Rise Against

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"Alive And Well"

(Are you ready to rock?)

Now's the time
To rearrange your life
Live for something
Outside of your own mind
We all dream
The same dream every night
To burn the world that you call civilized

Alive and well
I live to be alive
And I live to always strive
For something more
Alive and well
I'll never understand
The who, what, why or when
Of you tonight...

We face the stares of judgement
And almost everyday
The shaking heads
Of disapproval say,
"pray for you to give me something
Then find out that there was nothing else."

Alive and well
I live to be alive
And I live to always strive
For something more
'cause I'm alive and well
I'll never understand
The who, what, why or when
Of you tonight...

Recite the words inside
Realize that this is nothing
Without your voice
I'm not giving up
Not giving up
Not giving up
And I'll blame the worst on you
I know what's wrong

Alive and well
I live to be alive
And I live to always strive
For something more
'cause I'm alive and well
Nothing ventured, nothing gained
And I don't need to explain
Myself to you
Myself to you

"Prayer Of The Refugee"

Warm yourself by the fire, son,
And the morning will come soon.
I'll tell you stories of a better time,
In a place that we once knew.

Before we packed our bags
And left all this behind us in the dust,
We had a place that we could call home,
And a life no one could touch.

Don't hold me up now,
I can stand my own ground,
I don't need your help now,
You will let me down, down, down!

Don't hold me up now,
I can stand my own ground,
I don't need your help now,
You will let me down, down, down!

Down!

We are the angry and the desperate,
The hungry, and the cold,
We are the ones who kept quiet,
And always did what we were told.

But we've been sweating while you slept so calm,
In the safety of your home.
We've been pulling out the nails that hold up
Everything you've known.

Don't hold me up now,
I can stand my own ground,
I don't need your help now,
You will let me down, down, down!

Don't hold me up now,
I can stand my own ground,
I don't need your help now,
You will let me down, down, down!

So open your eyes child,
Let's be on our way.
Broken windows and ashes
Are guiding the way.

Keep quiet no longer,
We'll sing through the day,
Of the lives that we've lost,
And the lives we've reclaimed.

Go!

Don't hold me up now,
I can stand my own ground,
I don't need your help now,
You will let me down, down, down!

Don't hold me up now,
I can stand my own ground,
I don't need your help now,
You will let me down, down, down!

Don't hold me up...
(I don't need your help, I'll stand my ground)
Don't hold me up...
(I don't need your help)
No! No! No!
Don't hold me up!
(I don't need your help, I'll stand my ground)
Don't hold me up!
(I don't need your help, I'll stand my ground)
Don't let me down, down, down, down, down!

"Drones"

Deep inside these burning buildings
Voices die to be heard
Years we spent teaching a lesson
We ourselves had never learned

And if strength is born from heartbreak
Then mountains I could move
And if walls could speak I'd pray
That they would tell me what to do

If you see me, please just walk on by, walk on by.
Forget my name and I'll forget it too.
Failed attempts at living simple lives, simple lives
Are what keep me coming back to you.

No signs of life here, save the embers, the occasional flame,
We'd know the way but can't remember, conception to the grave,
Shout confessions from the greatest heights, where no one can hear,
All my fears, my insecurities are falling like tears.

If you see me, please just walk on by, walk on by.
Forget my name and I'll forget it too.
Failed attempts at living simple lives, simple lives
Are what keep me coming back to you.

The drones all slave away, they're working overtime,
They serve a faceless queen, they never question why.
Disciples of a God, that neither lives nor breathes, (I won't come back!)
But we have bills to pay, yeah we have mouths to feed! (I won't come back!)
I won't come back!

And if you see me, please just walk on by, walk on by.
Forget my name and I'll forget it too.
Failed attempts at living simple lives, simple lives
Are what keep me coming back to you.

I'm coming back to you

"The Approaching Curve"

[Spoken:]
The music played with a calming frequency.
The speakers gently seeped the sound of ambient keyboards and light percussion,
Creating a seductive soundtrack to our midnight drive through curtains of blackness.
The windows were cold to the touch,
Reflecting the icy conditions in our immediate extremity.
Salt stains and fingerprints littered the glass,
And streaks of melting snow cascaded down its length.
The music pulsed louder, yet gentle,
Like the far away squeal of a pot of boiling water.
The skyline was glowing faintly with vague hints of an impending dawn.
The car raced along a painfully straight stretch of road,
And she hadn't so much as turned the steering wheel two degrees in the last twenty minutes
Nor had we spoken.

