world order had its place in time don’t let if defy your mind.
Just 86 the nine to five, those forty hours ain’t a life, don’t commit to that suicide.
Just make a plan and take a stand and travel all the across the land,
10,000 miles in a filthy van, to play the basement with your friends…
[Chorus:]
Blacked out on the kitchen floor, with the ones I left at dawn,
re-bottled their ambitions locked away forever more.
In every town I meet them; they say “hey can I come along?”
“This town is taking me down and I can’t hang on for long.”
This cloudy morning they're up today
another shit waged Sunday hand in hand the underpaid
the under-appreciated serving you till two or three
the families in the freezing picking bottles off the street
the after-glow it was glowing bright
but the reality of the empty bottle's quick turned off the lights
because there's the lady, the shopping cart
crying in the freezing but she doesn't have a frozen heart
they're grinding with the gears, they have for years
evolution doesn't instill fear
because they have an appreciation for the common man
with bottles in their hands it's the end for most of them
complain today and for the rest of your days
spitting in the faces of the people who cater to you
consume the world giving orders
to the souls with the hearts that are drowning in the shit wage
blues to you, this imbalance is serving right
corporate america sucking out the life so your kids won't have to fight
for nothing, while laughing at the lady with the cart she smiles
and waves because she doesn't have a frozen heart
they're grinding with the gears, they have for years
evolution doesn't instill fear
because they have an appreciation for the common man
with bottles in their hands it's the end for most of them
the sound, the struggle, barely hanging on
it's the song you never sung and it's the only song they'll ever know
sound of the struggle when they're barely hanging on
it's the song they've always sung and it's the only song they'll ever know.
they're grinding with the gears, they have for years
evolution doesn't instill fear
because they have an appreciation for the common man
with bottles in their hands it's the end for most of them
the sound, the struggle, barely hanging on
it's the song you never sung and it's the only song they'll ever know
sound of the struggle when they're barely hanging on
[Chorus:]
You get what you give but you ain’t giving shit,
so don’t act so surprised when you start taking hits,
you’ll lose all you take, man, when takes all you do,
when you try to point blame, three point right back at you…
This is a free country we live in today,
which means no one forced you to take loans you can’t pay,
your gluttonous greed and callous disregard
was the gun to your head as you maxed out your cards,
all you know is what they tell you, all you own is what they sell you,
your every atom is compelled to consume or burn in hell,
played the game and placed your bets, forsook your liberty for debt,
then turned around and pointed out the problem…
Dream American dreams as you made your bed,
now they’ve soured, it seems, so you’re blaming the Fed,
but money’s not made, it’s just moved around,
you had some for a while til it sought higher ground,
all you know is what they tell you, all you own is what they sell you,
your every atom is compelled to consume or burn in hell,
time to change how you’ve been living, rearrange what you’ve been given,
we call this freedom of recession…
So fuck it, there’s things more important than wealth,
you’ve still got your family, your friends and your health,
so hopefully this time the lesson’s been learned,
The waves of acute sadness were hued by ambivalent bliss,
and of all of the things the madness I missed.
I just need a change so pay no mind;
it’s a life lesson that’s learned in time in your life, and in mine.
I feel alright and that's a lie,
you are my years you are my strife,
I got to go, I got to go.
With all the time that’s passing by,
you’d think I’d find the words but I
have got to go and play the farewell show.
The past three days saw shades of grey,
and I can’t say I sought to drink them away.
Should I feel sorry, filled with sorrow,
overcome with aching pain? Countdown to regret,
a sure bet when your grass is always greener.
Well maybe this time I’ll survive.
I feel alright and that's a lie,
you are my years you are my strife,
I got to go, I got to go.
With all the time that’s passing by,
you’d think I’d find the words but I
have got to go and play the farewell show.
Expectations I had, were buried and now they’re back.
In a cold cramped room well I guess they tend to do that.
I just need a change, so pay no mind;
it’s a life lesson that’s learned in time in your life, pay me no mind.
I feel alright and that's a lie,
you are my years you are my strife,
I got to go, I got to go.
With all the time that’s passing by,
you’d think I’d find the words but I
have got to go and play the farewell show.
Nothing left now to remember,
a one way ticket now null and voided,
together, it's more than nothing,
sitting here thinking stuck on strumming.
I feel alright and that's a lie,
you are my years you are my strife,
I got to go, I got to go.
With all the time that’s passing by,
you’d think I’d find the words but I
Dead man walking like a wind up toy,
plodding, never plotting for the things that bring him joy,
living in the movies like he’s celluloid,
and then it’s over, so roll the credits now.
Dead man standing single file in every line,
gave up on the searching, he was scared of what he’d find,
waiting waiting waiting for his stars to come aligned
and then it’s over.
[Chorus:]
But I don’t wanna live like I’m heading to the grave,
no I don’t wanna live that way,
I got a purpose and a plan, and I don’t wanna live like a dead man.
Dead man live it up, it’s just another show,
he knows she only loves him for his money and his blow,
it’s like he never saw the sense in reaching past the status quo
and then it’s over, and then he’s underground.
Dead man shuffling down another city street,
can’t lift up his head and he can’t pick up his feet.
You can see his resignation and acceptance of defeat
and then it’s over.
