"Victory"

the velveteen and oaken soothed the lonely child
the parents watched the escort take him while they stood outside
the priest was kind and gentle as he positioned his head
the pain was like brimstone, but the kid hardly bled

victory
instinct over intellect
victory
it erupts from deep inside
history
history is laughing at us
plotting its discovery
victory, victory
blame it on the victory

among the parade crowd there stands a decorated man
remembering how he helped to save this sacred land
his helpless enemy was wounded, both hands raised with hope
he killed him without second thought, with brute force and a rope

so many times, so many lives
test the other side
waiting to see what the maker has in mind

the unsuspecting commoners hum diligent each day
they wallow in their father's sins, as time passes away
the crimes are without motive but they ignore all restraint
the evil sits inside them torpid timing its escape

"Drunk Sincerity"

the smell of virgin pages wafted through the swinging doors
and the croaking speech he'd heard from countries counselors before
they said "we all care for you, we know how you suffer
but I know you can succed, I used to have it so much rougher"

there's hope in the words and emotion in the eyes
it's so easy to be misled by the savvy gentle guise
and like fools we trust the delivery
but it's all just drunk sincerity

in maternal family assembly poised regarding the blue tube
the numbers crept up higher and the hawks stayed out of view
then the generals said "we dont want our boys dead
your sons and your husbands will be coming back heroes soon"

with steam, heat, and rhythm in the back seat of the car
and adolescent perspective projecting life's forecast to the stars
you heard love from the lips and you were rapt by the hips
and the promise was eternal but you couldn't see that far

"Come Join Us"

so you say you gotta know why the world goes 'round
and you can't find the truth in the things you've found
and you're scared shitless 'cuz evil abounds
come and join us

well I heard you were looking for a place to fit in
full of adherent people with the same objective
a family to cling to and call brethren
come and join us

all we want to do is change your mind
all you need to do is close your eyes

so come and join us
come and join us
come and join us

don't you see the trouble that most people are in
and that they just want you for their own advantage
but I swear to you we're different from all of them
come and join us
I can tell you are lookin' for a way to live
where truth is determined by consensus
full of codified arbitrary directives
come and join us
all we want to have is your small mind
turn it into one of our own kind
you can go through life adrift and alone
desperate, desolate, on your own
but we're lookin' for a few more stalwart clones
so come and join us
come and join us
come and join us

we've got spite and dedication as a vehement brew
the world hates us, well we hate them too
but you're exempted of course if you
come and join us
independent, self-contented, revolutionary
intellectual, brave, strong and scholarly
if you're not one of them, you're us already so
come and join us

"Cease"

blacktop pavement cover me
like a chemical reaction or a steam roller
spreading randomly

there's a distant and a low frequency
it tickles my ear, it rumbles under my feet
and it shakes the leaves off of every tree (violently)
what pretension! Everlasting peace
everything must cease

institution on the Hill
like a beacon in the mind of an ancestor
to ignite a people's will

there's a shadowed stain on the west facade
it has spread like decay to enshroud the fraud
and the descendants find oh so odd
(oh so odd)
what pretension! Everlasting peace
everything must cease

grave memorial hewn white stone
like the comforting caress of a mother
or a friend you've always known

it evokes such pain and significance
and the generations pass without recompense
what pretension! Everlasting peace
everything must cease

"Hear It"

Like a morning crow and his unwelcome song
Or a worn-out broken record that keeps skipping along
Mountains of instructions you keep piling on me
Resound like a cacophonous symphony
But I don't wanna hear it anymore
Priests and politicians pretend they're your friend
And police speak to you like you're a child again
Blanket statements cover you like a rug
And thet tell me maybe I'm acting a little too smug
But I don't wanna hear it anymore
Every day we hear the secrets of life
Reduced to cheap jokes, poetry, and friendly advice
They'd rather see us all pusillanimous
Absorbent in their chorus of correctness
But I don't wanna hear it anymore

"Shades Of Truth"

Here inside this quiet room there's direction
Outside in the sultry noon-time reflection
A million scurry they are looking for advice
None willing to lend charity just exercise their
Shades of Truth, and partisan convention
Shades of Truth between dispirate lines
Shades of Truth interpret my intentions
You don't know I'm alright
Who authored the blueprints and made us captains?
Someone proclaimed creation, people listened
While children by the millions are thrown into this zoo
The so-called gift of clarity!
Oh what was God up to?
Shades of Truth, and lenient conventions
Shades of Truth, between dispirate lines
Shades of Truth interpret my intentions
You don't know I'm alright
So many walking paralell and pull their blinders tight
So few offer apology and accept others rights
And nothing absolutely can be cherished in the end
Can't we all accept that it will all happen again?
Just partisan convention
Shades of Truth between dispirate lines
Shades of Truth interpret my intentions
You don't know I'm alright

"All Fantastic Images"

England seemed like such a beautiful place from afar
Until one day I went and saw how miserabely how things really are
All Fantastic Images they only are apparent
Propagated just by hope and desire to share it
Beauty was the allure that brought me close to you
Loneliness was the bond that made me stick like glue
All Fantastic Images they only are apparent
Promoted by desperate hope that things are somewhere better
I don't have a thing against fantasy
But to chase it down just don't make sense to me
If you're only hope is simply peace and love
You end up discarding most of what you're made of
All Fantastic Images they only are apparent
Promoted by desperate hope
And the need to share it

"The Biggest Killer In American History"

You have got your stranglers and prowlers in soft shoes. Furniture makers,
carpenters too
Bombers and commandos, all with some lost cause
Disgruntled workers, immersed in "veritás"
But stealthily, in the land of the free, he's lurking there
Most are unaware of
The biggest killer in American history
And god shed his grace on thee
Business institutions universites
Both are quite the circus where the killer wants his way
I think of Edward Teller and his moribund reprise
Then I look to Nevada and I can't believe my eyes
It's time for hime to die!
Most cannot remeber minutia learned in school
It's not there on the blackboard, it's what they don't tell you
We have got a problem, it starts and ends right here
It can be defeated but you've got to face your fear
We'll join and unite and steady our sight
Then we'll put it right `cuz it's time to fight
The biggest killer in American history
And god shed his grace on thee

"No Substance"

History doesn't make something right
Consensus is not a fact-based exercise
You're tied and bound to this selfindulgent enterprise...
We call America
A brush with a star, a token of love
A name in the sand, enough is enough
A diet of air, a face on the net
A fish your palm, your television set
Once you convince yourself
The universe falls into place
You've got your ideas
And your posse of friends
You all make up rules
And the fun never ends
But still there's a problem that leaves you gasping for air
You look for some meaning, blank smiles are all that's there
And still water stales a soft summer breeze
You cling to your hopes while your drop to your knees
There's no substance
Once you convince yourself
The universe falls into place
You've got your ideas
And your posse of friends
You all make up rules
And the fun never ends
But still there's a problem that leaves you gasping for air
You look for some meaning, blank smiles are all that's there
And still water stales a soft summer breeze
You cling to your hopes while your drop to your knees
There's no substance

"Raise Your Voice"

fa fa fafa fa fa fafa Raise Your Voice!
Don't be played like someone else's board game
Don't be classed out like some desolate redoubt
Don't be misled you've got alot on your head
And nobody's gonna pay attention when you are dead
So: fa fa fafa fa fa fafa Raise Your Voice!
It's the primary rule, you gotta wanna be fooled
It's our daunted restraint that keeps us silent in shame
It's our nature to be adversarial and free
Our evolution didn't hinge on passivity
fa fa fafa fa fa fafa Raise Your Voice!