1. |
Shake Your Bones
03:03
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Fortune teller tellin' me
The year of the rat is upon us at last
And its gonna last us til the calendar crash
I flip page after page after hours after days
After some after shock after all that's the chase
Trying to catch a breath before it escapes
Don't show me your face until you show me your faith
Drop down on your bad knee/ yes, in your good clothes
Reach for the sky/ that's where everybody good goes
Round and round and two flights down
Keep your eyes to the ceiling and your ear to the ground
I hear 'em chant in pain as they dance with their hands in
Chains/ at last there's a chance for rain
Avalanche is the name and I got this here covered
I'm sorry that you suffered/ now go and tell the others to
Shake your bones, rattle your nerves, chase the devil out
Shake your bones, rattle your nerves, chase the devil out
Shake your bones, rattle your nerves, chase the devil out
Why you turning back, there ain't no turning back now
I told 'em listen/ they didn't
I told 'em look/ and they missed it
They're looking ignorant staring off in the distance
Don't blink/ you might miss the pivotal plot
Don't think/ you are what a criminal's not
I shot holes in they theories til the light shined clearly
Trick magic, magic trick/ that's their logic disappearing
I watch the drama go up like marijuana smoke
What, you're on a roll? only if you're dominoes
Falling back/ laying down
You're tresspassing on sacred ground
When you're breaking down alone does it make a sound?
Probably not, that's my two cents
All these pickpockets got me burying my blueprints
Caught you red handed/ here's the blacklist to prove it
There ain't nothing to prove/there ain't nothing to lose just
Shake your bones, rattle your nerves, chase the devil out
Shake your bones, rattle your nerves, chase the devil out
Shake your bones, rattle your nerves, chase the devil out
Why you turning back, there ain't no turning back now
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2. |
Topsoil
03:39
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Clawed my way back up to the top soil
Got coiled up to the point it made the pot boil
Not loyal to the/ not committed to those
Unfaithful, unstable hitting new lows
A few blows below the belt/ one right between the night-goggles
I could give a hot piss to fill an empty Sprite bottle
If they even notice the bottom of the boat is
Corroded with holes and the captain’s fully loaded
Hold it so close that it cannot breathe right
Seems like the Devil only dances under street lights
From these heights the city looks like constellations
But the stars are falling faster than the camera man can make ‘em
Kiss the pavement/ carve a couple names in
Stomp out your cigarette and notice the arrangement
Tell the complacent blank pages we should trade places
Now will they make changes or remain nameless?
We stain the glass, the clothes, the curb, the paint
We don’t deserve to turn the page/ earn your weight
And if you don’t, you can’t carry it
But who’s gon’ be the one to pull your casket in the chariot
Tying up some loose ends/ high strung and too thin
The rope that I’m climbing starts looking like a noose, friend
Who’s them always whispering and pointing fingers
Avoid the paranoid/ fill the void, let the voices linger
Now what they singing, what they singing from the other side?
Sounds like they warning me, the beast gon’ bring a rougher ride
Shackles ‘round the wrists, dogs and a cage waiting
Stay patient, demons disappear when the day’s breakin
This crime ain’t feeling right, boss
Looked better with the lights off
Seeing blurry and my mind’s lost
White cross burning in the sky on the night watch
You play the darkness, I’m gonna play the light
Never met a constellation that was so afraid of heights
Name your price/ everything is up for grabs
They used to wanna touch the cross /now they wanna touch the cash
Forgive me father/ I just take in what the city offers
Many authors died once they tried to touch your pretty coffers
Is that really copper? I scoff at penny droppers
But if it lands heads-up I’m feelin’ pretty proper
Ain’t no telling what I’ll do to make those ends meet
And if I’m short, ain’t no telling what you’ll lend me
At your weakest moment what would you compromise?
I’d tell you take a minute think it over if i wanted lies
On the rise/ what could possibly go wrong?
