1. |
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We came back, we came back
So let's pretend we're all okay
Yeah, we made it out of the woods
Now we glue on a happy face
While my friends die
Making next to nothing
They get the gaslight
They're told they should feel lucky
They're told they should feel lucky
They're told they should feel lucky
You've put it in the past
But it's not buried
Just drag my body
To the cemetery
And close my casket
Pray that I've gone to heaven
Take your tax cuts
You'll never learn your lesson
We're told we should feel lucky
We're told we should feel lucky
I've been so angry, panicked in the dark
We're being marched straight to the chopping block
Because you've demanded
Reckless abandon and we
We're told we should feel lucky
You'd rather fatten your wallet than flatten the curve
No matter what happens to your grandmother
You'd rather fatten your wallet than flatten the curve
No matter what happens to the rest of the world
Tell me, what is the price that you put on a life
Could it be three? Or maybe five
Hundreds? Thousands
Millions have died
We should stay home
Bravely fixing the problem
But we're spreading syndromes
The risk to get your job done.
We're told we should feel lucky.
We're told we should feel lucky.
I've been so angry, panicked in the dark
We're being marched straight to the chopping block
Because you've demanded
Reckless abandon and we
We're told we should feel lucky
And you tell us the dust clouds are gone
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2. |
Don't Quit Your Day Job
03:08
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What's the use in making music
No one seems to care you do it
No one wants to hear unless it's corporate
Sick of all that wasted effort
Maybe find a new endeavor
Set up in a park and paint some portraits
There's no humanity
Free from vanity
Now your sanity
Becomes casualty
And all you want to say
Is a couple of clever lines
To a handful of caring minds
So when you think the time has come just
Pull the cord and throw your hands up
Forget about the time you've got invested
Sell your gear and buy a suit
Trade your Vans for cowboy boots
Sign up to the party you've protested
There's no humanity
Free from vanity
Now your sanity
Becomes casualty
And all you want to say
Is a nurturing word of hope
Before you die and you decompose
If you've got the feeling
There's something missing
There's no one listening
No one's out there in the distance.
Keep your head from slipping
Just stay on mission
When you keep giving
All your effort, no condition
You won't be sitting
In a solemn prison
Pain can make musicians
Masters of life's compositions
So stay committed
Every minute.
This addiction
Will set you free
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3. |
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I'll take what's mine
Aren't I the clever one
When I break in line
That's 'cuz I'm the better one
I'll take what's mine
Don't you know who my daddy is
When I waste my time
Someone else will take care of it
It's not my problem
Someone else will take care of it
It's not my problem
My only care is how to profit off it
How to profit off it
The rich stay rich and the poor stay poor
And the poor get sick while the rich get cured
I'll take what's mine
I'll take what's mine
How nice and fine
To be the one percent
But I'd rather die
With the Ninety-Nine
Than live a life of crime
Hoarding every dime
Telling myself lies like
It's not my problem
Someone else will take care of it
It's not my problem
My only care is how to profit off it
How to profit off it
We work our health away
We slave for a measly fucking payday
We smile through tooth decay
Hourly rates for the art that we create
And they take and take
We're just a steak on their silver plates
Sometimes truth can ache
But who am I to have complaints
We work our health away
We slave for a measly fucking payday
We smile through tooth decay
Hourly rates for the art that we create
And they take and take
We're just a steak on their silver plates
Sometimes truth can ache
But who am I to have complaints
I'll see you Monday
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4. |
Deleted
02:24
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I've been sold out
I had my head stuck in the clouds
Without a doubt
Somebody's trying to drag me down
So I've been
Listening to Braid on the bedroom floor
Questioning my effort, what's it for
And now my world's collapsing on itself
The desperation's killing me
I'm kneeling at the guillotine
Defeated
Don't chase your dreams
Don't even act on your beliefs
This rigged machine
Won't ever let you succeed
So don't bother
Trying to get your head out of the noose
Especially with jealousy on the loose
And now my world's collapsing on itself
The desperation's killing me
I'm kneeling at the guillotine
Delete me
I can see you've got it out for me
Now I have to face reality
And I don't stand a chance
Just don't leave me
Defeated
Don't leave me
Delete me
And now my world's collapsing on itself
The desperation's killing me
I'm kneeling at the guillotine
Delete me
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5. |
40 East
03:02
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Bleary eyes
I see the clock is flashing 12
Reset itself
The night before was not the kind of night you thought you'd have
But on your behalf
You had one
Bad week before
You knocked our door
Then you had so much
That you blacked out
Crashed on our couch
Don't it happen to the best and worst of us
But you can't drown
All your troubles in this glass
You try and you try
No. You can't drown
All your troubles in this glass
You try and you try
Friday nights
Are different than when we were young
When we were young
We'd bust out of this town
To see the punk bands that we all loved
That we all loved
Now there's just
No place to go
No place to go, and we keep getting older
Time moved so slow
All those years ago
We could never know just what we had
We could never know just what we had
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6. |
Be Strong Your Back
04:18
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Keep up your head
Your heart will follow
Don't throw the fight
I'd rather die.
