1. |
Creation
05:46
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If all of this creation was created then to fall,
Then how should I pretend to take no mind?
For what made mind the maker, and for what reason at all,
And who left all this evidence behind?
Sharpen up your pencils and straighten up your ties,
Quit looking for the door where you came in.
'Cause something's bound to happen, and it could happen at anytime,
But it never really seems to matter when.
Sleep,
I have dreams,
In every one I'm terrified,
I'm happiness personified.
No, that can't be it,
I don't recognize the life I lead,
And it may as well have forgotten me.
Keep working for the weekend, because someday it might come,
But nothing ever happens on its own.
So rifle through the pages until your fingers have gone numb,
And fall asleep like you'll wake up again at dawn.
Sleep,
I have dreams,
In every one I'm terrified,
I'm happiness personified.
No, that can't be it,
I don't understand the life I lead,
And it may as well have forgotten me.
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2. |
2020
02:34
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Line 'em up, knock 'em back,
Are you waiting for an invitation now?
Suck it down, ready for another round?
Tell the truth, don't be shy,
Is it everything you thought it would be —
Life in 2020?
More for you, more for me,
Wasn't that what we were promised?
Let it go, get some sleep,
Heaven knows it's what we need.
Loosen up, big smile!
Can you believe these are the best days of your life?
At least that's what they're saying.
It's alright, the future's here,
And we're happier this way.
Pay no mind and have no fear
Because we never had tomorrow anyway.
So kick back, have a blast,
'Cause who knows just how long all of this will last?
Ready for another round?
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3. |
Two Cars
03:14
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Dad drove a pickup, a '95 Dodge Ram,
'Til one day it got totaled — I think it happened on an Interstate ramp.
So he got another truck. It'd be the last one that he'd own.
And I tried to imagine what life was like two cars ago.
Isn't it strange? Isn't it something?
We'll be old soon.
Isn't it strange? Isn't it something —
Measuring our lives in coffee spoons.
When I started driving, I was still going to school.
With you in the front seat, I had so much to say to you.
Two station wagons later and pretty soon we'll say our vows,
Now I can't help but wonder where we'll be two cars from now.
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4. |
The Chair
03:44
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There's always someone new upon the chair,
Some storied wartime god or spoiled heir,
And it makes no difference which one is introduced.
We're always under someone's foot.
There's always someone home to draw the blinds
And to look the other way for the millionth time,
And it makes no difference what happens in the street,
Because they'll never have to see.
But maybe one day that will be me
Up on the high chair to do as I please.
But maybe one day I will be free
To get what I need, and then you'll see.
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5. |
Mediator
03:41
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Mediator, is your ground still high?
What have you gained, what have you compromised?
What's your intention, where will you draw the line?
Were you left out, or were you left behind?
Propagator, you've got a lot to say.
There's work to do, but you won't start today.
You'll still work together, just on your own time,
Well, if you're sure, most of us will be fine.
And now the bleeding hearts, have-nots and bargain marts
All chip in their fair part to weather the false starts.
Investigator, where do the footprints lead?
There's no one coming — that much is guaranteed.
Who are you chasing? Why do you swell with pride?
The gap between you was already plenty wide.
And now the bleeding hearts, have-nots and bargain marts
All chip in their fair part to weather the fits and starts.
Moderator, if you're out there now,
Are you sure that you were running the show?
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6. |
Say It Once
03:01
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Picture it now: flipping through the family albums
In fifteen, maybe twenty years' time.
Kids on our knees asking silly questions
About every single broken tie.
I'll say it once and I'll say it again if I can.
I'll say it once again.
I always knew that this would be our story,
I always knew it'd be with you.
I just assume I'll be here in the morning,
I hope you'll be here with me too.
I'll say it once and I'll say it a hundred times,
I'll say it once again.
I'll say it once, well, you probably heard me the first time.
I'll say it once again.
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7. |
Elena
05:37
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Hear the din of every echoing impermanent solution.
Bear the weight of every corner of the world in destitution.
It starts again, somehow it always starts again.
From end to end, we make our way from end to end.
Call it revolution — every new thing leaves a trace.
Call it resolution, watch it settle in its place.
Settle down, surrounded only by the old circumlocution.
Losing ground to some interminably nearer dissolution.
It comes around, somehow it always comes around.
It comes around, that's how it always comes around.
Every institution leaves a new one in its place.
Call it restitution, never speaking face to face.
Call it absolution, no one tallying mistakes.
Call it revolution — every new thing leaves a trace.
Call it resolution, watch it settle in its place.
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8. |
Fling Wide the Gates
08:05
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Celebrating that all things come to an end,
Speculating successors to the empire
All vie for relevance in empty halls
And beg for mercy when the tempter calls.
Fling wide the gates!
The insurmountable task before us every day,
To stay informed in the Information Age,
And so we listen for the arbiter —
O for a voice like thunder!
Fling wide the gates!
I've got it under control this time I promise you.
Then on to the end my God and my friend
With the banner lifted high.
To come from above with your power and love
To endure and suffer and die.
Then on to the end my God and friend
To suffer, endure and die.
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Stuart Wicke Louisville, Kentucky
Stuart Wicke is a songwriter from Louisville KY.
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