Culture
CARBON COPIES
Carbon copies, carbon, carbon copies...
Carbon copies, carbon, carbon copies...
Born with all the spit and polish
The family name could muster
Casting shadows in the light
Of the neighboring star cluster
The cobwebs of connections
Old money fuels that big head start
Your pick of prized professions
From corporate law to modern art
chorus:
Carbon copies, carbon, carbon copies and the numbers don't drop
Error, error, error upon error and the printer won't stop
Carbon copies, carbon, carbon copies pages black & white
Terror, terror, terror upon terror with no end in sight
bridge:
Carbon copy socialite
Imprinted with its pretty face
Such are the perks of taking breaths
At the right moment in time and space
Carbon copy business suit
Brain-dead brute gets a clothing line
Tailor-made to market the brand
Pushing hand-me-down white collar crime
Carbon copies, carbon, carbon copies...
Carbon copies, carbon, carbon copies...
Deep in all the grime and gravel
History's neglected kid
Playing catch up all your life
With Maslow's lofty pyramid
A mine field of directions
Sideline big plans for making good
Adult-like obligations
Weighing down a stolen childhood
(chorus)
bridge:
Carbon copy service job
Young lives fettered in retail chains
The nameless, faceless worker drone
Cheap labour as your life blood drains
Carbon copy shooting spree
A copycat case of life gone wrong
Trials summed up in a sentence
To run consecutive life-terms long
(chorus)
fade out:
Carbon copies, carbon, carbon copies...
Error, error, error upon error...
BIBLE BELT GUN SHOW
Who knew putting up a fight
Meant putting on a show
One too many times in court
And now you've got to go
All crowd around the golden calf
Commander-dolt-in-chief
As he's led away in handcuffs
To their shock and disbelief
chorus:
Bible Belt gun show
It keeps them entertained
The politics that fools and tricks
The bored and addled brained
Bible Belt gun show
You showed them who's in charge
How fast you go from cult hero
To fugitive at large
Bible Belt gun show (Jesus in camo)
Bible Belt gun show (scripture meets ammo)
Bible Belt gun show (backwoods G.I. Joe)
Bible Belt gun show (Jehovah to bravo)
It was one long heart attack
From Clinton through Obama
Subjecting every tortured soul
To all your needless drama
Lashing twisted tongues
Grotesque legal contortions
Ratchet up the crazy
To unheard of proportions
Condemn the un-American
And make your little speech
As you peddle your religion
Borrowed from the Middle East
Guns going into Starbucks
On family Christmas cards
Popping up in campaign ads
Like victims in graveyards
(chorus)
You got the nurses, the teachers
The school boards on the run
What was it you were saying
Mister good guy with a gun?
You claimed it's for your self-defense
Claimed it's for protection
As you crowd around the ballot box
To shoot out an election
Got you foaming at the mouth
At their Pavlovian bell
A little neural programming
And you're angry as all hell
Boycott the social sites
Boycott the NFL
Drive those lizard-brain resentments
Into every gun they sell
(chorus)
CULTS & COSTUMES
A planet in search of an identity
That lingering phase of immaturity
We grow out of roles but the acting resumes
A planet of cults and costumes
Some ride out in packs joining leather clad gangs
Or grow into fictional vampire fangs
Some wield a guitar in the world of hair bands
Or buzz cut their skulls as some leader commands
chorus:
Products of fads and demo targeting
We fall prey to heroes of slick marketing
Fresh out of schoolyards and sheltered playrooms
We all choose our cults and costumes
Some play the role of militia recruits
Kevlar and camo and thick combat boots
Some copy the walk and the slang of street toughs
Or dwell underground wielding whips and handcuffs
Some cover their tracks, lugging camping equipment
To hide in the forest from worldly commitment
Some rule over flocks in imperious robes
Or tattoo and pierce from their toes to earlobes
chorus:
Products of trends and the spells on tv
We Bogart the first hat that fits to a T
Fresh out of patience for corporate boardrooms
We all choose our cults and costumes
bridge:
The core of ourselves can get buried so deep
Far too weighted down and neglected
We take our escapes to unhealthy extremes
To fit in and not feel rejected
Some slip into armor of scholarly tweed
A clever defense built with all that they read
Some come to regret the gang colors they've worn
And seek new respect in a clean uniform
We rummage wardrobes for respectable shirts
To cover the scars where our wounded pride hurts
Ashamed of ourselves and the humans we are
Sometimes our centered self wanders too far
(chorus)
CLICK & CLASH
Logging on and logging in
Your favorite soapbox for your vanities
When all at once you're treated to
Another onslaught of disparities
Here we click and there we clash
Combating storms of new conspiracies
She's a groomer, he's a fash
Is there no end to these rivalries?