The emperor’s a cover up and he ain’t got no clothes on
If I gotta go I wanna go to a slow song/ just to keep it prolonged
So on and so on
Now what they singing, what they singing from the other side
Sounds like they warning me/ the beast gon’ bring a rougher ride
Shackles ‘round the wrists, dogs and a cage waiting
Stay patient, demons disappear when the day’s breakin
This crime ain’t feeling right, boss
Looked better with the lights off
Seeing blurry and my mind’s lost
White cross burning in the sky on the night watch
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3. |
Broke
03:34
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Broke as a joke ain't much of a
Joke, 'cause it stings like smoke in the
Eye when you bring it too close by
Want another drag/ never know why
Take me on a ghost ride/ choke my
Pride/ watch the hopes die
Smoke rise when the soul flies
But won't fly in the cold sky (that's why)
Broke ain't meant to fix
Broke is your only way out
Broke ain't meant to fix
Catch a break til it's broken down
I wear grief like a bow tie
I buried you in cheap suit
You wear worthless on both sides
And torn rags you can see through
It must be you ain't fed right
I bleed blue not the red, white
I heard truth is a lead pipe
If I don't split then my head might
Broke ain't meant to fix
Broke is your only way out
Broke ain't meant to fix
Catch a break til it's broken down
You've had me all wrong all along
Don't judge a book that ain't written yet
I must've come on too strong
Now you're standing there with frost-bitten flesh
How low can you go
I'm talking bout temperatures of snow
Ice storm and its 40 below
That's the realm of the dead man's soul
Broke ain't meant to fix
Broke is your only way out
Broke ain't meant to fix
Catch a break til its broken down
Broke ain't meant to fix
Broke is your only way out
Broke ain't meant to fix
Catch a break til it's broken down
Look me in the eye if you gonna lie
Let me down slow if you gotta go
Did you watch it die or did you walk by
Guess you don't know 'caus you're too stoned
Ever seen a man leave his own shell?
Lose his own mind in his own hell?
Dirty little secret that you don't tell
All behind the doors of a hotel
Broke ain't meant to fix
Broke is your only way out
Broke ain't meant to fix
Catch a break til it's broken down
Danger, danger
Move back 'fore my cool snap/ who's that
Stranger, stranger
Tryin' to count these vultures but I lose track
Vapors, vapors
Follow holy smoke trails better use that
Anchor, anchor
or you might drift off on a new path
Maybe that ain't so wrong
Maybe that ain't so bad
Maybe fresh winds give a new spin
Maybe worst trip you ever had
Broke ain't meant to fix
Broke is your only way out
Broke ain't meant to fix
Catch a break til its broken down
Broke ain't meant to fix
Broke is your only way out
Broke ain't meant to fix
Catch a break til its broken down
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4. |
The River
04:54
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Flash of the cold chill in the heart of a heat wave
Tension hangs thick enough to keep my crooked street paved
Haven't worked in three nights/ ain't slept for three days
There's Freeway Jesus/ I wonder what would he say
Freeway Jesus, wonder what would he say
(Repeat 2x)
The price tag is prominent/ he'll take whatever we pay
What's behind the curtains/ uncertain but determined
To reveal the gears turning/ the machine behind the person
Pulled back the fabric/ head spun in a whirlwind
It was nothing but a white wall/ lightbulb and a serpent
Nothing but a white wall, lightbulb and a serpent
(Repeat 2x)
Nightfall despite y'all/ invite all the servants
Hello operator won't you kindly call me Lazarus
Been dead a while now/ wonder what comes after this
Only see the light the few moments that the match is lit
I've heard about the other side/ this ain't how I imagined it
Heard about the other side, this ain't how I imagined it
(Repeat 2x)
Someone must've stole the best pages out the manuscript
Went down to the river/ to wade in the water
Wade in the water/ and come back to life
But when I got down/ got down to the river
Was nothing but puddles/ river ran dry
(Repeat)
The faded photographs taped to the monolithic street posts
Remind us of the ghosts that we held dear but couldn't keep close
And now they watch us blankly/ but each one at least hopes
If their picture fell we could still see 'em here like these folks (Repeat 3x)
For now we've got to let them rise and fly away like sweet smoke
The woman upstairs is giving birth inside the bathtub
She's calling on her maker/ his hotline must be backed up
We knew there would be blood/ never guessed it would be that much
That's the second time we lost our harvest to the flash flood
(Repeat 3x)
Lost all my faith but at least I never had much
Went down to the river/ to wade in the water
Wade in the water/ and come back to life
But when I got down/ got down to the river
Was nothing but puddles, the river ran dry
(Repeat)
I only see the light the few moments that the match is lit
Heard about the other side/ this ain't how I imagined it
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5. |
Vandal
02:51
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Everybody’s looking so stunned, shocked, stone-faced and awe-struck
Not a thing to say but can’t nobody keep their jaws shut
Raw guts in your drinks and your chandelier
You be the witnesses/ I’m the vandal here
Piss in your pulpit/ ri-ride the bullshit
Right down the lane/ don’t look so insulted
Whatever happened to Baby Jane?
