1. |
Circadianism
03:46
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Now picture this:
A blank canvas
Another start
Fresh perspective
A calm without a storm to come
Relax a moment just to catch our breath
Imagine that
Another chance
To get things right
Rebuild a bridge
Take every mistake we've ever made
And eliminate the consequence
If it's only a dream
Then please just let me sleep
What if there are no victims
Just accessories?
And what if I am just as guilty?
Consider this:
It's all a mess
There's no turning back
What did you expect?
There are no words I can impress
Nothing that you would not soon forget
If it's only a dream
Then please wake me from this sleep
What if we hold no value
Except as commodities?
And what if I am just as guilty?
And round and round we go
And it's seemingly impossible
Such a sight to behold
Senseless and negligible
If it's only a dream
Then please wake me from this sleep
What if we're doomed to repeat
Every impropriety?
And what if I am just as guilty?
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2. |
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There is something light-like in the way that we behave
We are always fully particle; always fully wave
And I can’t say with certainty there’s not a demon here at play
Or whether you exist or you’re a phantom limb refusing to decay
In waiting we live our lives
But we are all condemned to die
And that’s our only certainty
There is no sin in the human condition
We are not flawed; we are not incomplete
There is no curse in our existence
Just myths disguised as meaning
Sometimes I wonder just how much beast we’re willing to embrace
Our repugnance is so telling but I still struggle with why we’re so ashamed
Is there any sense in denying that it’s less symptom than disease?
I’m not asking for forgiveness and I’m not looking for release
Such impressive intellect
Such utter disconnect
Between us and who we want to be
There is no sin in the human condition
We are not flawed; we are not incomplete
There is no curse in our existence
Just myths disguised as meaning
With all my heart I hope and pray; I guess you can call that faith
But it’s never really mattered much if god had a human face
And you’ll pardon me if I won’t define what I can’t comprehend
I’m just not sure how much good can come from trying so hard to pretend
There was a time I wanted truth
But that was way back in my youth
Now I’m content with absurdity
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3. |
#nolivesmatter
04:29
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We were all sleeping so sound
A silence willful and profound
Exalted our straw men and gods
Armed our own firing squads
A delusion so completely inane
So absurdly insane
A tonic to dilute the pain
To pacify and explain
That's why we're divided
That’s why we're complacent and so well contained
That’s why senseless violence lies
In the fiction we struggle to feign
And why nothing will change
We were all sleeping so sound
Until the bombs started hitting the ground
Felt the first tinges of shame
When we could pronounce all the names
Categorize and compartmentalize
We tend to dehumanize
Separate all the “we”s from the “they”s
Until we feel safe
That's how we’ve come this far
And they say that old habits die hard
That’s why we can't shed the shame
The carnage is lustfully craved
And nothing will change
While my heart is broken
And I feel so hopeless
It’s just for a moment
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4. |
Champagne Rivers
05:15
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“Give me your tired; your poor” she said
Her pants engulfed in flames
Her eyes, they seemed so genuine
And her robe disguised her shame
She once had such open arms
Her gaze fixed upon the sea
But the copper they used to make her
Has turned dollar bill green
And if the fences aren’t tall enough
We’re equipped to build a wall
And if that doesn’t stop the floodgates
I guess we’ll have to kill them all.
Greetings from paradise; it’s even better than TV
A picture postcard the likes you’ve never seen
With champagne rivers and gold paved streets
And so many pretty people with nothing underneath
The winds of change have stopped blowing
Now the real storm has settled in
All that’s left now is the acid rain
And a sense of entitlement
And if we don’t squander our inheritance
Before we’re overtaken with disease
We may face the reckoning we’ve earned
By building this machine
And every idea has externalities
Like every creature has its flaws
I heard the last cries of defiance
As she was clenching down her jaws
Greetings from paradise; it’s even better than TV
A picture postcard the likes you’ve never seen
With champagne rivers and gold paved streets
And so many pretty people with nothing underneath
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5. |
My Abandoned Ship
05:02
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An expectation set I still haven’t met
A white lie disguised as encouragement
A proud affirmation designed to help cope
With a life seemingly devoid of hope
But you were a lighthouse to my abandoned ship
Whose cowardly captain lies dead somewhere in the ocean
And your beaconing light cried out though the effort was useless
Tumultuous shores eat the proof of my futile existence
Such a heavy burden to have to inherit
To try and love a vessel so detached and callous
And your weakening will erodes like rocks in the sea
To try and uphold a forecast you never believed
Yet you were a lighthouse to my abandoned ship
Whose self-concerned captain’s intentions we less than honest
And your warm glow is meaning in this otherwise pointless voyage
There are no heroes here pulling bodies out from the wreckage
Such innocent eyes that look upon me
With such faith and resolve and naiveté
For I cannot win I can only withdraw
Although I am your world now I am no one at all
But you are a lighthouse to my abandoned ship
Whose counterfeit captain surrendered before being captured
And your guiding illuminance although pure and brilliant
Will not return me to whole; I’m afraid there are too many pieces
But before I sink, please know that this trip was worth it
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6. |
Sincerest Apologies
03:24
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You can’t escape
You can’t refuse
A freedom from your will
You didn’t get to choose
Callow hands
Cover credulous hearts
Allegiance offered devotedly
Horses led by carts
I’m disillusioned with
This inheritance
That we’ve left you with
But I hope you will accept
My sincerest apologies
I can’t say enough that I’m sorry
There are two teams
One red. One blue.
They both ignore the truth
And they speak in platitudes
Until the next psychopath is hailed
The state may well be functional
I’d still say it’s failed
I’m suffocating in
This enclosed system
That we’ve left you with
But I hope you will accept
My sincerest apologies
I can’t say enough that I’m sorry
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7. |
Unworthy!