chorus:
Clicking around in a click & clash world
Crawling with conspiracy theories
Another domain for hosting your pain
Streaming in the latest new series
Triggering nerves in a click & clash world
Mass targeting the weakest of links
Frustrated gamer, cringe echo chamber
Not caring what else anyone thinks
Trolling up and trolling down
Another day trading in expletives
Where foreign assets fan flame wars
And secret click farms sow false narratives
Here we click and there we clash
Caught in a web of animosities
Spinning zones for apps on phones
Planning platforms for atrocities
(chorus)
Clicking around in a click and clash world
And finding out the hard way
THE LINES OF SIGHT
The houses dot the landscape
Boundaries marked by fence and tree
The spaces that comprise
Our civilized society
A balance of organic charm
And uniformity
Nature and Humanity
At last have called a truce
And the houses stand in harmony
With the maple and the spruce
But underneath the tranquility
Under the days of sunlit rest
The faint but ever growing sound
Is a soul beating its chest
chorus 1:
Angles meet and lines converge
Patterns form and start to merge
Into the lines of sight
The houses hug the hillside
Borders flush, compact, and tight
A bright young girl with life in her veins
On a cold and rocky height
Surveys the hillside homes
In the early morning light
The person and the property
Are not to be defaced
But the lines that separate the souls
Are savagely erased
And every tear looks more like blood
And a chance to quench the thirst
For the carnivores of consciousness
Who are quick to move in first
(chorus 1)
chorus 2:
Shadows fall and shapes are freed
Colors run and start to bleed
Into the lines of sight
The houses line the lake shore...
WORLD WIDE SCALE
Changes must be made
On a world wide scale
Consequences weighed
On a world wide scale
Justice must be measured out
On a world wide scale
Understanding brought about
On a world wide scale
As displaced populations mount
And diplomatic options fail
chorus 1:
All the hopes our plans betray
And still we call for votes
All the lives our efforts save
While at each others throats...
On a world wide scale...
Tempers must be cooled
On a world wide scale
All resources pooled
On a world wide scale
Measures must be carried out
On a world wide scale
Understanding brought about
On a world wide scale
As bad blood boosts the body count
And diplomatic pressures fail
chorus 2:
All the problems we ignore
And still we want to solve
All the thoughts that we condemn
While screaming to evolve...
On a world wide scale...
Power must be shared
On a world wide scale
Unity declared
On a world wide scale
Progress - we must tabulate
On a world wide scale
Happiness - re-calibrate
On a world wide scale
As heart rate readings elevate
And diplomatic measures fail
(chorus 1 + 2)
Changes must be made
On a world wide scale
Paradise surveyed
On a world wide scale...
Hate and hunger ended
Life and limb defended
On a world wide scale...