Too many daisy chains/ found her face down in the gravy train
Think I give a buck about a bank note?
One less distraction make you wonder where’d the day go
Most of us look better in our own eyes
Hard enough to get by/ try doing it with no lies
Aspiring low brow, just gimme the know how
Don’t know which shit road to go down
Pass by the window and they're just toys
Watch ‘em fall/ house of cards, boss man to bus boy
It's just noise/ don’t know what to make of it
Can’t hang that picture then don’t try framing it
Gotta wonder if it carries weight
It's your ocean, I’m just trying to keep your Bering Strait
Killed enough time to make a criminal wince
It never helped me in a critical pinch
Its all gone digital since
Must’ve never known Jesus in the biblical sense
Brown Child where you at/ rest in peace
Was always good people/ none of this shit makes sense to me
But I guess that’s how the globe spins
Born alone, die alone/ tell me where the road end
No ends doesn’t always mean no skins
But if it do/ you gon’ have to be your own friend
Drink it up here’s truth serum for bad liars
Running on gas fumes, bad news and flat tires
Black male, black mail, Black male victim
Caught up in the curve of the pass/fail system
Last seen walking singing parts of old spirituals
Some one must have left him by the river for a miracle
Park bench folk want smokes but they save a seat
Higher up the food chain they ain’t so neighborly
Hold up/ what’s that dude calling me?
Change their tune quick once they find out what mulatto means
Look it up or I might be looking out the door
Hard rain is coming and its nothing worth drowning for
Bang my skull on the wall for a kick drum
I’ll play a victrola before I play the victim
River runs wide where’s the bridge to the other side?
I can sniff it out like a lover’s lie/ otherwise
It’s time for Hail Mary, pack bags, run and hide
Colors dried/ paint a new lifestyle to suffer by
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6. |
God's Jewelry
04:10
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Pull the stones out your pockets/ slide your money ‘cross the table
What you doing dancing with cement shoes/ you’re bound to lose
Found a fuse so I lit it/ then I hid it- then I wondered what didded
What have I committed/ feeling parasitic
Bear witness of a perfect crime/ criminal the prime time
I’m blind, blind side/ my, my, the time flies
Wise eyes would never look twice into the paradise
You did it once it spared your life/ don’t try again, it’s theirs tonight
Damn I’m getting old/ there’s creakin’ in my bones
I feel the frozen air that’s leakin’ in my home/ feed the coals
Felt the soles of my feet walk on graveyards and souls in the street
Its just gon’ repeat/ its just gon’ repeat
Rob me of what’s mine/ sell it on a bus line
Sew my thick lips closed and tell me it’s just fine
Thumbs up, dumbstruck/ hit me with the raw deal uncut
All night and can’t tell the sun’s up
Two ton truck walks into a bar
Orders a gallon of gas, a rag, a match, a spark
Its too dark these days, wouldn’t you agree?
Soon you’ll see us light the sky up like god’s jewelry
its too dark these days, wouldn’t you agree?
soon you’ll see us light the sky up like god’s jewelry
its too dark these days, wouldn’t you agree?
soon you’ll see us light the sky up like god’s jewelry
Bang, bang, bang, that’s the sound of the chain gang
Sound of the same pain suffered just to maintain
Preach the sermon/ teach peace and speak with purpose
But behind the curtains you speak cheap and sleep with servants
Secret service/ it’s better that you didn’t know
The kisses blown fell short and wound up on the kitchen floor
Vision slow/ mugging hazy individuals
All eyes on me/ they should be out there skipping stones
Listen close/ I promised you a pulse
D to the O to the A is the result
You wanna shock me then turn up the volts
Don’t try to give me the ghost/ it's clear you need it the most
Let’s see what fate has to offer/ roll the dice
Don’t give a drowning man a glass of water
Pass the coffers/ now fill ‘em with the ashes of propaganda’s authors
The newsprint imposters/ witch doctors
The empty rhetoric bottom-feeder sediment believers
Playing broken trumpets just to be heard
Bang, bang, bang/ that’s the same thing playing
Let the broken record skip just to maintain-tain
Its too dark these days, wouldn’t you agree?
