1. |
We Were Young
04:04
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We were so young
We were so fresh
She put her hand upon my sleeve I put my hand inside her dress and then we met
When we kissed, there was a hiss
Rising from the crowd of partisans
But it felt right, and on that night
We held each other’s hands and stayed inside
We felt the chill, the screams grew shrill
And everytime I heard a cry I thought I knew the other side
I heard the pleas and did my best to bury them from sight
It was wrong, it was wrong, it couldn’t last for long
From the way that we stared, I couldn’t tell she cared
It was wrong
I felt the stab, she felt the same
But we both ignored the stalemate when it came
It came on quick, without a fight
And it killed whatever happened on that night
There were no words, nobody tried
But I could tell that from conversations that she hadn’t really cried,
Still the tension leapt before me, and I couldn’t see her side
It was wrong, it was wrong, it couldn’t last for long
From the way that we stared, I couldn’t tell she cared
And we were young, so young, so young
There was a love if only just that once
But we were wrong, so wrong, so wrong
Before we knew, it was gone.
I saw the wrath, felt the hate
I saw that damage and I felt ashamed
I felt them judge, heard them chaff
Sensed the vindication in their laughs
But she was hurt, and I’m to blame
I caused the joy that we both felt, but I also caused the pain
And if we had the chance to make it right, I wouldn’t do it then
I’m sorry
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2. |
Keep it Simple
05:18
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I can feel you, you’ve refined what we went for
The simple issues, and tore down the neighborhood
What do you see in him? Is it more than I’ve become?
Do you believe in him, in the freshness of his love?
But in this contract I see less about him, and more that I can shake
But if we keep this pure then I’ll be sure the hurt is free of hate.
But before we sign, please promise me I won’t be fine, I won’t be fine
Before we’re done, please promise me you won’t let go, you won’t…
Let’s keep it simple so I can justify the pain
And see the ripples that will lead to love again.
And I will know the setting of the sun from you
And I will learn to close these eyes and seal the truth away from you
And I will learn the setting of the sun means it’s done
And there’s no more to be said, to be learned, learned from you
Do you need him? Does he take care of you?
Are you weak now? What happened to the girl I knew?
If you put your name down you’ll agree to make this the pure intent
When you sign the date you’ll seal in pain the prison we’ll befriend.
But before we sign, please promise me I won’t be fine, I won’t be fine
Before we’re done, please promise me you won’t let go, you won’t…
That’s how our love falls
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3. |
Picket Fences
03:58
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She said “I miss you, oh I miss you, oh I miss you so”
I asked her why she left me standing all alone
She said “the fire it went out so long ago”
But I can feel the embers raging down below.
She said “I Love You” in a secret guarded tone
As we lay there buried deep inside the snow
And as our shielded eyes explored eachother’s hearts
The winter wind it made it clear, it made it clear, it made it clear
She said “I miss you, oh I miss you, oh I miss you so”
I asked her why she left me standing all alone
She said “the fire it went out so long ago”
But I can feel the embers raging down below.
And as the heat drifts up to crack my swelling heart
The palpitations make it real, they make it real, they make it real
So now the streets are bare the sound has stopped
The picket fences all burned down
The windows broke, the porch askew
The rafters fell into the living room
And if it rains, these wounds can heal
And there’ll be no one at the wheel
In blinding light, a milky fog
Then we will see, there’s no more dreams, there’s no more dreams
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4. |
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Hold me in the last light, roll me when it feels right
Seal me in a dark tomb, heal me in the bedroom
And if I said it’s love, she said it might.
We say goodbye, the tears will fall away
We don’t cry, we’ll go our separate ways.
And I don’t mind being alone tonight,
But tomorrow scares me the mood is tight.
She don’t mind being alone tonight,
When tomorrow comes, tomorrow comes.
She talked about the future, she talked about the way things were that night.
The feeling was uncertain, our vision of a world beyond tonight
And I can see we’re going separate ways, right now I’m feeling all this space
We’ve tried and failed so many ways, it always feels the same.
She talked about the future, I talked about the past.
I don’t want nobody I else I don’t want nobody else.