ONLINE SUNSHINE
Some days should be shut down
Before they even boot up
Held by the scruff of the neck
Like a feisty newborn pup
Images cropped to wound the heart
Tweets to hurt the head
A love in danger of deletion
Like a what-the-fuck? forum thread
Such an online
Ray of sunshine
chorus 1:
Doesn't matter who you are or method of transmission
No one has to take your shit or digital derision
You can text it, you can phone it, you can fling it online
Over wifi, over 5G, in a fucking FaceTime
You're still not getting through
Sunshine
Try to have a digital life
On this or that social site
Keep a low profile so
A web of drama won't ignite
Click-bait for the hungry trolls
Out to have me for dessert
Every post erupts in flames
The whole site now alert
Such an online
Ray of sunshine
(chorus 1)
breakdown (crackled and whispered phoned message):
Login, upload
From home or road
My little smartphone warrior
It's digital euphoria
Delete, resend
It's half pretend
My little message courier
The lines are getting blurrier
chorus 2:
Doesn't matter who you are or method of transmission
No one has to take your shit or digital derision
You can text it, you can phone it, you can fling it online
Over wifi, over 5G, in a fucking FaceTime
You're still not getting through
Remember who you're talking to
You still got work to do
On you
Sunshine
Sunshine
Sunshine
Sunshine
LAWS OF EMOTION
No brave deed to pull a trigger
No brave deed to throw a brick
Early Man could start a fire
Any ape can swing a stick
No brave deed to vanquish foes
By lining them up in unarmed rows
For all the backs they want against the wall
The one in China couldn't hold them all
This is crazy
This is totally insane
Words of fire fan the anger
Tempers rise to fever pitch
Generations primed for contest
Egos scratch that violent itch
No brave deed to vanquish foes
By lining them up in unarmed rows
For all the backs they want against the wall
The one in China couldn't hold them all
This is crazy
This is way beyond insane
This is no way to live
With access to a brain
chorus (X2):
So tell me the laws of emotion
What do we have a right to feel?
And how do we know our reactions
Are in response to something real?
All these eyes that lash out blindly
All these hearts that hate on sight
There's inter-species rivalry
But in our own can't be right
No brave deed to vanquish foes
By lining them up in unarmed rows
For all the backs they want against the wall
The one in China couldn't hold them all
This is crazy
This is tearing us apart
This is no way to feel
With access to a heart
(chorus)
VIEWER DISCRETION
Tripping over themselves they granted a god
Unlimited access to our souls
Promising Heaven but delivering Hell
Confession of sins as the camera rolls
It's Judgment Day come rule on Earth
But uncensored and more televised
This world they've created is Heaven x-rated
And viewer discretion is advised
chorus:
Inundated by conspiracies online
In a useless information age
Strangulated via digitized grapevine
Killing time in a cold-blooded rage
They cling to a stage where a god can judge us
Without our approval or defense
Where according to some what would Jesus do
Is pass judgment under false pretense
v
And it's Judgment Day, make no mistake
Now in session and secularized
This world they've created is Heaven x-rated
And viewer discretion is advised
(chorus)
Secret conversation
Lurid escapade
(And the camera...)
Useless information
Picked up and relayed
(And the camera rolls)
SHADOWS OF STEEL
A city with a city
An island in a sea of concrete
As far below the captains in cars
Navigate the street
Luxury hotels
Exclusive upscale homes
Teeming residential
And commercial building zones
Dangerous designs
Sky high skylines
chorus:
Building on such a grand scale
Some wouldn't think it wise
Who are they to make a sale
And affect so many lives?
Some have said it helps to spread
And strengthen business ties
The arguments go on and on
While steel still fills our skies
A city within a city
A mountain in an engineered chain
As high atop the kings of the hill
Laugh and sip champagne
A shimmering high rise
Has blotted out the sun
And casts a shadow on
A decaying city slum
Executive suites
Rooftop retreats
SUPERVISION
When our children make us proud
It's the values we imbue
But when they shame the family name
There was nothing we could do
We claim credit and control
If they get the right results
Children until they snap and kill
Then we try them as adults
chorus:
Our supervision was always somewhat blurry
It's supervision on the verge of going blind
No time to focus, adults are in a hurry
Another problem child far too gone to find
They need our expert guidance
And constant supervision
But when they make a big mistake
It was solely their decision
We oversee their actions
We command them to obey
But claim no voice in their wrong choice
When the trial's underway
(chorus)
Their growing minds don't know enough
To dress or fix their meals
And yet they're held accountable
For life and death ideals
And haunted by the memory
Of a baby in their lap
You think these model parents would
Even ask to take the rap?