As we were, so perfect, so happy.
They'll remember, only our smiles 'cause that's all they've seen.
Long since dried, when we are found, are the tears in which we had drowned.
As we were, so perfect, so happy.

[Spoken:]
"Why are you doing this?" she spoke as if not expecting a response.
Her voice penetrated the still air of our speechless drive,
So suddenly that my heart had jumped.
"I'm not doing anything," I said, but I didn't even believe that myself.
"This is what's best, for me, for you, for us," or maybe just for me I thought,
As a tear formed in the pit of her eye.
The music poured through the speakers and we were losing ourselves in the cadence.
She looked down momentarily and closed her eyes for a bit longer than a standard blink.
Then she was crying. Then she was shouting. Then I was shouting,
Now pouring confessions, having no answers, or solutions,
We barely even knew the questions.

As we were, so perfect, so happy.
They'll remember, only our smiles 'cause that's all they've seen.
Long since dried, when we are found, are the tears in which we had drowned.
As we were, so perfect, so happy.

Don't put me underground, I was meant for a life somewhere else.
Please, love, give me the wheel, before both of our hearts you
Will steal tonight (will steal tonight).

As we were, so perfect, so happy.
Don't remember, only your smiles 'cause that's all they've seen.
Long since dried, when we are found, are the tears in which we had drowned.
As we were, so perfect, so happy.

[Spoken:]
Our cracking voices became part of the music.
The car pressed on faster through the night. As our voices lowered,
The cadence again overtook the air.
Up ahead there was a curve approaching.
She made no indications of slowing.

"Worth Dying For"

Set me off like dynamite strapped tight around my waist
We are the ones in competition but claim this ain't no race

(Let's go!)

Take a breath and explode like bullets tearing through the wind
Cut me up with a razor blade that tries to separate the skin

Now in the
White flames of burning flags we
Found a world worth dying for, yeah
We've been battered so hard that we don't
Feel anymore

Take me
From this world
Save me
What if we
All die young?
So take me
From this world
Save me
What if we
All die young?

Send me off on the morning breeze so far away from here
Feel me rise in the strength I've found inside the warm embracing air
I'm moving slow
Like a glacier melting watch me dissipate
I searched for love in an empty world but all I found was hate

Now in the
White flames of burning flags we
Found a world worth dying for, yeah
We've been battered so hard that we don't
Feel anymore

Take me
From this world
Save me
What if we
All die young?
So take me
From this world
Save me
What if we
All die young?

Don't ask me why
'Cuz I don't know
Don't ask me how
I'm gonna solve this on my own
Don't ask me why
'Cuz I don't know
These things I've never faced
Scratch out, but won't erase

In the wreckage of a job well done
I saw a place I'd never seen before, yeah
And that moment I refused to close my eyes anymore

So take me
From this world
Save me
What if we
All die young?
So take me
From this world
Save me
What if we
All die young?

So take me [2x]

"Behind Closed Doors"

Chairs thrown and tables toppled,
Hands armed with broken bottles,
Standing no chance to win but,
We're not running, we're not running.

There's a point I think we're missing,
It's in the air we raise our fists in,
In the smiles we cast each other,
My sister, my brother.

About the time we gave up hoping
We'd ever find these locks still open,
Stumbling on stones unturned,
The hurt we feel, we all have earned.

The lines we cross in search of change,
But all they see is treason.

Although we have no obligation to stay alive
On broken backs we beg for mercy, we will survive
(Break out) I won't be left here
Behind closed doors.

Bonfires burn like beacons,
Guiding the lost and weakened.
Flames dance on crashing waves,
Guiding ships who've gone astray

Time out, let's stop and think this through,
We've all got better things to do,
Than talk in circles, run in place,
Answers {are} inches from our face.

Although we have no obligation to stay alive
On broken backs we beg for mercy, we will survive
(Break out) I won't be left here
Behind closed doors.