Just be strong your back
And let me light your path
We move around carving our names
Into the fabric of time and space
We are dancers, doctors, sons and daughters
Lovers, lawyers and more
And every person has his needs
But in every society
There are questions that must be addressed in order
To go on carving our names
Keep up your head
Your heart will follow
Don't throw the fight
I'd rather die.
Just be strong your back
And let me light your path
Be strong your back
Be strong your back
We walked for miles across scorching sand
And the sun was spitting lead
And the cool sip of comfort from over the horizon
Was still so far away
But we powered through despite the stress
We outlasted all the rest
Yeah, and the wrinkles on our faces were the tokens of the story
How far we'd come from where we were
Keep up your head
Your heart will follow
Don't throw the fight
I'd rather die.
Just be strong your back
And let me light your path
Be strong your back
Be strong your back
Sometimes there are just too many
Clouds to count by yourself
Sometimes you just need help when you're overwhelmed
And you're overwhelmed
So don't let things build up
That just mean to break you down
And try not to, try not to lose count
We move around carving our names
Into the fabric of time and space
We are dancers, doctors, sons and daughters
Lovers, lawyers and more
And every person has his needs
But in every society
There are questions that must be addressed in order
To go on carving our names
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7. |
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You've been singing so hard you've lost your voice now
You've been wearing your tires thin
Following your heart has left you more pain than you'd like to admit
When you try so hard, you fail so hard
They say when one door shuts another one opens
But they're the ones that have it made
Cuz you know opportunities pass you by and disintegrate
You'd rather stop than be slowed down
So grab the sharp end of the knife
You hold it close and you hold it tight
You give it all that you can
But you can't, but you can't
Understand
When you try so hard, you fail so hard
You've developed a brand new way to do things
And you wish that somebody could relate
Cuz following your thoughts is not an easy task when you communicate
You'd rather stop than be slowed down
So grab the sharp end of the knife
You hold it close and you hold it tight
You give it all that you can
But you can't, but you can't
Understand
You were living out the back of a broke-down car
And the road you were on wouldn't take you far
The silence of driving becomes too much for you
So grab the sharp end of the knife
You hold it close and you hold it tight
You give it all that you can
But you can't, but you can't
Understand
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8. |
Tim's Song
04:33
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I'm beginning to see the writing on the walls
I'm starting to hear what people say in the halls
Devoted my life to be a better man
Develop better plans, and give it all that I can
I can't sit back knowing that my team's needing me
I believed in us. I believed
I won't shut up just 'cuz you wanna disagree
I believed in us. I believed
I've been throwing elbows to keep from
Falling backwards
While some bad actors plunge us
Toward disaster
And all the folks that called me family
Now have it out for me
And I don't think I'll make it through the week
Wish you'd wash your hands of me
In scalding hot water
Until your bones expose
What you'll never know
You won't catch me back in those halls
Wish you'd wash your hands of me
Wish you'd wash your hands of me
Wish you'd wash your hands of me
Wish you'd wash your hands of me
You've always had more than a
Graphic designer
I've been lifting us higher, I've been
Smothering fires.
And all those years and years of leadership
Just disappear so quick
When I'm gone, who will dig the ditch
Wish you'd wash your hands of me
In scalding hot water
Until your bones expose
What you'll never know
You won't catch me back in those halls
I'm feeling so much lighter now
Like anything is possible
I'm feeling so much lighter now
I'm feeling so much lighter now
And you won't catch me back in those halls
Devoted my life to be a better man
Develop better plans, and give it all that I can
I can't sit back knowing that my team's needing me
I believed in us. I believed
I won't shut up just 'cuz you wanna disagree
I believed in us. I believed
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9. |
FOSSILS
03:45
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The car door has been closed
For the final time today
Ignition. Now he's rolling forward
Tires to the pave
When he left to find some company
To ease his pain away
How could he know he would be
Driving to the grave
You can't take things for granted
When my friends all moved to greener pastures
Looking for a change
And our same old haunts transformed to fossils
Impressions of better days
Grim ghosts now float down blackened sidewalks
Exploiting our past domain.