(chorus)
PERFECT UNION
"We the people" are not free enough to understand
Those three little words
Unity is not means for exploiting the working class
Like stampeding herds
It's not a chain for shackling
The life of an independent man
All minds seek liberty
In order to achieve a plan
...And in order to form a more perfect union
We the loving are not brave enough to contemplate
Our own solitude
Loneliness is not a claim upon the love of another heart
No matter how viewed
It's not a cage for capturing
The heart of an independent mind
All need equality
In order to respond in kind
(chorus)
THE WORLD IS GETTING AWAY
Sunlight threw suspicion on the moon
Then the stars were blamed
Someone pointed a finger at the gods
And the universe was framed
But the world, the world is getting away
But the world, the world is getting away
Oil implicated
In a world wide scheme
Everyone a victim
Of a hijacked dream
Zombies we circle the block
Like hands on the face of a clock
Life's a tattered suit
That just don't fit
We slowly waste away
Growing into it
Shoppers just doing time
In life's frozen check-out line
chorus:
The world is getting away
From the scene of the crime
And leaving shards of evidence
In shattered lives behind
The world is getting away
Giving all of us the slip
Like an omen to a clueless crew
Abandoned by the ship
Poisonous cloud
Building in the air
Handy-man planet
In need of repair
World full of carbon emission
Less than in live-in condition
Demographic born
To sweat and slave
Busy being mommy's
Little live-in maid
"Daddy said pick up the slack
And finish before we get back"
(chorus)
On the sea of extinction
Where wind and tide begin to shift
Under sky as thin as ice
Another species set adrift
FUCK THE WORLD
What if there were no rivals to face?
No worldly threats or wars to be won?
What if there were no calls of distress?
Nor any need at all for a hero to come?
How would you pass your days?
Without such submissive praise?
Could you coolly co-exist?
Or would you resist and...
chorus 1:
Fuck the world
Fuck humanity
Anything to prove
Your masculinity
Fuck the world
Got to show them you're brave
Need a nemesis to fight
And a damsel to save
Even if it's digging your own grave
What if there were no cries for justice?
No discontents or crime to control?
What if there were no spies to suspect?
Nor any need at all for a border patrol?
How would you ever breathe?
At which nothing you could seethe?
Would you shrivel up and die?
Or shout at the sky and...
chorus 2:
Fuck the world
Fuck civility
Anything to shield
Such vulnerability
Fuck the world
Got to always play rough
Need an enemy to hate
And to always look tough
Even if inside you've had enough
Customized crisis, over-blown urgency
Yet another emergency made for you…
Dog whistle whisper, raw animosity...
Any slur or atrocity will do...
Fuck the world
(chorus 1 + 2)
THE DYNAMO
Breathless from the run
We eyed the atmosphere
All above condensing and churning
Two hearts, we flee as one
So freshly driven from
Our prisons of silence and yearning
I can hear the low-pitched hum
Feel the built up momentum
Of the dynamo toiling and turning
The school day flows and nobody knows
Of our brazen truancy
So many ways to release the days'
Pent-up energy
Bounding down the hill
Spirits running high
Pass the ancient mill
Decrepit and run dry
The dead leaves clog the floor
Of the dried up river bed
The foreman's by the door
Of the grey utility shed
She can feel the low-pitched hum
Sense the built up momentum...
chorus:
Our eyes are galvanized
By the gleaming power source
And the music of mechanics
Wields a mighty force
New found energy
Unlimited and free
Applied thermodynamics
Works its worldly course
The old foreman says "The world won't be the same"
As we bid goodbye and brace to brave the rain
Electric flashes charge the skies
In a fusillade of spears
The lightning echoes on her eyes
Then thunder in my ears
Stately power lines
In dynamic pose
Trace our headlong flight
To where the power goes
On the outskirts of the town
The company linemen pause
For a hearty, homespun round
Of rainy day applause
(chorus)
The old foreman sees the price of progress high
And the impact on society so large
Now we market electricity to buy
When the beating of our hearts is free of charge
I can hear the low-pitched hum
Feel the built up momentum…
makeituntrue.com
Somehow I knew in the cold cyber night
One day I'd visit a grave site...
Cast in a cold light
Eyes that evade
Trapped in a cruel world
Faults on parade
Somehow I knew...
Somehow I knew...
