Atlas

Staring at the roads I’ve passed,
just thin blue lines upon a map,
I’ve seen them press against my skin,
and touch the outside from within.
No feeling in the space between
two entities since now it seems
that each retrace would be in vain,
erase and it won’t look the same.
Won’t look the same…

Chorus:
Held down by the world that I hold up,
travel and you’ll never leave my touch.
Some days I feel I should let it fall,
and drop the past for once and all.

What good are eyes if I still see
the images of you and me
on streets that travel up my spine
and end at last upon my mind?
No stalling in this place unless
my shoulders find a way to rest
from nervousness and past regret
this present tense cannot forget.
Cannot forget…

Chorus:
Held down by the world that I hold up,
travel and you’ll never leave my touch.
Some days I feel I should let it fall,
and drop the past for once and all.

Turning from the thoughts at hand,
silhouettes that stretch across the land,
I can’t see where we haven’t been,
it’s just past where the pages bend,
the dusty prints still have not set,
and underneath the ink is wet,
at any rate I can’t pretend
this story goes without an end.
Without an end…

Chorus:
Held down by the world that I hold up,
travel and you’ll never leave my touch.
Some days I feel I should let it fall,
and drop the past for once and all.

Outtro:
I carry with me all your facts,
your colored legends and your maps,
your silly tables and your laugh,
your parting glance and all of that,
and I no longer can relax
with all this strain upon my back.

Doorstep

I didn’t know who you were when you came in,
you were just a kid,
and I had my life to live.

Your eyes had a light that invited me inside,
but the door was still open wide,
so I thought I’d let time decide.

You stood apart and it was too hard to see,
what you’d be like with me,
so I guess I just let you be.

On busy streets I saw where your glance was cast,
I never thought it could last,
and so I walked right past.

You came up fast and I never had the chance to say,
I’d be with you someday,
I never tried to get in the way.

Years have past and I wish I had the chance to say,
I think about you everyday,
but I can’t find the way.

It might help out if you left a light at your gate,
in case I’m a little late,
and you’re still holding out for fate.

We can’t go back and I know it’s a lot to ask,
that a lot of good friends have passed,
and the feelings don’t often last.

If that’s the case then I won’t need a place to stay,
for even with these words to say,
there’s a price I still have to pay.

I didn’t know who you were when you came in,
please forgive me love,
for I have sinned.

I, Robot

At times I wish I were a robot,
who could turn things on and turn things off,
look inside there’s not a damn thing soft,
just wires and steel.

I’m a machine with memory,
too much of it for I can see
through brick walls and it’s hard to breathe,
yet easy to feel.

So maybe it’s the other way,
easy to breathe yet hard to stay,
easy to see once they’ve gone away,
yet hard to cry.

A robot needs no company,
just common sense and batteries,
so my love for you along with me,
will never die.

Follower

No need for me to draw first blood
I’ll just take your lead,
now I know you’re so misunderstood,
so tell me what you need,
I only want to do some good,
but girl I must concede,
I’d try and help you if I could,
but you’re such a mystery.

You thought you should be famous,
so you went off chasing stars,
he was backstage getting blowjobs
while you waited at the bar,
but still you say you loved him,
and I found it so bizarre,
that he held you by your heart-strings,
yet he couldn’t play guitar.

Chorus:
And if you think you passed up me,
you better check your memory,
you’ve got your coat, you’ve got your keys,
but where’s your personality?
Cause you just change from week to week,
and stumble every time you speak,
you say you’ve got nothing to hide,
but inside you’re cold and weak.

Bridge:
Yeah you just act like who you’re with,
that must be why you’re such a bitch,
get off his ass, you’re talking shit,
I’ve said my peace, now this is it.

No need for me to keep this up,
I’ll just take your lead,
I’ll lay right down and give it up,
I see it’s done so easily,
when I asked you if our time was good,
your answer seemed so fake to me,
I’d validate you if I could,
but you’re just a forgery.

Chorus

Bridge

Tether

Time to fold up all your clothes,
the nights have gotten colder,
the bell within the tower tolls,
and we have gotten older.

Spin to let the years unwind
back through where we’ve been.
All the things we left behind
will not be there again.

Pass the places you have stayed,
for none of them have found you.
And now that youthful skies have greyed,
their shadows will surround you.

Chorus:
And so you want to leave this town forever,
well, we can do it together,
any time between now and whenever.
And you say you’re tethered to this town,
and the weather just brings you down,
and if you just keep hanging around,
you’ll never be free to touch the ground.