[Chorus:]
But I don’t wanna live like I’m just another slave,
no I don’t wanna live that way,
I got a purpose and a plan, and I don’t wanna live like a dead man.
Stagnant and so sedentary (not until I’m dead and buried),
lobotomized automatons (we ain’t no sons of Babylon),
blinded by our gilded chains (let’s make a mark not just a stain),
as long as we’re alive there’s life to live.
Dead man slipping through his twilight years,
come to realize that he’s never faced his fears,
but there ain’t no second chances, just regret and bitter tears
and then it’s over.
[Chorus:]
But I don’t wanna live like my life is just a cage,
no I don’t wanna live that way,
I got a purpose and a plan, and I don’t wanna live like a dead man.
No I don’t wanna live like it’s just another day,
no I don’t wanna live that way,
This is for the ones standing up to the system
Yeah you know who you are, stay on point with the mission
Look to the left, the right, it all seems the same
Everybody's pointing fingers in a blame game
And it's a crying shame theres no change, just strain
It's like we're all in such a rush to flush it all down the drain
We gotta take it down brick by brick until we find the head cornerstone
We gotta polish it up 'til it shines like it once shone.
This is for the ones who think the dream can be achieved
And to those who beat the odds and grew up true to their beliefs
Everywhere you turn they try to trip you on your path
Just to end up a statistic or a number in a graph
Take the slow road when the world spins too fast
Stick to your guns and you'll look back and laugh
This goes out to anyone still standing at the end
With your heads held high by the truths that you defend
You're born you go to school you get a job and then you die
All the while pay out the ass to support their lie
It's a wonder more people aren't wondering why
I can’t honestly say I’m making it tonight,
but I’ll give you all that I got, I’ll give you everything despite.
Cos’ I’m not the one who’s pleading for my boy to come to life,
reality has taken me on this October night.
Cos’ there’s a man on the side of the road a sobbing shadow with a hunch,
the people gather round’ him for a photo-op.
They pulled the curtain back and then a road to ruin settled in
those eyes, in those eyes.
He said let’s lets all stand and pray and play follow the fucking leader and escape,
this grim reality see.
Just follow what I’m teaching and you’ll see that true salvation
lies today, in a blood streak, in a blood streak on the street.
[Pre-Chorus:]
Well who knows what the kid could have been we’re paying you so get up there and play.
To all the kids deceived, guess there aint’ no grieving needed.
On this Halloween, anywhere but here I’d rather be.
[Chorus:]
You’ve been so welcoming to me,
but I don’t agree, with anything I see,
cos’ the fathers falling to his knees as you rejoice in harmony,
man anywhere but here I’d rather be.
The jackals were all there in the warm October air before
they put the chalk line down on the cement.
When the church bells started tolling they said keep those cameras rolling,
we’ll be sure to get this on the news at ten.
Crowd that gathered seemed undaunted, said it must be what god wanted,
but that kid was eight years old and now he’s gone,
and if you truly believe that it was his time to leave
Sons and daughters, friends and neighbours.
Every morning, all the papers.
How many thousand killed or maimed.
And you never knew their names?
Stock piled arms as tensions mount.
Like the numbers in your bank accounts.
But the checks you send their families
Won't buy you out of blame...
An army of one, like remaining limbs, like the mess were in.
Left to raise the kids, until our minds decides to make it change
Your P.R. team decides you need to show your face at walter reed,
Its purple hearts and networks feed, don't try to make this fun.
Sacrificed for this great land, but there's no shaking phantom hands.
Pat on the back, "I'm sorry son, thanks for a job well done"...
An army of one, like remaining limbs, like the mess were in.
Left to raise the kids, until our minds decides to make it change
Their war, what's it fucking good for,
Never wanted nothing other than to sing along with you all living under the radar.
But now we’re cleaning up the rubble from all the shit we never wanted…
It’s the pride in a life that we never wanted to amount to, and turned us into,
an indebted and indentured, servant to the human race,
force fed inherited, everything we couldn’t take.
It’s a dead end dream man, reset your sight and then,
leave this plan by the wayside son,
you ought to find a better way to spend your time,
deny what’s keeping your eye off the prize and;
inundate yourself in excess, start a steady digress,
while living in the infirmary, setting aim on who to blame,
fading in and out a state of gluttony..
[Pre-Chorus:]
Man are we nothing but the gurney for the modern working man,
running out of luck on the deck they stacked on,
a critical mass of the willfully oblivious; man,
are you feeling fate is pre-destined,
that you never had a choice in the matter when?
[Chorus:]
You’re living in the era of the gambled and discarded sons,
what they left of us they’ll surely sell to the lowest bidder so let's
set aside your differences son, its all of us or none.
Living in a lost era as the world is stripped and sold for parts,
the gambled and discarded sons.
To the kid spinning all the records, your light amongst the dark,
keep true to what you felt when all abandoned you and left your searching heart.
In the end man, no matter the outcome, stand up and own your epitaph.
To be living in a faded generation in a blank nation is your own operation man,
are you sitting there and waiting for the helping hand,
like an anchored pawn caught up in their divine plan?
I know it’s a tall order, when your burning in the new world order,
are your tendencies incendiary man?
So how does it feel now to be down where we were waiting and were watching all along?