Black eyes, broken fingers,
Blood drips and I let it run
Down my lips into my swollen gums.
When hope is non-existent,
Our instincts all scream "Run",
We never turn our backs or even bite our tongues.

Although we have no obligation to stay alive
On broken backs we beg for mercy, we will survive
(Break out) I won't be left here
Behind closed doors.
[x2]

"Roadside"

Tell me what I'm supposed to do,
With all these left over feelings of you;
'Cause I don't know

And tell me how I'm supposed to feel,
When all these nightmares become real;
'Cause I don't know

And I don't think you see the places inside me that I find you,
And I don't know how we separate the lies here from the truth;
And I don't know how we woke up one day and somehow thought we knew
Exactly what we're supposed to do.

So leave me at the roadside,
And hang me up and out to dry;
So leave me at the roadside,
And hang me up and out to dry.

And I don't think you see the places inside me that I find you;
And I don't know how we woke up one day and somehow thought we knew
Exactly what we're supposed to do.

So leave me at the roadside,
And hang me up and out to dry;
So leave me at the roadside,
And hang me up and out to dry.

'Cause I don't think you see the places inside me that I find you,
And I don't know how we woke up one day and somehow thought we knew
Exactly what we're supposed to do,
Exactly what to do.

"The Good Left Undone"

In fields where nothing grew but weeds,
I found a flower at my feet,
Bending there in my direction,
I wrapped a hand around its stem,
I pulled until the roots gave in,
Finding there what I'd been missing,

But I know...
So I tell myself, I tell myself it's wrong.
There's a point we pass from which we can't return.
I felt the cold rain of the coming storm.

All because of you,
I haven't slept in so long.
When I do I dream of drowning in the ocean,
Longing for the shore where I can lay my head down,
I'll follow your voice,
All you have to do is shout it out.

Inside my hands these petals browned,
Dried up, fallen to the ground
But it was already too late now.
I pushed my fingers through the earth,
Returned this flower to the dirt,
So it could live. I walked away now.

But I know...
Not a day goes by that I don't feel this burn.
There's a point we pass from which we can't return.
I felt the cold rain of the coming storm.

All because of you,
I haven't slept in so long,
When I do I dream of drowning in the ocean,
Longing for the shore where I can lay my head down,
I'll follow your voice,
All you have to do is shout it out.

All because of you...
All because of you...

All because of you,
I haven't slept in so long.
When I do I dream of drowning in the ocean,
Longing for the shore where I can lay my head down,
Inside these arms of yours.

All because of you,
I believe in angels.
Not the kind with wings,
No, not the kind with halos,
The kind that bring you home,
When home becomes a strange place.
I'll follow your voice,
All you have to do is shout it out.

"Survive"

Somewhere between happy, and total fucking wreck
Feet sometimes on solid ground, sometimes at the edge
To spend your waking moments, simply killing time
Is to give up on your hopes and dreams, to give up on your...

Life for you, (who we are) has been less than kind
So take a number, (who we are) stand in line
We've all been sorry, (who we are) we've all been hurt
But how we survive, (who we are) is what makes us who we are

An obvious disinterest, a barely managed smile
A deep nod in agreement, a status quo exile
I shirk my obligations, I miss all your deadlines
I excel at quitting early, and fucking up my life

Life for you, (who we are) has been less than kind
So take a number, (who we are) stand in line
We've all been sorry, (who we are) we've all been hurt
But how we survive, (who we are) is what makes us who we are

All smiles and sunshine, a perfect world on a perfect day
Everything always works out, I have never felt so fucking great
All smiles and sunshine, a perfect world on a perfect day
Everything always works out, I have never felt so great

(Life isn't like this)
(Life isn't like this)
(Life isn't like this)
(Life isn't like this)
(Life isn't like this) Life isn't like this
(Life isn't like this) Life isn't like this
(Life isn't like this) Are we verging on an answer,
Or fucking up our...