Soon you’ll see us light the sky up/ like god’s jewelry
Its too dark these days, wouldn’t you agree?
Soon you’ll see us light the sky up/ like god’s jewelry
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7. |
Coins on the Open Eyes
04:00
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If I walk blind/ they'll lay me down in chalk lines
The spot's mine if I travel with a soft spine
The city's hungry/ everyone is fair game
Spare change ain't blood money to a pair of fangs
The air hangs like sneakers on the phone wire
Too thick to breathe in/ too thick to go higher
They sound like angels/ voices out the black church
Tracked dirt inside didn't notice til the last verse
Amazing grace lay your hands on my face
So I can fin'ly feel like I've abandoned my ways
Trying to own land 'fore I land in my grave
How come I'm three steps ahead of you just standing in place?
I felt the earth move/ under my blurred view
The curfew, the proud, their hurt is on the curb, too
Swerve through with nothing but a word and
Disturbed truth/ to neglect and to serve you
Bite the bullet/ this is gonna sting a bit
Come to think of it/ this the iceberg to sink your ship
No signs of life by daylight
Ask the hangman if he ever gets stage fright
Eyes rollin' back like a slot machine
Must've been the two-faced woman I got caught between
The poison could've used a little seasonin'
Lies blinded both eyes but fuck it you can leave 'em in
Made a mess out of something so beautiful
I'm trying to get front row tickets to my funeral
Just to see the look on my face when my maker came
Now throw my ashes like paper planes/ make it rain
Just another ghost on the night beat
Gayngs is half-dead walking 'round under white sheets
I promise I won't promise you nothin'
And you can have it all/ now isn't that somethin?
Coins on the open eyes / flies in the open mouth
Alone- how I came in / that's how I'm going out
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8. |
Smoke in the Temple
03:47
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A little blood in the liquor makes the night go quicker
It ain’t lights out ‘cause a lightbulb flicker
White folks whisper/ black snake moan
Whole town fits in a halfway home
Cause unknown but the outcome clear
Gotta catch my breath when I outrun fear
Now now here, give me both of your ears
Take an intermission listen to gears gr- grinding
Climb in the back/ hide in the stack
Don’t let nobody see ya/ once they find you that’s all
Folks wanna act like they don’t know how to act
Let ‘em in the front door I’m walking out the back
Try to follow my tracks/ they’ll lead you off the map
Now you trapped and you don’t know where its at
Tell me where it went- you part of an experiment
High as a seraphim/ eyes on the cross and your hands on the theremin
Who ever said worship was simple?
The smoke in the temple ain’t leaving out the window
Who ever said worship was simple?
Purify the sinful they’ll recognize our symbols
Who ever said worship was simple?
The smoke in the temple ain’t moving when the wind blows
Who ever said worship was simple?
Now baptize the info and feed it to your kinfolk
Spin ‘em ‘round and ‘round till the lights fade
Not yet, it ain’t dark yet
The price paid drips slowly off the knife’s blade
Not yet, it ain’t dark yet
They spin us round and round till the lights fade
Not yet, it ain’t dark yet
Its time to pull the blindfold/ stop thinking that your sight’s lame
Not yet, the light never left
Here’s a toast: give up the ghost
You hold it too close and I don’t say that to most
You're blinded by the imagery, mimicry, trickery
The cracks in your mask shine vividly
Keep spinnin' me/ blur the lines of symmetry
Suffocate the suffering/ I'm a let the embers breathe
Suffocate suffering/ orchestrate the misery
But if I'm the conductor I'll have to face the symphony
Take a bow for the crowd- own it
The pill tastes better on the way down, don't it?
