1. |
Ritual Crash
01:43
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undisturbed there's a fire burning always in an underworld
overflowing through the dry cracks of the barren earth
sometimes lighting up the highway in a neon burst of red
until the day that it comes flooding up
totem poles topple over from the weight of the people at the top
and fed back to the flock
kingpins get lumped in with their kingdoms
and blend into the pack
get stabbed in the back
i recall saying hey let's get away and take a break from it all
craning our necks to look up at the black sky chalkboard stars
when a satellite that circles like a ritual comes falling
into the backyard with a cryptic thud
descending from the night sky like an omen
forgotten like a dream
interpreted to mean nothing
pillows stuffed with feathers to remember that euphemisms for death
invoke flight and rest
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2. |
Open Season
02:32
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walk into the house built on the root of all evil
pick a place in line from a carousel of numbers
i remember this time last year wondering where i'd be now
well i guess i got my answer
notice i'm inclined to deny my better angels
brushing them aside to make room for the rebels
cameras in my face trying to catch me off my game
will have to rise up to my level
old rules no longer apply
it's open season where i'm going tonight
and it's hot
and it's dead quiet
and when i practice my lines and imagine your reply
i really feel for both sides
give myself a break when i get too overheated
can almost see your face like a fleeting vision of Jesus
but there's no wisdom in the way you and i learn from our mistakes
that's why we're destined to repeat them
old rules no longer apply
it's open season where i'm going tonight
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3. |
Listening
01:53
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we get better as we get going
whole world over
new world coming
and i can feel you listening
use what's left of us
old wheels turning
work from memory
old body still learning
and i can feel you listening
wouldn't know what i could be without you
gather in song and rise from the fog
like pillars of fire around you
and i can feel you listening
listening
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4. |
Sort Of Immortal
02:27
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used to say don't sweat the little things
now you get hung up on what you should worry about
you don't have the time so you sort them by size
save the big ones to get through tomorrow
sort of immortal
sort of unnerving
where do you think you are going
you've now grown averse to the known universe
and developed a knack for exploring
a capsule in space is no friend of the workplace
but it does make the office look smaller
sort of immortal
sort of unnerving
where do you think you are going
what do you want to be when your identity is laid bare
what would they say if we all ran away
and you stayed here
you were wandering around and you found the salon
where you used to get haircuts in college
the place changed its name but looks mostly the same
just the mirrors reflect someone different
sort of immortal
sort of unnerving
where do you think you are going
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5. |
Winds Of Change
02:28
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oh the winds of change are blowing
the winds of change are blowing me around
and i float above the street
with the windows at my feet
and i find it hard to speak
since the wind knocked out my teeth
but i'm carrying a message for you darling
the winds of change are howling
oh the winds of change are howling
the winds are howling something you forgot
and you ransack every thought
in every corner of your brain
like you're looking for your keys
or something small you threw away
and you find it in the strangest place now dontcha
the winds of change keep our little world in motion
in motion
in motion
in motion
in motion
little world in motion
the winds of change are blowing us around
i lived here all my life and i never thought i'd see the day
when everyone but me surrenders to the winds of change
i'll stand my ground until there's nothing left to stand by
and then i'll settle in some corner of the night sky
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6. |
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alone at the punching bag
i felt alone
and i was alone
the battle and the bag
the jangle and the jab
the shadow and swinging
shadow and swinging, yeah
lift one foot and then the other
throw one hook and then
a hook again
what am i jabbing at
the jangle and the jab
silence and swinging
silence and swinging, yeah
i felt alone
and i was alone
i wanted to throw my weight at the whole wide world
and i did it
i wanted to hear that pound, it didn't make a sound
when i hit it
and i was alone at the punching bag
i was alone at the punching bag, yeah
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7. |
Wild Life
02:56
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i felt weightless in a way i never felt before
spent the day just kind of floating around the neighborhood
saw a twenty on the ground and left it there
the scenery untouched
half the time i spend is in a waiting room
time flies and i'm just filling out the paperwork
rush through the appointment like i knew i would
to grayer skies ahead
in the wild life
in the wild life
will you know me at all in the wild life
the first thing that you notice is the awkward pace
words stumble out in clusters, mostly meaningless
we are closer than we've ever been but nonetheless
i cannot reach your hand
outstretch my arm and sense the great new distance
i vowed to leave this place just like you left it
but every avenue looks like an exit
the letters glowing red
in the wild life
in the wild life
will you know me at all in the wild, wild life
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8. |
Never Better
02:10
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i need something to hang my hat upon
you're always switching to the side that i'm on
and in the moment it feels like we'll connect
then something happens that demands your attention
i couldn't focus so i learned to train my eyes to the blur
hoping you'll notice all the dissonance i've had to endure
search lights dissolving from the sea to the shore
this is what i've been preparing you for
i was never any better
when the call comes in you rush to make it count
giving me time to try to figure it out
growing up so quick the seasons slow me down
hide in the basement 'til the weather dries out
inside a holding pattern no one has the strength to break free
left with just this love for you
in a snake pit where the future should be
and when i tried to raise my voice to speak
i was the seashell paraphrasing the sea
and i have never sounded better
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9. |
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some days are for putting something new into the world
other days are for hiding away
and contributing nothing
to anyone
and i cannot have one without the other
and the last few nights i spent pacing around
waiting for something to hit me
a breakthrough, a lightbulb, an idea
something to sweep me and keep me
and change me and make it all feel better
and before i knew it
the sky was black and moonlit
sudden dead of night
and when i close my eyes real tight
it's still bright red
waging war with myself everyday
spreading propaganda in the night
anxiety dreams invite anxious analyses
or become prophecies over time
i can feel the blood travel
up the calcium ladder through my spine
then slam in the top of my skull
i can hear the rain
tomorrow i am changing direction
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10. |
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