Life for you, (who we are) has been less than kind
So take a number, (who we are) stand in line
We've all been sorry, (who we are) we've all been hurt
But how we survive, (who we are) is what makes us who we are

(Who we are)
It's what makes us who we are
(Who we are)
Makes us who we are
(Who we are)
It's what makes us who we are
(Who we are)

"Built To Last"
(originally by Sick of It All)

Invest time, invest life
Invest it all, reinvent yourself
Before you know it
Your essence is renewed with something fresh
Your will, your way
Will earn respect in your day
Let the glory sharpened knife
Carve the future of your life

Let's not praise the past, just a fact
Built to last
Old school or the new
Doesn't mean a thing if your heart's not true
Greedy ones faded fast, we're here
Built to last
For the fun, not a fad
The love and the truth so powerful

Work out the snags of the past
Work out the snags that won't last
Mistakes have finished my brothers
Mistakes will guide all the others
Your will, your way
Might shape a better day
Eradicate the stagnancy
Eradicate it like disease

Let's not praise the past, just a fact
Built to last
Old school or the new
Doesn't mean shit if your heart ain't true
Greedy ones faded fast, we're here
Built to last
For the fun, not a fad
The love and the truth so powerful
The love and the truth so powerful

As we've seen around the world
We won't go away
Cause we'll always feel this way
We're here to stay
And our impact will be felt
We won't go away
If we feel it, if we feel it
We're here to stay
Built to last

"Boy's No Good"
(originally by Lifetime)

Tune the electric bass to the 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th string.
The boy's no good.
Yeah, he's a fuckin' hood.
He won't treat you like he should.
I heard he's making time with this friend of mine.
I heard he's talking trash.
I saw that kid last night.
He's starting fights.
He's got that nervous twitching.
He's just not the kid for you.
He's all dressed up.
He's got nothing to do, but he's got something.
He's cool as anything, but he's not good.
That boy's a fucking creep.

The boy's no good.
Yeah, he's a hood.
He won't treat you like he should.
I said the boy's no good.
He's a hood.
He won't treat you like I would.
I said the boy's no good.
Listen to what I say.
The boy's no good.
He'll fuck you anyway.
The boy's no good.
I'm gonna have a talk... the boy's no good.
The boy's no fuckin' good.

"But Tonight We Dance"

Breathe deep and easy, swallow this pride.
Stare at my shaking hands through bone-dry, blood shot eyes.
Clock strip the hours, I count the miles.
Will you be there waiting, awake until sunrise.

I have traveled in darkness, for what seems like days,
I, come from the sinkholes, collapsed under this weight.
I know not your sorrow, but I know mine,
So say you'll stay and dance with me tonight.

In the glow of twilight, our world is finally calm.
I felt it complete me, when the stars give way to dawn.
A language universal, but I speak not its tongue.
Is this a night that spans forever, or a dawn that never comes.

I have traveled in darkness, for what seems like days,
I, come from the sinkholes, collapsed under this weight.
I know not your sorrow, but I know mine,
So say you'll stay and dance with me tonight.

Tomorrow we might wake in servitude and silence
I will give you everything if only you would have me
Tomorrow we will sweat and toil,
Our hands will quiver caked with soil,
Tomorrow we'll give it one last chance,
But tonight we dance,
But tonight we dance!

And for this, I travel in darkness, for what seems like days,
I, come from the sinkholes, collapsed under this weight.
I know not your sorrow, but I know mine,
Just say you'll stay and dance with me tonight.

"Re-Education (Through Labor)"

To the sound of a heartbeat pounding away
To the rhythm of the awful rusted machines
We toss and turn but don't sleep
Each breath we take makes us thieves
Like causes without rebels
Just talk but promise nothing else

We crawl on our knees for you
Under a sky no longer blue
We sweat all day long for you
But we sow seeds to see us through
'Cause sometimes dreams just don't come true
We wait to reap what we are due

To the rhythm of a time bomb ticking away
And the blare of the sirens combing the streets
Chased down like dogs we run from
Your grasp until the sun comes up

We crawl on our knees for you
Under a sky no longer blue
We sweat all day long for you
But we sow seeds to see us through
'Cause sometimes dreams just don't come true
Look now at what they've done to you

White needles buried in the red
The engine roars and then it gives
But never dies
'Cause we don't live
We just survive
On the scraps that you throw away

I won't crawl on my knees for you
I won't believe the lies that hide the truth
I won't sweat one more drop for you
'Cause we are the rust upon your gears
We are the insect in your ears
We crawl
We crawl
We crawl... all over you