How would I know I would be
Losing everything
You can't take things for granted
It takes loss to understand it
Everyone makes mistakes
And everyone pays
And our hearts keep on beating
I hear the song in the snow
I know I'm never alone
I just hope you feel important to me
When your hair starts to go
And your face is losing its glow
I just hope you feel important to me
I've been singing along
Since the back of the bus
To the back of the office
To the back of my hand
There's a storybook stored in the attic
That taught me how to read
It's all dusty now and chewed by crickets
But it's always seemed to me
That the things that made us grow as people
We hold closer than another
No matter how far away
I will always have my brothers.
You can't take things for granted
It takes loss to understand it
Everyone makes mistakes
And everyone pays
And our hearts keep on beating
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10. |
Darkness Becomes Harmony
04:43
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What keeps you from saying how it is
When you leave, you don't say goodbye
Everyone I know needs a month or so
To remind them they're alive
When dark days are never-ending
Hopeful songs seem condescending
But keep your head up if you can
So the last time that I saw you
Things seemed fine
Unexpected 3 in the mornings
Make for "summer nights & fireflies"
We all scoured the community garden
And let the dogs run free
Without a worry about the fires in LA
Police brutality and sociopathy
Keep your head up if you can
We were all in it together
Until we went our separate ways
You still haunt warm corners inside my brain
I still contact you on holidays
After the pills complete their mission
And your pupils dilate
You get swept away by melodies
And all that darkness becomes harmony
Keep your head up if you can
What keeps you from saying how it is
When you leave, you don't say goodbye
Everyone I know needs a month or so
To remind them they're alive
When dark days are never-ending
The storm bears so unrelenting
Keep you head up if you can
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11. |
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When you're on your own
Silence makes it
Hard to stay at home
But you've embraced it
You always say
To never feel regret
And that's okay but you're
Smoking cigarettes
By yourself and those
Were empty words
In a living hell you will
Always feel the burn
Surrounded by the flames
You feel them lick your face
And your overwhelmed
Marooned in outer space
You start to suffocate
It's you and no one else
Watch Earth grow smaller
Until it's swallowed
You say the hardest part
Of taking charge
Is putting it out there
Just to blow it all
And it makes more sense
To raise defense
That way you never have to risk
Losing anything
But where's the reward in that
With sleep so short
The morning burns your eyes
Well, that's par for course
When you can't fall asleep at night.
Do you fear your dreams
When you're kicking at your sheets
Is it hard to breathe
Are you struggling with grief
You say it's no big deal
There's nothing left to feel
But I see the truth
Get up and turn the page
Be brave and break the chains
Cuz this isn't you
I know you're taller
Taller and stronger
What happens when your heart starts beating
Imagine creatures in your head stampeding
Winged horses chase away dark demons
And your sorrow departs
And there you are. There you are. There you are.
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12. |
The Gavel
04:05
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When the sky turns
Pink and yellow now
Shadows cast long
On confining ground
Sounds fade in the distance
Dust inures to crystals
Squint your eyes
At burning crimson glow
Watch the color change
To deep merlot
Light will lose the battle
Nighttime drops the gavel
I'm in a dizzy, dizzy daze
Caught in a gentle tidal wave
When you're sick
And tired of everything
All your choices start to feel
Embarrassing
Beat the shiny snare drum
Leave a trail of bread crumbs
We can lay beneath
The dogwood trees
Shallow breaths and scattered
Reverie
Feel the flames around you
Love like you're allowed to
I'm in a dizzy, dizzy daze
Caught in a gentle tidal wave
May you always feel the warmth that you crave
Let it hold you til your dying day
I'm in a dizzy, dizzy daze
Caught in a gentle tidal wave
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Paper Fortune Tellers Greensboro, North Carolina
Paper Fortune Tellers is the solo project of Greensboro, NC native John Iclef. Melodic and heartfelt, PFT is punk-influenced rock music that at times delivers as much aggression as it does inspiration. Fast paced and infectious, this music is graphic design for your eardrums. ... more
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