You put the color of the clouds
Into perspective for me
You put the hi-beams on the lines
You showed me grace that I could not
Contemplate before you
Magic of the blood and brine
And now I paint the black abyss
Knife this canvas with a poisoned, sentimental kiss
From the shadows passages
Illuminated themselves
Maps and runes scribed marbled walls
My fingertips trace lines along the surface
Wet with weeping
A compass for the broken souls
Have you escaped these catacombs?
Where is the metaphor? The lesson? Or the path your lighted voice has shone?
A silver key hangs at my throat
It can’t unlock this mystery
Symbolize the search within
The only answers lead to questions
Among these dusty tomes
Where the fuck do we begin?
As the creative fire consumes
The artists’ thirst for inspiration suffocates within its lethal fumes
A careful balance is the cost
Between voices never heard, the songs of those we loved and those we’ve lost
Black water of the river wash me up
Upon your shores
A spell of deliverance cast me here
Carry me home
Black water of the river wash over me
Troubled and deep
I long to deliver flesh and bone
Carry me home
Into perspective for me
You put the hi-beams on the lines
You showed me grace that I could not
Contemplate before you
Magic of the blood and brine
And now I paint the black abyss
Knife this canvas with a poisoned, sentimental kiss
From the shadows passages
Illuminated themselves
Maps and runes scribed marbled walls
My fingertips trace lines along the surface
Wet with weeping
A compass for the broken souls
Have you escaped these catacombs?
Where is the metaphor? The lesson? Or the path your lighted voice has shone?
A silver key hangs at my throat
It can’t unlock this mystery
Symbolize the search within
The only answers lead to questions
Among these dusty tomes
Where the fuck do we begin?
As the creative fire consumes
The artists’ thirst for inspiration suffocates within its lethal fumes
A careful balance is the cost
Between voices never heard, the songs of those we loved and those we’ve lost
Black water of the river wash me up
Upon your shores
A spell of deliverance cast me here
Carry me home
Black water of the river wash over me
Troubled and deep
I long to deliver flesh and bone
Carry me home
This is the ballad of a country
Declaration of the soul
Divine the magic of the blood and brine
and it'll take you where you go
As we cross the plains and wooded hills
to the city by the sea
To heed the justice in hearts
and find a way to set them free
We worked the land and tilled the fields
'till our throats were caked and dry
And the dust of opportunity
turned to mud stuck in our eyes
So we cut the chains and dropped our tools
and we headed to the coast
where the concrete spires and flashing lights
might exorcise these country ghosts
Our ancestors had carved us out
to harvest, plant and plow and till
Spades to the dirt to break our backs
and our dreams bent to their will
So we cast aside our history
forged a path to the unknown
Raised a glass to freedom risking
if we fail we die alone
We met the gaze of our adventures
and threw caution to the wind
for the fuel of our desires
was not merely kindlin'
Our eyes were wide, we cheered our lives
We were welcome, ere we went
Never looking back except to curse at time
No reclaiming what we'd spent
One road turned to many roads
as the city lights beckoned us
and the world we'd only known as green and blue
was eclipsed by iron, steel and rust
It was what we'd always hoped for
and the air was hot to breathe
And as I knelt to kiss the lighted streets
I swore to Christ I'd never leave
Some dreams are crushed
and hopes are dashed
by flinty rocks upon the shore
Sometimes hardship and life's bitterness
make us better than before
And I look back with no regrets
Though I still labored like a dog
For in the spinning wheels of this mighty world
I'm just one tooth upon a cog
And as I pass the time and youth departs
I contemplate just what's to be
I often think about my homeland
and wonder - does it think of me?
Someday I'll return to the velvet fields
Cast my lot into the sun
Sit around a fire and tell city tales
to country daughters and their sons
Declaration of the soul
Divine the magic of the blood and brine
and it'll take you where you go
As we cross the plains and wooded hills
to the city by the sea
To heed the justice in hearts
and find a way to set them free
We worked the land and tilled the fields
'till our throats were caked and dry
And the dust of opportunity
turned to mud stuck in our eyes
So we cut the chains and dropped our tools
and we headed to the coast
where the concrete spires and flashing lights
might exorcise these country ghosts
Our ancestors had carved us out
to harvest, plant and plow and till
Spades to the dirt to break our backs
and our dreams bent to their will
So we cast aside our history
forged a path to the unknown
Raised a glass to freedom risking
if we fail we die alone
We met the gaze of our adventures
and threw caution to the wind
for the fuel of our desires
was not merely kindlin'
Our eyes were wide, we cheered our lives
We were welcome, ere we went
Never looking back except to curse at time
No reclaiming what we'd spent
One road turned to many roads
as the city lights beckoned us
and the world we'd only known as green and blue
was eclipsed by iron, steel and rust
It was what we'd always hoped for
and the air was hot to breathe
And as I knelt to kiss the lighted streets
I swore to Christ I'd never leave
Some dreams are crushed
and hopes are dashed
by flinty rocks upon the shore
Sometimes hardship and life's bitterness
make us better than before
And I look back with no regrets
Though I still labored like a dog
For in the spinning wheels of this mighty world
I'm just one tooth upon a cog
And as I pass the time and youth departs
I contemplate just what's to be
I often think about my homeland
and wonder - does it think of me?