We sow the seeds to see us through
Our days are precious and so few
We all reap what we are due
Under this sky no longer blue
We bring the dawn long over-due
We crawl
We crawl
We crawl... all over you

"Collapse (Post-Amerika)"

When our rivers run dry and our crops cease to grow
When our summers grow longer and winters won't snow
From the banks of the ocean and the ice in the hills
To the fight in the desert where progress stands still
When we've lost our will

That's how we'll know
This is not a test, oh no
This is cardiac arrest
Of a world too proud to admit our mistakes
We're crashing into the ground as we all fall from grace

When the air that we breathe becomes air that we choke
When the marsh fever spreads from the swamps to our homes
When your home on the range has been torn down and paved
And the buffalo roam to a slaughterhouse grave
What more will it take

For us to know
This is not a test, oh no
This is cardiac arrest
Of a world too proud to admit our mistakes
Kissing the ground as we all fall from grace

This is a chance to set things straight
To bend or break the rules back into place
There is no middle ground, no compromise
We've drawn the line
With perfect aim, we stand back and throw
Glass windows break and it's all about to blow
Lights go out as we pass the torch again
In hope that is stays lit

Neutrality means that you don't really care
Cuz the struggle goes on even when you're not there
Blind and unaware

That's how we'll know
This is not a test, oh no
This is cardiac arrest
Of a world too proud to admit our mistakes
We're crashing into the ground as we all, yeah we all, all fall from grace

"Long Forgotten Sons"

Far from home on a road unknown
Where the vultures circle on winds that blow
From northern skies that haunt these waking moments
On shadows cast by the mountain range
On calloused soles we find our way
Through desperate eyes, we long for the horizon
While this sun is rising

We are the long forgotten sons
And daughters that don' belong to anyone
We are alone under this sun
We work to fix the work that you've undone

When cries for help go unanswered
And signal fires just burn and burn
We wonder if we're waiting here for nothing
'Cause our lips are sewn our ears are filled
With the constant drone of the unfulfilled
But we'll never fall if we stand for something
We stand for something

We are the long forgotten sons
And daughters that don' belong to anyone
We are alone under this sun
We work to fix the work that you've undone

Don't fall, I see lights in the distance
They're not far away
Stand up because the sky is turning gray

There's hope in these footsteps of persistence
So don't go astray
These lights get closer everyday

We are the long forgotten sons
Yeah we are the long forgotten sons

We are the long forgotten sons
And daughters that don' belong to anyone
We are alone under this sun
We work to fix the work that you've undone
What you've undone
(what happens now, we don't know, just hold on tight now here we go...)

"The Dirt Whispered"

She got down on hands and knees,
One ear against the ground,
Holding her breath to hear something,
But the dirt made not a sound tonight

Echoes of songs still lurk on distant foreign shores,
Where we danced just to please the gods that only ask for more,
So it goes

But still we give ourselves to this
We can't spend our lives waiting to live

On cold nights
In a prayer for dawn
But the daylight
Isn't what she wants

The concrete
Calls my name again
I'm falling
Through the cracks I slip

The postcard says wish you were here
But I'd rather I was there,
Holding on to the simple things before they disappear,
That's what I meant

But that was then, and this is now
I'll make it up to you somehow

On cold nights
In a prayer for dawn
But the daylight
Isn't what she wants

The concrete
Calls my name again
I'm falling
Through the cracks I slip

A destination, a fading smile.
Another station, another mile.
Another day gone, I swore that I will.
Be there before dawn.
So be there, I will.

She got down on hands and knees,
One ear against the ground,
Holding her breath to hear something,
Anything at all

The dirt whispered, "Child, I'm coming home"

On cold nights
In a prayer for dawn
But the daylight
Isn't what she wants

The concrete
Calls my name again
I'm falling
Through the cracks I slip

"Kotov Syndrome"

There, high on the watchtower
Keeping the peace
Whatever that means
Cause you see the world through
Crosshairs and TVs, don't you?

Ten foot walls built around us
White picket death
So quiet, so safe
But if we fall there will be nothing and no one to catch
So sit back and watch as we

Spin out of control
Spin out of control
Try to recover, but collide with each other
We spin out of control

Something I cannot change
I was born in a place
That lives by the sword
And thus to it's blade we're condemned
Don't you understand why we scream "no more"?