Sell it to the camera/ hold it, hold it
The picture last longer than the nightmare, won't it?
False idols bridle the pulpit
While the saints go marching in with Bibles and bullets
If it's tribal they rival with bull whips
Like we on some Man-Tan minstrel sideshow bullshit
You better dance for that dollar with a smile on
Whether in night gowns, fishnets or nylons
Every dollar’s born filthy
But we baptize the young in our river water, guilty.
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9. |
Simmer
03:26
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By the time they seen the light/ All we heard was sirens blarin’ bright
Neighbors staring right at the mess/ feel the fahrenheit
Rise like the tide when the moon’s pulling puppet strings
Cut the links that bind us to all our earthly suffering
Shadows paint a grimace on the witness
Now if he talks he might not walk but if he don’t then that’s his business
All the facts have been distorted/ certain as the smoking gun
Ceiling swings in the circles- windows here won’t open none
Smoke around my head looks like treble clefs
I lost the level step/ went through hell until the Devil left
The kettle kept me up always screamin’ from the blue flame
Digging through ditches, dumpsters, dying for a new name
Who changed the locks/ don’t even recognize the building
The figures on the walls are hallways of hungry children
Got nothing for ‘em/ don’t got a penny for a peddler
They're only smoke screens I’m looking for a dust settler
Picking apart the pieces of the puzzle to relieve the inner struggle
Even leeches in the puddle know to leave the trouble
‘lone/ Who’s knockin’ on my telephone?
How many dial tones will convince you I ain’t home?
Let the bad blood simmer
Let the bad blood simmer
Let the bad blood simmer
Now you lost in the center of the temper and the temperature
(Repeat)
Tell me who to pray to/ who's supposed to save you?
There's nothing to escape from/ nowhere to escape to
The moment that I came to they asked me where I came from
Pointed to the blank sky/ couldn't speak the same tongue
Name one night that didn't end in mourning
The storm brings hope but never gives warning
Ain't enough police tape to cover up this mess
No matter how you frame it we're just decorating shipwrecks
Ingest a hard pill to swallow filled with shards of the bottle
Tip the jar, let the scars fill your hollow
The soldiers walked in/ should've seen the clock spin
We covered up our ears cuz poisoned mouths talk sin-
Sation temptress/ offensive to the senses
Now who would ever guess you'd be imprisoned by a sentence?
Before I spoke I filled the room with smoke to cleanse it
I conjured up the wrong ghosts/ had 'em begging me to end it
Begging me for friendship/ begging me for rations
I told them I’m a fraud, a freeloader and a has-been
‘Lone/ who’s knocking on my telephone?
How many dial tones will convince you that I ain’t home?
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10. |
||||
Everybody’s clingin’ to the upside/ can’t they see its upside down?
Better buckle up/ we're in for a rough ride now
Cruising through dark rain/ sharp pain lives in our veins
Is that the Holy light or headlights in our lane?
Settle down/ deep breath- pull yourself together now
Don’t swerve/ don’t blink- don’t bring the devil out
Duct tape covers up the rear view mirror
When the stuck brake grinds, I hear you clearer
Will this road end? oh no, there’s no end- the gates been opened
Clinging to your fate/ your fate’s been holding by a clothespin
Someone’s on our tail/ the tank’s almost outta gas
No one taught me how to drive/ no one taught me how to crash
Ask the deck of cards "what’s the deal?"