Time to sever all your ties,
they only serve to hang you,
the moment that you realize,
there’s nothing left to cling to.

Feel your feelings fall away,
the strain is getting stronger,
and tattered threads of yesterday
won’t hold us for much longer.

Leave the very way you came,
and everything that’s bound you,
in case you don’t come back the same,
I’ll tie myself around you.

Chorus Repeat

Bridesmaid

I was laid back sipping Dom,
waiting for my beer,
watching you across the lawn,
girl I almost shed a tear.

Cause I have yet to see you smile,
you don’t have much to say,
and once they’re set to walk the aisle,
you’re after the bouquet.

I don’t know what that’s about,
this is no time for dismay.
It makes it hard to check you out,
with you looking that way.

Everyone’s in black and white,
but you’re feeling blue,
if you come with me tonight,
I’ll see what we can do.

Chorus:
Cause I know it’s not your night,
you’re not the one who’s dressed in white,
but hey baby it’s alright,
we’ll make it ‘til the sun’s in sight.
And I know it’s not your day,
but we can do it anyway,
dance to what the DJ plays,
“Electric Slide,” well that’s okay.

Bridge 1:
I don’t have no diamond ring,
and I can’t buy you anything,
I just have this song to sing,
and some time to kill.

Toss out those borrowed dreams,
they look a little tight.
Put away your faded schemes,
and step into tonight.

Everything’s so nice and fake,
and we can eat for free,
for dessert there’s chocolate cake,
and afterwards there’s me.

We don’t need a lasting bond,
if everything stays new,
leave the priest to speak of God,
some things he just can’t do.

The flower girls are crying,
the cameraman’s at bay,
when all eyes are on the bride,
that’s when we slip away.

Chorus

Bridge 2/Outtro:
Girl don’t you know
there’s no reason to frown,
put the cake in the trunk
and we’ll get out of town.

Quiet Aggression

Yeah I saw the way you ruled the scene
with your denim walls and splattered jeans,
it seemed you couldn’t ask for more
as you sat there calmly on the floor
with your suitcase and a tambourine,
and that Chinese girl who can’t stay clean,
and you both keep staring at the sky,
but won’t say a word when I ask why.

And when your best friend came up dead
you flashed me a look that said,
“if there were no disease
we’d all die from depression.”
I know you think “what’s mine is mine,”
and you keep running short on time,
but do you have to grieve
every time I ask you a question?
I can’t stand the eyes that hide
your quiet aggression.

Chorus:
When you passed me and I looked back
I thought I caught the slightest grin,
and every time your lips crack
you act like you’ve confessed a sin,
and then you ask me for some hard facts
but tell me, where should I begin?

Bridge:
You complain that sunny days
make it hard to see,
and when it rains you try to blame
our foreign policy.
But every time I tried to change the world
the world changed me.
That’s maybe why you and I
see things so differently.

Well I see you got a new recruit,
who walks around and hands out fruit,
they say he came to town last week,
and uses words like ‘magnifique’
as he brags about his thrift shop suit,
it cost ten bucks and looks real cute
when he wears it with a paisley tie,
but he won’t say a word when I walk by.

And when your family went in debt,
you lit up a cigarette,
and said, “I hope these
are worth more than prevention.”
The cure you seek is hard to find,
when you can’t seem to leave your mind,
but I can’t believe
you’re not aware of all this tension.
I can’t stand the eyes that hide
your quiet aggression.

Chorus 2:
When you passed me and I looked back
I thought I caught the slightest grin,
and every time your lips crack
you act like you’ve confessed a sin,
and then you ask me for a take-back,
but tell me where does all this end?

I can’t stand the eyes that hide
your quiet aggression.

Garbage Day

I’m trapped beneath the heavy skies,
and my memories are laced with flies,
everything keeps piling up,
and garbage bags are not enough.

The mounds I make as I grow old,
becomes to much for me to hold,
the help I’ve sought has come too late,
and my body can’t stand the wait.

Chorus:
There’s nothing to say about today,
the ground is wet and the sky is gray,
and I can’t wait for garbage day
to come haul all this trash away.

I’ve kept my victories close by,
and never left a piece behind,
but in the end they’re all just crumbs
of a war that can’t be won.

And I don’t have the strength to fight
the shadows through another night,
the hours crash without a sound,
and all my medals just hold me down.

Chorus2:
There’s nothing to say about today,
the sky is wet and the ground is gray,
and I can’t wait for garbage day
to come haul all this trash away.

I lose with every piece I gain,
the moments never feel the same,
the world is destined for decay,
and garbage men can’t save the day.

Chorus Repeat