My dreams are of children
Orphaned by blood
Spilled at these hands
Here on the graves of the innocent
We raise our flag

Spin out of control
Spin out of control
Try to recover, but collide with each other
We spin out of control
Somethings you don't forgive, somethings you don't forget
Sometimes the fate you suffer is so much worse than death
We're way off course now and we're drifting out to sea
So cut the anchor on your heart to be set free
Set free
Set free

Spin out of control
Spin out of control
Spin out of control
Spin out of control
Try to recover, we have to recover
We fall and crash, one after the other
Spin out of control

"From Heads Unworthy"

We are the children you reject and disregard
These aching cries come from the bottom of our hearts
You can't disown us now, we are your own flesh and blood
And we don't disappear just because your eyes are shut,
Now tell me

Love, Loss
Like a bullets path
Tear, Through
The cavity of my chest
Lights, Out
Because the fuse has blown

As their castles crumble slowly
We watch them fall
The crown slips from heads unworthy
As we gain control

This is the family that we crossed or never had
This is a war that was lost the day that it began
'Cause it's the race we run, but it keeps us at the start
And it's the song I sung from the bottom of heart,
That's how we

Read, You
Like a polygraph
Not, One
Single bone in your back
Own, Up
To how you let us down

As their castles crumble slowly
We watch them fall
The crown slips from heads unworthy
As we gain control

Except for you and me, love
Everyone is the same,
We know, we know, we know, we know
But if to live, we have to be numb
I'd rather know the pain,
I'd rather know, I'd rather know
This happens almost never
But it happened once to me
And this will never be same
The ends we seam together

I'm not after fame and fortune
I'm after you
When I've served my time I swear I
Will come back for you

As their castles crumble slowly
We watch them fall
The crown slips from heads unworthy
Right on to ours, but I'm after you

"The Strength To Go On"

Welcome home
While away
They have tampered with the locks
And your things they rearranged

"We propose a better way"
Said the note they left behind
In their wake of disarray
You fell in place

Don't fall asleep
They'll find us here
I know a place to disappear
As a voice proclaimed

What we are is the sum of 1000 lies
What we know is almost nothing at all
But we are what we are till the day we die
Or till we don't have the strength to go on
Till we don't have the strength to go on

Let us cry
Let us be
Let us open up our hearts
Without fear of anything

Faith alone
Is all we need
To traverse this burning bridge
Now before it gets too late
You claim "it's fine"

But the heart reveals
What smiles betray
Your sad sad eyes gave you away
And don't you know

What we are is the sum of 1000 lies
What we know is almost nothing at all
But we are what we are till the day we die
Or till we don't have the strength to go on
Till we don't have the strength to go on

Our shoulders bear an awful weight
But still we trudge on just the same
Our colors run then leave a stain
They blacken our once honest name
But how can we argue, tell me
Over the fury and the fire
How many times can we tell you that we
Are not like you, we see right through
Your poor disguise that fails to fool
The wary eye that's trained on you

What we are is the sum of 1000 lies
What we know is almost nothing at all
But we are what we are till the day we die
Or till we don't have the strength to go on
Till we don't have the strength to go on

What we are is the sum of 1000 lies
What we know is almost nothing at all
But we are what we are till the day we die
Or till we don't have the strength to go on
Till we don't have the strength to go on
Yeah we don't have the strength to go on

"Audience Of One"

I can still remember
The words and what they meant
As we etched them with our fingers
In years of wet cement
The days blurred into each other
Though everything seemed clear
We cruised along at half speed
But then we shifted gears

We ran like vampires from a thousand burning suns
But even then we should have stayed
But we ran away
Now all my friends are gone
Maybe we've outgrown all the things that we once loved
Runaway
But what are we running from?
A show of hands from those in this audience of one
Where have they gone?

Identities assume us
As nine and five add up
Synchronizing watches
To the seconds that we lost
I looked up and saw you
I know that you saw me
We froze but for a moment
In empathy

I brought down the sky for you but all you did was shrug
You gave my emptiness a name
But you ran away
Now all my friends are gone
Maybe we've outgrown all the things that we once loved
Runaway
But what are we running from?
A show of hands from those in this audience of one
Where have they gone?