04:08
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An unfamiliar cold and a shining light
Doctors in masks and the sharp sound of your cries
Cut the cord; You’re on your own now.
And every day is just another step
You feel creation shrink with every passing breath
Practice the charade until you know how
We took jobs that we didn’t like
They paid the bills
But they hollowed us out inside
Stuffed with straw like a scarecrow
Built up restaurants and shopping malls
And sold our souls so we could buy it all
We never saw the ending coming
Buried the poor in debris and scraps
Flattened the land; never even looking back
Taking pride in our cunning
Fatigue takes place of sincere effort
And we take pills for every little discomfort
There were wins;
They were rare though
A sad history of little consequence
A summary captured in a single sentence
Our epitaphs will read: Unworthy!
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8. |
Of Mediocrity
04:28
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I can’t help but be convinced
That I’ve been such a disappointment
And if you could see me now
I did not become who you expected
You really felt that you were blessed
And lived your life to best reflect
A promise made but never kept
Shrouded in delusion
And you made me an accessory
Now all I want is to be free
To be okay with the life I’ve made
Like I pretend to be
By now I should have given up
Because everything I had wasn’t enough
Still, I hesitate to pass this cup
Until someone calls my bluff
You’ll always find me in the wings
Waiting for my turn to sing
And just because it no longer stings
Doesn’t mean I’ll ever forget it
Because when you told me I’d be great
I mistook your ignorance for fate
Your inerrant voice
Affected every choice I ever made
And now I guess I should confess
It’s not that my life is meaningless
It’s just that I no longer possess
The strength to keep on searching
And I know that this acknowledgement
Among the many mistakes and marked regrets
Contends that I should clean up the mess
That I parade as virtue
So I will blend in so beautifully
Never making waves or changing speeds
I’ll just suffice to living a life
Of mediocrity
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9. |
A Declining Trend
03:30
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“You’re one lifetime off!”
You laughed and you scoffed
“Why don’t you come on down
From that soapbox, kiddo?”
Still there are those who believed
That music meant more than anything
And they will sing sing sing
Almost like they have a voice
But they’ll be forgotten now due to record sales
Manifestos warehoused to make room on the shelves
For the vacuous tripe sealed in cellophane
A declining trend in significance
And we crowned a new queen
An idol held in such high esteem
And she will sing sing sing
Almost like she has a choice
But she’ll be forgotten too due to record sales
Manifestos warehoused to make room on the shelves
For the vacuous tripe sealed in cellophane
A declining trend in significance
I’ll be forgotten too due to record sales
Manifestos warehoused to make room on the shelves
For the vacuous tripe sealed in cellophane
A declining trend in significance
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10. |
The Heart and the Head
03:42
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I’ll be dead a long time
Before they put me in the ground
But I can’t help resisting the coffin nails
Maybe there’s a corner left
That hasn’t been made round
A production flaw negating a sale
It’s harder than we think
To tell the difference between
What is truth and what is narrative
All these jerking knees
Burn forests to save trees
See: Diminish dissonance; cognitive
Why would we rather break than bend?
I wish there was a devil
So I could blame it all on him
Why the disconnect between the heart and the head?
A star is no less beautiful
Just because it’s dead
I’ve wondered to myself
If I should bite the hand that feeds
If the other hand holds a gun to my head
No matter how much you eat
It’s always there in your periphery
Reminding you the cost of the bread
Why would we rather break than bend?
I wish there was a devil
So I could blame it all on him
Why the disconnect between the heart and the head?
A star is no less beautiful
Just because it’s dead
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11. |
Good Things
03:51
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Maybe it’s not so bad here.
Maybe I’m just pessimistic.
Maybe I fail to see the silver in the clouds
Maybe it’s just so much easier
If I call myself realistic
Instead of admitting I’m afraid to be let down
So here’s to all the good things
They remind me of why I’m still here
Even when I’m caught up in the despair
I am certain that they’re still there
I’m glad to change my tune some
And entertain a new perspective
Even if the feelings are so brief
But when I return to my state of
Being bitter or disappointed
There will always be the good things underneath
So here’s to all the good things
They remind me of why I’m still here
Even when I’m caught up in the despair
I am certain that they’re still there
My faith still ebbs and flows some
And I can’t see the purpose now
So here’s to all the good things
They remind me of why I’m still here
Even when I’m caught up in the despair
I am certain that they’re still there
And I know that I am guilty of
Years of misanthropy
The good things are still obvious to me
And I’ll keep reminding myself each time I see
Misery and pain
That the good things they will never go away
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12. |
Best Parts of Me
06:08
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I recall swollen yellow eyes
The vomit crusted to your pillow side
Doctors in white coats whose hearts had died
Who called me in to see you
My precious alien
You asked me to release you from all the medicine
And I obliged but I was no Good Samaritan
I was selfish and I felt so burdened
You should have died fighting for something
Not fighting to reclaim your life from some disease
And that morning when you died
You took the best parts of me
I must apologize
You fell into this trap before you realized
That I deserve nothing more than to be vilified
But I’m afraid it’s much too late
You’re waiting here for something that doesn’t exist
Can you taste it in my mouth every time we kiss?
I’m only halfway alive
I’ve lost the best parts of me
Your eyes: A crystal blue
I’ve never felt so whole as when I hold you
And you must believe me when I tell you this is true
I owe you my life
I never thought that I could love again
Until I fell asleep holding your tiny hand
And when I wake from this dream
I’ll have the best parts of me
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The Motel Pines Dallas, Texas
We play rock and roll.
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