Exiled spirit
Troubled outcast
Future in doubt
Long and tortured past
Somehow I knew...
Somehow I knew...
chorus:
No sailing off into the cyber sea
No editing of your icon
No hyperlink from reality
No makeituntrue.com
Somehow I knew in the cold cyber night
One day I'd visit a grave site...
Cold-hearted people
Eyes that find fault
Relentless laughter
Daily assault
Somehow I knew...
Somehow I knew...
Broken and battered
Spirit war-torn
Raging inside
Like a North Sea storm
Somehow I knew...
Somehow I knew...
(chorus)
bridge:
It's a haunted message board
You're a frozen cyber ghost
Sometimes I return
And reread your final post
Searching for a clue
That would have made it all untrue...
KEEP YOUR COOL
All those years and drugs you took
The schoolyard bullies went off the hook
Medicate the victims who protest?
But not the thugs who target and molest?
"Someone show the latest chump
Our psychological garbage dump
Make sure our new friend gets the royal tour
Let's see how much their psyche can endure"
chorus 1:
Character assassins mixed within our ranks
Won't let the little misfits play
The epitome of cool but they can't realize
"The bully" is an old cliche
Voodoo doll of the spirit -
The cool kids curse - the misfits fear it -
Separate the ones who've had enough
"It's just some insignificant kid's stuff"
All year long they wear the tags
Of psychological punching bags
Analyze the ones about to snap
"The guidance counselor's fed up with your crap"
(chorus 1)
chorus 2:
Character assassins mixed within our ranks
Won't let the little misfits play
The epitome of cool but they can't realize
"The bully" is a dead cliche
"The bully" is a dead cliche
"The bully" is a dead...
Keep your cool
I don't want to learn that in school
I don't want to learn that in school
I don't want to learn...
Keep your cool
And if I have to learn that in school
If I have to learn that in school
Then I don't want to learn...
tag verse:
And we'll never call on ourselves
And we'll never open our eyes
Until the "gun" word shows up on a list
Of back-to-school supplies
abrupt fade out line:
Character assassins mixed within our ranks...
SUBSCRIPTION
didn't order all the pain and the fear
didn't order a single shedded tear
i have yet to see a victim-less day
on this planet we call civilized
didn't order all the scandals and schemes
rogue principalities and two-bit regimes
daily doses of the bloodiest scenes
we've prerecorded and televised
pre-chorus 1:
didn't order a peace treaty signed
when a hand shake should have sufficed
didn't order the prospects for peace
so extravagantly over-priced
pre-chorus 2:
didn't order the cameras to close in
when countless could have been saved
didn't order the heroes to hang back
when waters could have been braved
chorus:
cancel my subscription -
it's a world of contradiction*
this was not your ads description
i ordered paradise!
cancel my subscription to this life
cancel my subscription to this...
didn't order all the terrorist cults
lives led astray and the fatal results
children caught up in the crimes of adults
brainwashed to pray and praise suicide
didn't order all the racist dot coms
psychotics tinkering with homemade pipe bombs
lone assassins quoting scripture and psalms
to prove their actions were justified
(pre-chorus 1+2)
(chorus)
breakdown:
the tension only breaks
when a dream within awakes
and the human spirit takes
a new form
irrationality
floats like so much loose debris
carried clear across the sea
in a storm
in a storm
didn't order all the bubble-gum pop
mass market divas and gangster hip-hop
updated versions of the same old crop
of vaudevillian song and dance routines
didn't order all the crime on tv
turned entertainment for the citizenry
i'm not a lawyer so why should i be
so transfixed on countless courtroom scenes?
(pre-chorus 1+2)
(chorus)
*Line substitutes.
First, second and third run-through of chorus:
1rst: It's a world of contradiction
2nd: It's a world of dereliction
3rd: It's a world of mass affliction
All Rights Reserved
COPYRIGHT
All songs are copyright protected. The right of (artist name) to be identified as the author of these works has been asserted by him in accordance with Copyright, Design and Patent Acts. All rights are reserved. No part of any lyric published may be reproduced, stored or transmitted by any means without the permission of the author.