We're all ok, until the day we're not
The surface shines, while the inside rots
We raced the sunset and we almost won
We slammed the brakes, but the wheels went on

We ran away
Now all my friends are gone
Maybe we've outgrown all the things that we once loved
Runaway
But what are we running from?
A show of hands from those in this audience of one
Where have they gone?

"Entertainment"

All we are is entertainment
Caught up in our own derangement
Tell us what to say and what to do
All we are are pretty faces
Picture perfect bottled rage
Packaged synthesized versions of you

We've all made petty fortunes but we can't afford a life
Confined to pull-out quotes and hotel rooms
They all scream California and its toppling empire
But can't you see the end is coming soon

Come one come all the new sensation
Guarantees then obligations
Spotlights follow every single move
Basking here on ten foot stages
Pouty lips and oh so jaded
All as if we have something to prove

Despite these petty fortunes we still can't afford a life
Confined to pull-out quotes and hotel rooms
They all scream California and its toppling empire
But can't you see the end is here

And if we cared at all
About this unknown plight
Then we'd do something more
To finally make this right

Is this only entertainment
Pull the curtains, places please
We've learned to sing and dance and cry on cue
But this is more than entertainment
In a world so sick with pain
This is the only thing that's real or true

We've all made petty fortunes but we can't afford a life
Confined to pull-out quotes and hotel rooms
They all scream bloody murder over graves already dug
But can't you see the end

"Hero Of War"

He said "Son, have you seen the world?
Well, what would you say if I said that you could?
Just carry this gun and you'll even get paid."
I said "That sounds pretty good."

Black leather boots
Spit-shined so bright
They cut off my hair but it looked alright
We marched and we sang
We all became friends
As we learned how to fight

A hero of war
Yeah that's what I'll be
And when I come home
They'll be damn proud of me
I'll carry this flag
To the grave if I must
Because it's a flag that I love
And a flag that I trust

I kicked in the door
I yelled my commands
The children, they cried
But I got my man
We took him away
A bag over his face
From his family and his friends

They took off his clothes
They pissed in his hands
I told them to stop
But then I joined in
We beat him with guns
And batons not just once
But again and again

A hero of war
Yeah that's what I'll be
And when I come home
They'll be damn proud of me
I'll carry this flag
To the grave if I must
Because it's a flag that I love
And a flag that I trust

She walked through bullets and haze
I asked her to stop
I begged her to stay
But she pressed on
So I lifted my gun
And I fired away

The shells jumped through the smoke
And into the sand
That the blood now had soaked
She collapsed with a flag in her hand
A flag white as snow

A hero of war
Is that what they see
Just medals and scars
So damn proud of me
And I brought home that flag
Now it gathers dust
But it's a flag that I love
It's the only flag I trust

He said, "Son, have you seen the world?
Well what would you say, if I said that you could?"

"Savior"

It kills me not to know this but I've all but just forgotten
What the color of her eyes were and her scars or how she got them
As the telling signs of age rain down a single tear is dropping
Through the valleys of an aging face that this world has forgotten
There is no reconciliation that will put me in my place
And there is no time like the present to drink these draining seconds
But seldom do these words ring true when I'm constantly failing you
Like walls that we just can't break through until we disappear

So tell me now
If this ain't love then how do we get out?
Because I don't know
That's when she said I don't hate you boy
I just want to save you while there's still something left to save
That's when I told her I love you girl
But I'm not the answer for the questions that you still have

But the day pressed on like crushing weights
For no man does it ever wait
Like memories of dying days
That deafen us like hurricanes
Bathed in flames we held the brand
Uncurled the fingers in your hand
Pressed into the flesh like sand
Now do you understand?

