1. |
For The Hills
04:13
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There’s a tiny little town in the center of the state
Hidden in the mountains, no matter which road you take
But when you get here, you’ll see something’s just not right.
There’s something in the soil that grows through the tops of trees
And there’s a taste in the water that runs through the stream
But it’s the people that make this town complete.
They say we kids are something strange, nothing short of peculiar.
Some call us artistic and others call us mutants
But it’s these differences that bring us close.
We know that some nights, you just need to scream at the moon.
Let the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end.
We are animals and we know this, we are animals and tonight we embrace it.
Let’s sing for our friends.
For the ones who made it out
And the ones who never left.
For the ones who have found a home here.
For the ones who will rest their bones here.
Let’s sing for the hills.
For the moments we will spend our lives trying to remember.
For the nights we turned livings rooms into cathedrals
And with music,
burned them to the ground.
From day one I fell in love with the smell of pine
Wet asphalt and barbecues on those morning bike rides
The smell of Cold Cheese and Rare Vos and soft spring rain.
I will pine for this town when I have moved away
And I’ll romanticize the dead deer on the interstate
And every night I fell in love and fell apart.
Consider these words a raised glass
To get weird and drink fast.
And never let our lives collect dust.
Let’s sing for our friends.
For the ones who made it out
And the ones who never left.
For the ones who have found a home here.
For the ones who will rest their bones here.
Let’s sing for the hills.
For the moments we will spend our lives trying to remember.
For the nights we turned livings rooms into cathedrals
And with music,
burned them to the ground.
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2. |
Take You Back
04:22
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The George Washington Bridge collapsed in your rear-view mirror
Through the radio, I heard your heartstrings come undone.
Misty eyed, mournful drive from thruway to thruway
I tried to find the time to stop as you passed through.
We could have gone to Neptune or the B’ville Diner for coffee at 3am.
I would have dropped everything for you, my dear friend.
I would have said any set of words to lift your heavy head.
Or we could sit in silence, but at least I’d know that you’re not alone.
But I stayed inside as your world grew smaller with every passing measured mile
And I’m sorry.
I know you hate it there, but if I could, I’d take you back to California.
To a simpler time when the future was yours and you were the queen.
To the nights where your eyes would shine in the moonlight.
To the days where your smiles were honest and wide as the sea.
If I saw you, I’d say “Hey darling, don’t beat yourself up
Over temporary things that are out of your control.”
I know you can’t feel it now, but I promise there’s good in where you’re at.
You can tell me that I’m wrong, but I swear this all will pass.
Someday soon, someone will love you right
Even if you rent out your heart a hundred more nights
When the candles burn low and the flowers have died
The man you've been waiting for will be by your side to make you a wife.
I know you hate it there, but if I could, I’d take you back to California.
To a simpler time when the future was yours and you were the queen.
To the nights where your eyes would shine in the moonlight.
To the days where your smiles were honest and wide as the sea.
If I don’t see you again, remember what we said
I’ll keep a space inside my heart if you can keep me as a friend
When this whole thing blows over, you’ll find I was right
There will be someone in your bed to keep you safe through the night.
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3. |
Wildflower
02:14
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Another storm is rolling in
Thunder shakes the power-lines
The sky erupts as lightning strikes
And the street shine with the rain
Another night is wasted
With bourbon and hand rolled cigarettes
I just received another text
About the awful day you’ve had
You say “It gets worse and worse without you here
I can’t take much more, my dear
It’s been raining since the day you left.”
You say “It’s getting harder to fall asleep at night
All the days feel longer” and you say you might
"Sell everything I own and come stay with you."
You say “I feel like a wild flower.
Like the ones we found down by the stream,
Like the ones that you picked out for me
On that lazy afternoon”
You say “I’m tired of the dirt.
These old rocks and weeds around me
I wish the wind would set me free
Or I may wilt and die in the soil
You say “I want some passerby to see me
In all my natural beauty
And with dirty fingers deliver me from the Earth.
Make me the center-piece of a great bouquet
And spend my last days on display
In a vase in somebody else’s home.”
Don’t do that my love
You need more than water to grow
Without that dirt you’re cursing
Your lovely roots would have nowhere else to go.
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4. |
Fly Creek
03:30
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Give away all your lightning bugs in mason jars
And make bouquets of flowers dressed in frost.
Say goodbye to those starry nights
When fire kissed your cheeks and beer held your hand
And welcome in some cold nights alone.
Trade in all those old friends and conversations
For days spent walking alone, trapped inside your head.
You will lose so much sleep and you won’t dream
When you waste your days in memories.
There’s something about the cool breeze
That makes me think I’m being left behind.
Like the wind picked up all my great ideas
And went along without me.
There’s something about the changing leaves
That makes me feel like I am decomposing.
I am brittle, I am wilting,
Soon I’ll be swept up or buried away.
Soon I’ll be swept up, or worse, buried away.
I am brittle, I am wilting, I am decomposing.
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5. |
Irish Guilt
04:07
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I must confess, yes, I must make amends.
You have lived among a liar and now this bastard must repent.
I took that money for gifts and spent it on myself
So I could continue to live comfortably and sleep with the heat on.
Now its time to celebrate and I have nothing good to offer
Except a smile and a song and some soft spoken compliments.
This house gave me so much and all I do is take
I take up useful space with my resent and my mistakes.
This year, I will open up and reach into my chest
Place my heart into my hands and rip it apart
Put the pieces into a locket for you to wear around your neck
So that we may not forget that some bonds are too strong to break
Or I may break a couple ribs and fashion them into flutes
I’ll play a simple melody and teach it to all of you.