I’ve been banging rocks together trying to reinvent the steering wheel
Real funny how its all coming back to me slow
But it freezes up the faster we go
Should’ve never left the factory doors
But it did now I’m practically broke
Asked my pocket lint ‘how you gonna pay for that’
All my drinks try to hide their faces in a paper bag
It’s a long ride back from the wrong side of tracks
Lose the map ‘cause I’m wiser than that
The almighty dollar meets the unholy weapon
Karma’s at your door for the collection
Return my body to the dirt where it came
Strip me of my goods and my name
Stretch me on the tracks for the midnight train
We can’t recognize the darkness till we recognize the flame
(Repeat)
All the voices in your head got your vision painted red
So you brake, brake, brake
We flew forward and drew closer to other side
That’s never been my choice to make make make
We know people who know people who sew evil seeds
The ego bleeds and breaks, breaks, breaks
The hearts and minds and vital nerves, the suicidal urge
One of us is bound to take, take, take
Me out the frame/ the rust stains cover the name
Smother the flame/ what you running from, discover the pain
Glance over at the passenger/ we’re one in the same
Rolling with no aim/ only got each other to blame
What I wouldn’t give to rest and park
But I’m driving on a question mark
Bad directions and arrested hearts
Hanging out the window/ will it end? no
That’s the bestest part
Never-ending night drive/ trying to keep my tires in the white lines
But they keep leaning to the right side
Gotta keep my bloodshot eyes open
Looking like a mugshot and whatnot underneath the sky, broken
The black air is clearer than you'd expect
And now all my glass got a mirror-effect
I can see my past sins plus the here and next
But the disease will take years to detect
Return my body to the dirt where it came
Strip me of my goods and my name
Stretch me on the tracks for the midnight train
We can’t recognize the darkness till we recognize the flame
(Repeat)
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11. |
Crown
03:24
|
|||
Down, down, in the flood
Blood in my eye/ mouth full of mud
River gon' rise/ city gon' rust
Not much left but we know what was
Round, round, spin me round
On the rooftop looking down
Angel on my wing, devil on my crown
Which one gon' hit the ground?
Sane, sane, we're all insane
Clinging to the rail of a runaway train
Taunting thunder, lightening, rain
Vanish quickly as we came
Run, run, get your gun
Pointer finger and a thumb
Shoot the heart of the heartless sun
Watch it fall til the day drops done
(Repeat)
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12. |
Amnesia
06:47
|
|||
Behind the curtains are closed doors/ half truths and cold floors
I got my backbone/ sorry you sold yours
Untold wars burn in our sleep
Surrender to silence and the turn of the key
Learning to speak the tongue of looking busy when the preacher comes
Never learned the manuscript proper but I could teach you some
Two doors in front of you/ don't settle for either one
Son of a gun or another believer's son
Inhale dust particles/ flipping through old articles
Trying to find the source of where it started from its hard to know
I know conviction is a lost cause carved in stone
That still remembers dull blades long after the scars are gone
Pulled the plug but the motor's still running
It ain't over till something stops the overkill coming
Take the sober pills from me/ I'm not in good company
The wallpaper's dizzy and the paranoia's unleashed
Runs free, runs wild like God's son's bastard child
Living on the stoop with cheap beer and Black & Milds
Pass the vile/ I wouldn't mind forgettin' some
For getting high, forgetting dumb, whichever one is quicker, son
Ridiculous, it's only neckties and hypocrites
Reading from a book and drinking fake blood it was written with
Splitting hairs, splitting families and splitting lips
Get in bed with them and spread the politician's syphilis
Amnesia, now you're a believer
But the drugs won't save you and the church won't either
Amnesia, now you a believer
Hands up, face down, you know the procedure
(Repeat)
What you running from/ its standing there, must be fate
Might as well look your demon in its ugly face
Go ahead and try to turn it into something safe
Until you realize you're brushing your teeth with a rusty blade
Let's escape through the unified solitude
Humanize the bottle, too and pray nobody follows you
Cover your tracks well/ holler if you catch hell
If I'm not there in time I didn't know you that well
No pressure/ hold tight, no pressure
Don't look down, don't look back, they'll get'cha
Bet 'cha bottom buck/ cool and cordial is not enough
They went to tip they wine glass/ bottoms-up and got 'em stuck
Must be tripping off your own supply/ living life in one gear: overdrive
No surprise
Here's a blessing to the frozen sky/ let us see just one more sunset it's
closing eyes
I broke the bottle that's buried inside my pigment
The pigment is just a color that colors all of my vision
I seen it clear enough for the both of us
I'm bout to fill your sober cup so maybe you can open up
Open up a little more
Put it on the killin' floor/ and you can fight your civil wars
That's not a riddle or simile, metaphor
It's just the goddamn truth that you must need a symbol for
Amnesia, now you're a believer
But the drugs won't save you and the church won't either
Amnesia, now you a believer
Hands up, face down, you know the procedure
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