1. |
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You represent everything that I’ve ever fought against
I spend my days hoping the crowd can spot the difference
But with each day I start to wonder who’s at most offense
Am I just like you?
Will I ever get through?
Our hopes and dreams it seems are such a fucking paradox
But we play along and sing the song because it’s all we’ve got
Make sure it’s packaged right
And in the proper light
Sell yourself or you’ll fall by the wayside
It’s such a shame to see them churning out aggression
For nothing more than a fashionable obsession
Isn’t that what drove us away in the first place?
It’s not ironic
It’s fucking toxic
We tell ourselves
We are not salesmen
We tell ourselves
We have no price
Still we can’t sleep at night
I wanna tell it like it is
We’re falling victim to the same machine
The same mistakes
And those who will survive
Will have to compromise
But I’m gonna tell it like it is
You say that you are weaving a story?
Oh spare me
I know your kind
And your self-righteous glory
Our art is suffering
And now everything is goin’ to shit
I will
I will not
I will not bend
I will not break
Can you recall the first time
That you heard a song and it changed your life?
I’d like to say that I do
But feelings like that seem far and few
From this point onward
I curse all concepts
Of art that costs me
My own conscience
It doesn’t have to be this way
All is not lost
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2. |
So Far Removed
03:54
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Every autumn comes to fall
Nostalgia brings a thoughtful calm
Where are you?
I check the traces of our past
They echo in a broken glass
I’ve lost my view
Then I see you once again
Though far away you’re still my friends
But for how long?
I’m sorry I know that I've gone
To focus on the path I’m on
Please accept my songs
Take the love I wasted
Don’t let it get away from you
(Don’t ever lose touch)
I admit I miss it
But I’ve become so far removed
(Don't ever lose touch)
Phone calls offer no relief
I feel like I’m the village thief
Just take and never give
But now when I visit home it’s not the same
It never will be again
You’ve all left me too
Everybody says that’s just how it works
People grow up and learn to shirk it off
But I meet new people every day
They keep all my old friends at bay
And push my former self away
Take the love I wasted
Don’t let it get away from you
(Don’t ever look back)
I admit I miss it
But I’ve become so far removed
(Don't ever look back)
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3. |
Dead Weight
03:54
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Does the end justify the means?
Or is this just a means to an end?
For the better part of 20 years
I reached with hope
And held my thoughts and feelings close
But when real life hits you hard
It makes you question
What matters most
Just keep saying
It’s worth what you’re paying
But if it all came down right now
How much would you really have?
It’s welling up again
That reoccurring feeling when
All choices made til now
Make it so damn uncertain how
I’m supposed to get myself out
What am I trying to prove?
That my life can be of more use
Than simply paying off debts and dues?
I’ve got to get
My fucking head on straight
This constant wavering
Is nothing but dead weight
Is it as clean cut
As do or die?
Honest struggle or
Submissive lie?
I feel it setting in
The weight of my own convictions
Just keep saying
It’s worth what you’re paying
But if it all came down right now
How much would you really have?
Im being muscled out
By the gears of life
I’m being held down
By my own device
Does the end justify the means?
Or is this just a means to an end?
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4. |
Locus of Control
04:17
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Prescribe the constellation
There is no science to it
Yet you find it so easy to swallow
A quick archetype and a broad definition
These foundations
Lie within us all
You’ve been drifting around
So aimless, so aimless
Living without control
Your kind are so provincial
I’ve seen you all bow before the sun
A march of slugs into an open beer
You’ve been drifting around
so aimless, so aimless
Living without control
Your kind are so provincial
The only thing in your way
(Cataract lens)
Is your faith
So pay attention
Watch us open up the sky
We peel back the layers
And show you the insides
Don't close your eyes now
Bugs trapped in the amber of each moment
I am the messenger
(Say it now)
We can’t go on like this
Excuses are your weakness
Your failures are your own
(Say it now)
We die alone
Pay attention
Watch us open up the sky
So pay attention
Watch us open up the sky
We peel back the layers
And show you the insides
Don't close your eyes now
We are all the fool
Where you and I met
There’s no alignment
Mass is all there is
Bending the space in between
And that space is yours
You dictate it’s worth
Stop kidding yourself
And let go of the curse
Pay attention
Watch us open up the sky
We peel back the layers
And show you the insides
Don't close your eyes now
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5. |
Golden Torch
04:29
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I watched you fall apart
Not you your body, just your heart
While the opposite was happening inside of him
The sun went out that day
But his warmth will never fade
You wear it on your face every single day
I never know just what to do
With all that pain inside you
Will this help?
Of course it won’t
But since we cannot let go
I hope you always know
He lived the fullest life
Still doesn’t make it right
But I know that you
Will carry his light
I’ll help you through the night
Never give up this fight
Because I have never
Loved so much in my life
All anyone can do
And all anyone can say
Is just “be there”
But you and I both know
That words and presence
Are just as frail
As skin and bone
With light
Breath life
Back into those we miss most
(You’re not the only one
Who wants to be alone)
So when you see me every night
And when you hear me sing this way
Please know I’m only trying my best
To keep alight your flame
I’m sorry if this is too much
Or if I’m doing it all wrong
But it's all that I know how to do
Consider me the midnight oil
I serve to keep you on
He lived the fullest life
Still doesn’t make it right
But I know that you
Will carry his light
I’ll help you through the night
Never give up this fight
Because I have never
Loved so much
I’ll carry you through hallways
Past the ICU and oxygen tanks
All the dead will raise their heads
And get out of their beds and sing
“I’ve never felt this light before!
Is that an angel in your arms
Or something more?”
And it’s you my love
His golden torch
And I will keep fueling
I’ll never give up on you
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6. |
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She slid off her ring and laid it gently on the table, then turned to whisper in my ear.
She said, “Kiss me quickly, dear. Lest conscious catch up to me.”
I took a breath, began to protest…
But how could I refuse, with her lips on my neck, her dress on the bedside?
She had a husband, a home, and a family, but I’m a selfish and uncaring man.
Oh, I’m just a man.
Then he came to me, carrying nothing but his passion and crawling on his knees.
But still I would not speak, ‘til he summoned all his strength and he rose to his feet.
He turned, locked eyes with me, and said:
“You’re more a monster than a man.
And I will do to you what you did to my household.”
I stood unmoved like the side of a mountain,
But what are mere rock and stone against such a storm? I spoke.
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Actor|Observer Boston, Massachusetts
Actor Observer from Boston, MA have become a well-respected musical force throughout New England. Their dynamic sound and electric live performance are charged with a visceral sincerity and vulnerability that many audience members find refreshing in the current age of post-hardcore. Their newest album "Songs For The Newly Reclusive" may be their most powerful offering yet. ... more
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