So you can play on those dark cold nights when you are far from home.
Although we aren’t together, we are never quite alone.
We’re headed off in our own directions, never to come back.
This house may not be perfect, but it’s everything we had.
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6. |
Unfit Dullard
01:04
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I have no time for allegory
The skin on my knuckles is wearing thin
I’ll make this short and sweet and pissed
And to the point.
Language is a very powerful thing,
But like fire
It can light up a room
Or consume your home.
You better watch what you say
When you’re in the public space.
I won’t be silent if your choice of words
Only reinforces mindless hate.
Get fucked, you ignorant piece of shit.
Don’t call anyone a whore or a faggot
Ever again.
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7. |
Secret Garden
03:29
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There’s a small stream that runs underneath
These beaten streets.
And everyday last summer
I’d soak my feet.
The water’s flow would take control
And comfort me;
To relieve and absolve as Mother whispered
Tenderly.
Did you know that it’s there?
Were you too busy to be aware?
Did the sound of running water get drowned out
By the burning of gasoline?
Did the streetlights distract you
From what you ought to know?
That a tiny body of water
Has kept this town afloat.
I miss the treeforts we built so high
We could reach the sun.
I will miss the stars when I move to a metro
And they’re gone.
I’ve learned the Earth is not meant for
Plastic bags and profiting:
It’s meant for love, truth and wonder
And skipping stones in a stream.
Did you know that it’s there?
Were you too busy to be aware?
Did the sound of running water get drowned out
By the burning of gasoline?
Did the streetlights distract you
From what you ought to know?
That a tiny body of water
Has kept this town afloat.
Mother said:
"I think I’ve spoiled my children
For I have given them everything.
I ask you take only what you need.
Remember to visit me from time to time at least.”
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8. |
Pigeonholed
03:46
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Hey man, great set! But I have to ask
What are you doing here?
Wouldn’t you feel more at home with people
More like yourself?
It just doesn’t flow, I don’t think that you belong here.
To be honest, it’s a little weird.
But here’s two bucks,
Thanks for the record.
I’m not really offended, just a little bit confused
As to when doing it yourself got a strict set of rules…
And when did punk culture close itself off
To a difference of opinion?
I’ll play with whoever I want, wherever I can
Because chances are we’re all a little out of step.
We can all agree that success isn’t measured in wealth
And you don’t need to start a family to feel love.
I don’t write these songs for you, I write them for myself.
And I’ll be singing them forever, without any of your help.
This music is the only thing that I can call my own.
It helps me make some sense out of my life.
Now is that so wrong?
That I choose to sing and you choose to scream?
That we chose different ways to say the same things?
If you’re still listening,
I thank you for your time and your attention.
I hope you like it,
But if not, that’s fine. I can accept it.
Regardless, I hope that you hang onto the message:
Don’t tell anyone they’re wrong when it comes down to honest expression.
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9. |
Death & Taxes
01:59
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Sometimes, I’m glad my grandfather is dead.
'Cause if he could see the world his kids have made
He’d put a bullet in his head.
He’d be ashamed of all the debts that they have earned;
How they want what they don’t need
And buy what they can’t afford.
Where is the fire that once made this country great?
Did we sell it off to refinance our luxurious estates?
To keep the lawns green, keep the kids safe?
To give ourselves a little piece of mind…
That you won't wake up from the American Dream.
And now it’s been left to us;
The aftermath of decades
Of our parent’s negligence.
A mountain of debt that towers over the city skylines;
Where the privledged one percent can look down
On the helpless ninety-nine
Here, there are more Wal-Marts than hospitals.
There are more people in prisons than there are in public schools.
And the price of an oil drum is cause for a war.
And the dollar replaced our gods back in 1984
Where is the fire that once made this country great?
Did we sell it off to refinance our luxurious estates?
To keep the lawns green, keep the kids safe?
To give ourselves a little piece of mind…
That you won’t wake up to find that
Your culture has been bought and sold.
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10. |
Hope Is All We Have
06:07
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Every single day, I see the same awful things.
People too detached to even look me in the face.
Do they know I can see through the whites of their eyes?
I know they aren’t blind to the problems.
Neither am I.
There’s a pressure that we’ve all come to know.
There’s debt in our heads but a revolution in our hearts.
There’s a tension between what’s easy and what’s right.
When living easy keeps you sleeping but
The right thing keeps you up at night.
Don’t let the fire die
On these hopeless nights, we must still find a trace of light.
Keep moving forward, my friends.
Every long road does lead to an end.
Do I have to scream it in your face to wake you from your sleep?
To rise above your apathy, to scream in solidarity.
When the culture says “He that owns nothing is nothing.”
What do you do when the purchase only makes you feel worse?
Possessions can be broken, stolen of misplaced. But
passion is so precious, so personal it hurts.
It can only be destroyed by the coldest of hands
Or the harshest of words from the closest of friends.
Don’t let the fire die
On these hopeless nights, we must still find a trace of light.
Keep moving forward, my friends.
Every long road does lead to an end.
There are monsters that we all must face.
They bring the same dread but come with different names.
Disease, addiction, poverty, starvation.
Some that are impossible to face on your own.
But if people caused the problems, then we can find the answers.
As long as we work together, fight forever and believe in
The power of community, we can take responsibility
For the world that we love and for that we wish to change.
Hope is all we have. Don’t give it away, not for any amount.
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Steve Layman Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
loner punk written by a lonely person.
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