So tell me now
If this ain't love then how do we get out?
Because I don't know
That's when she said I don't hate you boy
I just want to save you while there's still something left to save
That's when I told her I love you girl
But I'm not the answer for the questions that you still have

1000 miles away
There's nothing left to say
But so much left that I don't know
We never had a choice
This world is too much noise
It takes me under
It takes me under once again
I don't hate you
I don't hate you, no

So tell me now
If this ain't love then how do we get out?
Because I don't know
That's when she said I don't hate you boy
I just want to save you while there's still something left to save
That's when I told her I love you girl
But I'm not the answer for the questions that you still have

I don't hate you
I don't hate you, no

"Hairline Fracture"

A sinking ship, an awkward kiss
A chance to set things straight
The kind of hurt that burns and burns
Like fires we can't contain

We hole up in a shelter made of bones and ice and there we'll wait
So start again with steady hands
This time nothing gets in our way
But as we peer a little closer what do we see ?

A crack in the surface
A flaw in the plan
(Plans we made together, almost buried in the sand)
A cadence imperfect
Like a building condemned
(Can we indemnify ourselves if we don't face what we're against)

A promise kept
The dirt unswept
A poorly worn disguise
A child unloved that then grows up
To love what we despise

We're broken but still breathing
We are wounded but we are healing
We pick up right where we left off
Breathe on the ashes that remain

So that these coals may become fire
To guide our way

A crack in the surface
A flaw in the plan
(Plans we made together, almost buried in the sand)
A cadence imperfect
Like a building condemned
(Can we indemnify ourselves if we don't face what we're against)

I walk on wounds
That seldom prove to slow me down
I laugh this constant pain away
So you can't tell
But there it lies under the smiles
It drains me mile after mile
But seldom proves to slow me down
Here I go

Should we just hold on
To what remains of
What we thought was lost

But it's just a crack in the surface
A flaw in the plan
(Plans we made together, almost buried in the sand)
A cadence imperfect
Like a building condemned
(Can we indemnify ourselves if we don't face what we're against)

"Whereabouts Unknown"

To the ends of this lost world
You have marched and you have sworn
To a tainted crown of thorns

As the hungry sails unfurl
We are thrusted from the shore
And it's you that we search for

The blackest night
The midnight sun
The covered tracks and days spent on the run
The strangers we've become

These whereabouts unknown
Please know you can come home
It's alright
I long for the moment
Our silence is broken
It's alright [x3]

Another place, another time
We toed the same side of the line
Yeah we saw eye to eye

Even then the saddest sounds,
Were nothing laughter could not drown
But we are not laughing now

I see your face
In my sights
I hesitate
And then look for a sign
Somewhere in the sky

These whereabouts unknown
Please know you can come home
It's alright
I long for the moment
Our silence is broken
It's alright [x3]

Even together, we stand apart
Swallow the sun, erase the sky
An invitation that's been declined
Where did you go? Where did you go?

No whereabouts unknown
Please know you can come home
It's alright
I long for the moment
Our silence is broken
It's alright [x3]
It's alright now

It's alright now
Cuz all is forgiven
If you could just listen
It's alright

"Historia Calamitatum"

Even though we know, yeah,
We know,
Our time has almost come,
We're all overdue.
Can there be a place to call our own?
Can there be a road that takes us home?

We toe the line (toe the line).
We go along (we go along).
We toe the line
To you now.

When it rains it pours
Like summer storms, the skies as grey as leaves.
The rivers flood the banks and spill into the streets.
But the people laughed and swore that they'd restore
The city piece by piece.
And then the clouds gave way as if to agree;
When it rains it pours.

The mystery unknown now unfolds,
The life that we once owned, first bought, then sold.
Like messengers of war, we've no control.
To oceans unexplored,
This ship sails through.

We toe the line (toe the line).
We go along (we go along).
We toe the line
To you now.

When it rains it pours
Like summer storms, the skies as grey as leaves.
The rivers flood the banks and spill into the streets.
But the people laughed and swore that they'd restore
The city piece by piece.
And then the clouds gave way as if to agree;
When it rains it pours.
It pours.
(It pours).

When it rains it pours,
When they die we mourn,
When it hit, we swore,
Now we want not more.
Like a saint re-born,
Like a rose in a storm,
Like a child un-born,
A child un-born...

It's the coin we're tossing into the well,
It's misfortune that we could not foretell,
It's the dry spell.

When it rains it pours
Like summer storms, the skies as grey as leaves.
The rivers flood the banks and spill into the streets.
But the people laughed and swore that they'd restore
The city piece by piece.
And then the clouds gave way as if to agree;
When it rains it pours.
It pours,
When it rains it pours.