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5. |
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There’s an urgency in your voice
And a violence in the way we try
When it’s raging in the streets
Can we capture all the ways it dries out the heat
And every well-intended middle class boy claims he’s got the beat
Emotion’s running red
In the strangest way we seek the truth
From the safety of a lens
And the shadow of devoured youth
From the pages of a zine
Revolution in a broken beat
Behind curtains made of lead
And the image of a smiling child freedom fed
If every riot’s brought to you by the screen in time we’re having fun.
Imagine if you want my friends a rabble-rousing cynic on the stage
Imagine if you can my peers a poor excuse of citizen decay
Imagine all the trophies won and lives we lost pursuing our new state
Upon the internet where kings and queens aren’t born, they’re custom made
There’s a camera in your face
From a million points of view
While the protest’s gaining pace
There’s more reporters than there’s youth
And every well intended middle-class girl claims she’s got the beat.
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6. |
Saw it in the Stars
03:15
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Guidance, guidance what’s my name?
I heard it on the corner that Jesus saves all men.
She read my cards in an old train car
Positioning the fabric beneath the stars oh man
We see what’s right and we see what’s wrong,
Declare it all a prophecy ignoring our own faults…..but I can see them all.
I saw it in the stars, the stars, the stars
I read it in the scripture sent by God
The lines upon your palm they stretched like antennae, I’ve found
That you can fake the sound
Man on the corner he’s preaching hate,
Proclaiming from the gospel the enemies of the state
Psychic priest, God’s faithful squire
He screams out to the crowd to throw the weak onto the fire
Men of God they scream out loud, they’re speaking all the tongues but they don't know how to cry…they only know how to lie.
I saw it in the stars, the stars, the stars
I read it in the Scripture sent by God
The lines upon your palm they stretched like antennae, I’ve found
That you can shake the proud
Clock rings loud at the break of day, the devil’s only one mistake away beware,
The feeling in your bones when you take a life in God’s holy name it was a fight for you and me
The gurus in their frocks set the kids on fire they’ll fabricate the truth and admonish all the liars, and feed it back to the choir.
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7. |
Press
03:58
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Simple pleasure, simple truth, the press of flesh, the flush of youth, so smooth
Simple point a voyeur's view, a voyeur's view, a voyeur's view so smooth (it's you)
Hands in motion, body wracked, her face shows shame but mine is rapt, I’m trapped.
Lens is gazing, bed’s askew,
she hates the pain but smiles when he’s through. (so crude)
On the couch and down the stairs, it’s five on one I scream and no one cares
Wet with sweat her body aches it looks so good but how much can she take? (It’s late)
Choking back, her spit’s on fire, the light it blinks it’s time she opens wide
Can’t give up this mortal sin, I’ve paid the lot but rot’s still sinking in. (they win)
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8. |
The Beat
03:23
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Run away, she left that journal entry blank today
She couldn’t write the words or think to say
That her mama didn’t love her, didn’t want her
Couldn’t stand to see her face, it brings back memories, drags up feelings that she’s got her father’s eyes and that’s all anyone sees anyway.
It’s that sound, the thump of children's bodies on the ground
Distinctive but enough to turn around
She hides her shame, spits in anger, invites them over strokes her baby, screams its name
Shaken children, stare at mommy ask forgiveness for their crimes
But it’s the last time that she’ll hear them whine
We didn't listen, we didn't listen
When the beats dropped out we didn’t listen, we didn’t listen
When you hear those beats you know what’s on its way
When you hear those screams you know that it’s too late
A surprise, the fact that there’s a brightness in her eyes
And though her friends are few she seems to try
She speaks out louder, crying softer hold her head up to the light
The anger softens, life is better, or at least it is tonight
When she goes back home to pick a fight.
I Make the call, hiding in my room it’s all around
The crashes of her rage will never calm,
she doesn’t like me, I don’t like her but her daughter needs me now
She doesn’t know me, doesn’t want this but the anger’s overflowed
And it’s the last time that she’ll have to cry
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9. |
The Social Week
04:15
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It’s happened again, it’s Friday again
Alone, surrounded by folks I thought that I’d known
And you’re walking in, a girl that I know
I tensed up, I tore out a dream from a hope long ago
And I’m too tight to relax
And I’m too scared to let it all back
I pick up the phone, I know she won’t talk
She cares but it’s too much and too late to ask that it show.