Someday I'll return to the velvet fields
Cast my lot into the sun
Sit around a fire and tell city tales
to country daughters and their sons
You were a fist of clay
Struck by a falling star And in the disarray The mold broke into dust You were an open book Yet the words were so arcane It was the world that shook As your magic lit the skies ‘But I love you,’ …said the sun to the moon ‘But I love you,’ …said the knife to the wound Upon the precipice With grace, plans formulate And with a soulful kiss Dark Heaven opened wide Into the lore of time The songs reverberate The fury of its chimes Unhinged the door to dreams ‘But I love you,’ …said the sun to the moon ‘But I love you,’ …said the knife to the wound Into forever’s halls The legend reverberates In lost and distant lands Echoes jettisoned in time |
On its eldritch course lumbers the night
A shroud of silence its disease
Glowing ashes scatter overland
The embers of deep pain and burning misery
Hearts are blackened by the sorrow of tomorrows nevermore
Phoenix talons clutching hope’s remains
Forth from the ash of the killing floor
Giving up, giving over control
The colors of the world have changed
Brackish hues of remorse and madness
Breathe deep the lies in this pool of shame
Find your voice
Rip it out
Write it down
Burn it up
Shout it away and hold on
Cut through the hooks of despair
Raise your head, split the night and face the cold dawn
Bleeding out on the barbs of vengeance
Taste the poison on bruised lips
Sweating through tormented sleep
Reject the healing curse of life’s broken kiss
Giving up, giving over control
Another twist of the jagged blade
Beaten down as you shoulder the guilt
And take your part in the grim charade
A shroud of silence its disease
Glowing ashes scatter overland
The embers of deep pain and burning misery
Hearts are blackened by the sorrow of tomorrows nevermore
Phoenix talons clutching hope’s remains
Forth from the ash of the killing floor
Giving up, giving over control
The colors of the world have changed
Brackish hues of remorse and madness
Breathe deep the lies in this pool of shame
Find your voice
Rip it out
Write it down
Burn it up
Shout it away and hold on
Cut through the hooks of despair
Raise your head, split the night and face the cold dawn
Bleeding out on the barbs of vengeance
Taste the poison on bruised lips
Sweating through tormented sleep
Reject the healing curse of life’s broken kiss
Giving up, giving over control
Another twist of the jagged blade
Beaten down as you shoulder the guilt
And take your part in the grim charade
|
You took your leave suddenly
and it has broken me
try to navigate through the nights
but they're so lonely
Call to you in the haze of a fever dream
the how and why of what's become
they aren't what they seem
I'm just a ghost of myself and you the mist I breathe
Empty echoes from the years that were supposed to be
I quell the rage that poisons me from the inside
Colors falsify the world is just a fragile lie
Take away the part of me that found a safe place
Death stole in and I can't spit out the bitter taste
Wait for me across the stars where twisted fates toil
Bide my time, suffer the flames
Give up my blood for soil
and it has broken me
try to navigate through the nights
but they're so lonely
Call to you in the haze of a fever dream
the how and why of what's become
they aren't what they seem
I'm just a ghost of myself and you the mist I breathe
Empty echoes from the years that were supposed to be
I quell the rage that poisons me from the inside
Colors falsify the world is just a fragile lie
Take away the part of me that found a safe place
Death stole in and I can't spit out the bitter taste
Wait for me across the stars where twisted fates toil
Bide my time, suffer the flames
Give up my blood for soil
Seems time has snared me
All these rope burns on my soul Despair can't be stifled deep In time the scars begin to show And though good memories fused in spirit Walk with me each day The toll for passion is black misery And hear me, at some point you'll have to pay So I Cellophane Cellophane this wasted life Cellophane my fate Seems life has doped me All these track marks on my soul I keep on running from time but eventually Every doorway leads to old There’s a spark of life that can devour Even in death The muse departed leaves a void That swallows whole all that is left So I Cellophane Cellophane this twisted life Cellophane my fate Cellophane my head In youth I thought I’d grasped the purpose Wrestled it for truth and meaning On the ground I look for the wisdom On which with age I was to be leaning There’s a shadow I can’t silence Like a bell its echoes ring out Try to stand and shake off all this dust Find your voice and find that you can sing out |
We drove through this land of blackened barns
Smoldering on the horizons
And the murderous stench of death smoked our eyes
As the houses stood slaughtering silence
Oh factory, factory
It will not close
To give unto the waiting world
The foaming froth of tortured life
Salted flesh and milky swirls
These cries don’t lie
They are forsaken lives
You can look away
You can hide your head
You can feign ignorance and play mute
But the horrors take place even with your back turned
On your plate is served up the warm truth
There is no disguising the certain slow death
Exacted upon the downtrodden
From corporate
Dancing in the pools of the killing floor splashing
As the money and the blood
and the innocent come crashing down
As they pick up their knives
These are forsaken lives
It’s no sacrifice to save a life
You can savor the taste of choice
Look into the eyes of those condemn to die
Rise up and give them a voice
These cries don’t lie
These are forsaken lives
These eyes don’t hide
They are forsaken lives
Smoldering on the horizons
And the murderous stench of death smoked our eyes
As the houses stood slaughtering silence
Oh factory, factory
It will not close
To give unto the waiting world
The foaming froth of tortured life
Salted flesh and milky swirls
These cries don’t lie
They are forsaken lives
You can look away
You can hide your head
You can feign ignorance and play mute
But the horrors take place even with your back turned
On your plate is served up the warm truth
There is no disguising the certain slow death
Exacted upon the downtrodden
From corporate
Dancing in the pools of the killing floor splashing
As the money and the blood
and the innocent come crashing down
As they pick up their knives
These are forsaken lives
It’s no sacrifice to save a life
You can savor the taste of choice
Look into the eyes of those condemn to die
Rise up and give them a voice
These cries don’t lie
These are forsaken lives
These eyes don’t hide
They are forsaken lives
|