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2. |
Gutter Mantra
04:48
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When as a child I spoke as a child
and I did childish things
But as a man I put them on a plinth
spotlit for all to see
Reality, identity, reality, anxiety
Cause I'm twenty names at once and
you'd better know what's in my head
I'll say my love is colorblind
unless its blue or red
Hard to keep this open mind
Especially when you find
A mantra on a bathroom wall
and it's telling me I can have it all
I'm a miracle, I'm standing proud
The only thing that matters is
what I'm going through right now
When as a child I spoke as a child
and I did childish things
But now I'm grown and I'm on my own
Who's gonna say what I can't be?
Tats and piercings, and neon hair
and slogans on my bumper
Oh I'm such an individual
now I resemble thousands of others
But sure, tell me more
It's the suits and ties, those nine-to-fives
they're conformers and followers
I swear I've got this open mound
Haven't you heard that I found
I'm current age and I'm no sage
so here's a quote or two
"Information ain't knowledge
Knowledge ain't wisdom
Wisdom ain't the truth"
“Goodwill is given but respect is earned
don't confuse them as the same”
“Reality is bigger than you or me
so show some humility”
And try to keep that open mind
Especially when you find
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3. |
Swing
04:44
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It turns out we're all being persecuted
by one thing or another that's been instituted
You talk as if these corporations
have some sort of moral obligations
But thank god for all the problems
they fixed, like sports mascots and pancake mix,
and the irony of cancellation in the
age of representation
Oh the only conclusion
human rights are illusion
if someone can come along
with a pen or gun and remove 'em
Step out for a second to think
from this commune of the
New New Speak
where you Swing your hammerin the name of justice
but which wall are you aiming for?
And do you care what they're holding up?
Do you just wanna see the ceiling fall?
Human rights are illusion
how can that be the truth?
Well right now love is fluid
because the culture approves it
until the courts decide to remove it
or someone's science claims to disprove it
But I already outgrew it
don't think me rude, its a cry for help
from lost people looking for vindication
for flaws, for recognition, to be told
that it's okay to self-indulgent
Don't we all want that comfort?
I guess you're perfect once you
fall on a spectrum,
instead of three oppressions, you can
have up to seven, did I say seven?
Let's get that up to eleven
cause we're drunk on progression
when every flaw is a blessin'
and the hotter the oppression
the better chance at election,
so go vote again this year
for whatever you wanna hear
or for one of the crooks with
your heritage or looks
and see if that starts correctin'
any of your personal oppression
Step out for a second to think
from where the trust funds are high
and the witches won't sink
Every singer with a guitar
see themselves a social critic
Well I'm up here too so I guess I'm no different
If I have to write meaningful lyrics
cause you need a voice attached to instruments
I'm gonna sing it from my point of existence
Be yourself, but don't expect me to care
Don't call me a creep
if I don't dance in the streets
Hey you found yourself, that's great
Now don't expect me to celebrate
all the dicks you're chokin' on
the causes you're votin' on
the hormones you're takin'
for the body you're fakin'
the clothes you wear, the buzz in your hair
its a new paradigm, I'm fully aware
So be yourself, but don't expect me to care
Oh the only conclusion
human rights are illusion
if they can crumble, disappear or hide
like a rainbow flag on the first of July
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4. |
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The day everything became nothing
I was standing underneath a streetlight
wishing I had a cigarette
I can't recall anything unusual about it
If there was something in the air
or the sky had clouded over
I wasn't aware, I was too bored to care
No thunder roared. No lightning cracked
No missiles rained from the sky
This was no sneak attack
There was just suddenly this awful lack
Things had changed, that's for sure
The day everything became nothing
You couldn't put your finger on what had gone wrong
The alleys were still dirty; the garbage still smelled
There was no panic in the streets
Just a lot of grief
in people's faces, in their eyes
A mixture of horror and total surprise
This was no apocalypse
No one heard a voice from the sky
There were no miracles at the Starbucks
No one screamed,
no one even asked why
It was just like everything had somehow, quietly died
So let it die!
I can't recall much of what happened next
I was on my way to visit this woman I knew
All we had in common was we
were vexed
And now I couldn't even remember
her address
A group of us, just strangers got together
and we formed a committee to discuss
the problem
We talked about things like assured
mutual destruction
and emotional responsibility
I couldn't remember my name, so I called myself 'Al'
It's weird being an 'Al'
but I'll get used to it
I have to
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5. |
Shelters Within Shelters
03:42
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I met a rambling man on a tram through Munich
had a story and a thought about every town in urope
especially here as we traveled through it
so I engaged in a little cross cultural reviewing
We talked the value and flaws of anything grassroots
The danger of pledging to the man, not the truth
I was a little wary of him, to be fair
but your precious socialism has to start somewhere
like the patches on my satchel, every place I've been,
when you're from everywhere, where do you begin?
Shelters within shelters
East or west, your wave will crest
it’s coming for you
Run and hide, It will find you
it’s coming for you
I say “what's wrong with some cultural perspective?”
He says “don't use an excuse for a lack of respect, if you have no gravity, you just as easily fall
for a collapsing well as a shooting star.”
“Oh philosopher,” I say, “what's a planet to do?”
He says “get some mass before they come for you”.
He exits south of the ostbanhof
I could have kept talking but he’d said enough
I see a woman now sitting on his other side
who hadn't bought a ticket but had taken his ride
She smiles and says “weren't those fun facts?”
But I know we're both thinking now ‘bout how much pull we really have.
And I had never felt so...
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6. |
Give 'em Hell, Ellicott
06:35
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There came a decree
that any town of modest history
should be painted over thoroughly
with modern sensibilities
"Choose to love or have no choice"
"Speak our words or have no voice"
"Reserve the right to refuse service
if we find your alignment disturbs us"
But don't be unnerved, haven't you heard?
There's a God in the sky called Society
and we're afraid of invoking shis wrath
so put a sign in your window
goat's blood on your door
and let us know you're one of the pack!
You'll be so at ease, in these ghettos that bleed
from windows and eaves, Hearts on our sleeves
with technicolor pride, we self-identify
like yellow stars and pink triangles, 1939
Live it loud and live it proud, 2015
We're safe in our towns
but they wanna come in
I hear them stumbling and moaning
through walls so thin
with their ignorance, tolerance and right to opinion
Feminists, coal miners, socialists, veterans
Imagine all the people living just for the sins
But we're surrounded, we're trapped
there's no escapin'
From the blight, the horror
my fellow Americans!
Oh God of the Masses, forgive me
I'm trying my best to believe
But sometimes I think it's a joke
how invested are some queer-as-folk
who build their personality
‘round some triviality
like who they wanna poke!
I don't need a morality mandate
A culture won't last if its built on hate
If equality is history to come
it ain't an excuse to re-write what's been done
Tomorrow could still take what today was hard-won
History is being unlearned
and that's what's got me unnerved
There's a God in the sky called Society
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Alex McIntosh Maryland
Songwriter, Singer, Multi-Instrumentalist, Composer, influenced by everything & champion of none
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