I check in to say “I saw you today,
You were vacant, and listless, and distant at three feet away.”
And I’m too tight to relax
And I’m too scared to let it all back,
These nervous ticks are coming on again,
And I hate to be the one at the end
I hate to be the one at the end
Well the hope on a Monday’s for Friday again
But by the end of the week my fear’s kicking in
And I’m tired, and nervous, and sick of the heat
And It’s no one’s fault but my own
It’s no one’s fault but my own.
It’s happened again, It’s Monday again
And now the countdown starts all over again.
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10. |
Promises You Made
04:31
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Are you listening to me?
‘Cause mister I called for you but I ain’t heard for weeks.
Mister, are you sitting next to me?
And when I shout for you will you speak back to me?
And when we talk, I see you nod
I see you laugh, I feel you yawn
The worst is now, the time is come
We feel the heat, we taste the scum
The thread is lost, and I don’t believe
You’re listening at all, and I don’t believe
That change will come
Mister, Is it cold in here tonight?
‘Cause maybe you’ll share with me when you turn out the light.
Mister, Are you hungry yet tonight?
I saw you in my house but I, I didn’t fight.
I saw you, on the road, by the lake but I didn’t wave.
Saw you shaking hands, making friends but I felt afraid
Saw you stealing bread this way
Mister, Is it difficult to speak?
I hear you talking but I can’t track the beat.
Mister, Is it difficult to preach?
You’ve been praying a lot but I’m not allowed to teach.
Dreams fall away, cast aside by the greed and hate.
Dreams, that were deep, deemed unsafe by the rich and vain.
Dreams that you shunned today
I’ve been following signs of promises you made
But I’ve resigned to wait another day
For policies we’ll never see and never were at all
And when we talk, I see you nod
I see you laugh, I feel you yawn
The worst is now, the time is come
We feel the heat, we taste the scum
We’ve hit the rocks, it’s come to pass
The rapture’s here, the prophet’s back
The thread is lost and I don’t believe
You’re listening at all, and I don’t believe
That change will come
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11. |
Stitched Together
04:40
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When the doctors are digging down under my skin someone’s there, someone’s there
When I’m asked to be comfortable standing with them I’m not there, I’m not there.
I’ve never felt alone, I’ve never felt at home.
These pills weren’t taken for pain, they’re for the way I feel tonight
And now I’ve come to avoid the different ways I’m made to bleed.
I’m sorry that I didn’t call you again, I grabbed the phone but lost control
It seems I'm avoiding the best of my friends, I’ve been told I’m ill-disposed.
I’ll be waiting here, waiting til it clears, hiding til the crowds thin out.
These pills weren’t taken for pain, they’re for the way I feel tonight,
And now I’ve come to avoid the different ways I’m made to bleed.
I found the tone but I’ve never felt so alone, alone like this, alone like this
And now I’m home but I’m feeling like all is gone and I’ll never get it back.
Now I’ve found the cure to my strain. In one dose, I’ve solved the most
Difficult of all my awkwardest foes.
I’m okay, but not okay.
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12. |
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Another Friday night at home, another weekend spent alone
And when the hour hand comes round that’s more time that I spend here
With melody as my best friend and as my greatest fear.
It’s why you haven’t seen me yet today
It’s why you haven’t seen me yet this year
It’s why you think my life is going down the drain
But this is me, this is me this is me.
I can understand the pain, I’d be angry at me too.
When you call me on the phone, and I let it ring
It’s not because I don’t need you it’s more about this ring
In my ears, in my head, the suffocation of this thread
A quiet note, a whispered phrase, the harmony’s thin today.
You asked if I’ll be back today, well that depends if I’m away
And it depends if I’m right here writing this song.
If I am I’ll stay away, because it’s all about this ring
In my ears, in my head, the self-affliction of this thread
A quite note, a lilted phrase, the rhythm is thick today.
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Dead Kings of Norway St Paul, Minnesota
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