1. |
Jaw Wired Shut
06:01
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Since the night I crashed the truck, I’ve had my jaw wired shut. For the first time in my life I cannot tell you a lie. I know I said that I’d rein in this poison in my veins, but my heart is stapled to a riverbed — somewhere in my head.
See, I lost my self-esteem back in 1983, when my mom and dad left me in the care of Aunt Irene. Oh, the things she said to me would bring a grown man to his knees. Guess I’m still there after all these goddamn years, — drowning in my fear.
There’s the face I used to wear, underneath that greasy hair. I could turn those blue eyes black with one hand tied behind me. There’s the glass that broke my fall — or was it really there at all? Maybe I landed with pride or maybe I’m still falling — yeah, I guess I’m still falling.
In the morning light, as I bleed on pavement, I search the sky for what was taken. I can’t talk, I only scream for what I lost inside of me. Now I am nothing. You are all I have left.
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2. |
Year Of The Wave
03:50
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I’m not the ripest one in the bunch, but I think I’m going to shine today. It’s taken me a few years but I finally figured out our fate. It stands several hundred metres and it’s only twenty years away. So, let’s get our shit together for the year of the wave.
I never quite expected to be feeling this affected by the stats. I thought it to be bullshit until God sent me a telefax. It said, ‘My son, I cannot stop this. So, you might as well just relax because this shaky mortal fortress is about to collapse.’
We sure should have seen this coming from the way that we’ve been running this old ship. Old Momma Nature’s Colt, sir, is just a-twitching in the holster at her hip. She’s been patient with us cowards and she’s done all in her power not to flip. Now she’s got an itchy finger because her shoulder’s got a chip.
All fanatics may bow their heads and pray but I’m only hoping someone brings champagne.
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3. |
We Are Lions
05:59
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We are lions. We are hiding in the shadows of your life. We are lions. We are biding around you cattle until we strike. When the moment comes that we arrive, you better kiss your children and your wife — because it’s time.
We are lions. We are rising from the ashes of your youth. We’ve stayed silent as the violence shook the meaning of the truth. But we’ve had it up to here with all this pessimistic anti-cheer. It’s time to dine on the cowards who lost sight of all the reasons why we fight.
There’s always a lover, there’s always another. There’s always a baby who loses a mother. There’s always a promise that drowns in a whisper. There’s always a prayer that you sing for your sister. No one’s ever going to clean up this debris if the world keeps spinning around like a tire on a tree.
Our foolish pride might just revive your life.
We are lions. We are dying to unveil all your dreams. We’re inviting you to come in and find the reasons you can’t scream. If you’re looking for the gems we found, you better wait until the sun goes down in you. If you let the dark inside your skin, you’re going to see how it begins.
There’s always a button. There’s always a finger. There’s always a question that lingers and lingers. There’s always a drinker who watches the dancer. There’s always a thinker who can’t find the answer. No one’s ever going to have a moment’s peace if the world keeps spinning around like a child’s melody.
Our foolish pride might just rescue your life.
We will never look back. We won’t ever come down. The days of blinding fear, they tore apart your hometown. They cut into your memories. They ripped out all the good parts. Then they drowned all the children who lived inside of your heart. But we will fight against it. We won’t let them take you. We’ll stuff their mouths with poems. We’ll give them something to chew. We’ll flood the streets with our pride. We’ll bellow from the tower. We’ll run them out of our lives with nothing but the power of our mighty hearts.
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4. |
Fire
04:59
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There is a fire in my veins, an overwhelming weight breaking out from inside these walls. They’re coming down. I must push on.
There is a boy in my brain, an overbearing brute lashing out with his venom voice.
It is not mine but, oh, how it makes me move.
There is a storm in my chest, a catastrophic sea drowning all who dare to swim.
Say a prayer for him in his sinking ship.
Beating heart in my ear, a metronomic pulse. As it contracts, I react, I snap in two. Where did I go? What did I do?
Lay this baby in the ground. We cannot let him stay. He’s more than I can take inside me. Lay this baby in the ground. He was not meant for this. Let him sleep. Let him fall asleep.
You can’t stop this virus in me — it’s inside. — You can’t stop this fire. It’s in my soul and it won’t let go.
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5. |
Fighter
05:07
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Falling down. It’s a mystery to me how one man can stand his ground while the other man bleeds on his back. Looking up at the lights while all the boos and jeers try to puncture his one good ear.
But his one good ear doesn’t listen to them. It doesn’t listen to anyone, doesn’t want to pretend. The other one, it’s impervious to the pain of the outside world. It just hums him a tune: ‘It’s okay to stay down.’
The fighter fell at the end of the eighth, thinking about her while they tried to resuscitate.
But his busted heart had enough of the fights. It slowed itself to a crawl and then it ended his life.
His angel looked a lot like his bride. She cradles his swollen head as the medic declares him dead. His daughter, she sings a song at his wake. Singing a father’s love no opponent can take — and no opponent can.
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6. |
Men With Guns
05:57
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Some disease took our trees. Now we wheeze in the air we used to breathe.
Ancient skies opened wide, took one sigh and began to cry and cry. Then one day, no more rain. Only grey ashes falling into place.
What did we do? We’ve no clue. So, we’ll crouch in the shadows until we do.
Men with guns took our young, and then begun to start killing everyone. They took the lives of our wives. Now we hide in the dark and wait to die.
We don’t eat. We don’t sleep. We just dream that one day the sun will bleed into our bones, but we all know life is a pending funeral.
The holes that we dig will be our own.
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7. |
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Stood there shaking my head and knees until you grabbed the blade and did the deed for me. Singing: ‘Three cheers for the coward.’
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8. |
Deadly Medley
10:29
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Red rivers rage in this desperate state. Someone hold me down. Someone hold me down because I lost my bearings and I plunged an angry blade. Someone calm me down from these heights.
Nothing will be the same in this poor broken brain. Someone else take the reins.
If I regress from this bitterness, snap me out of it. Snap me out of it because I’m losing at this precious game of clinging onto my mind. Please hold me back from myself, and if I start to crack, I guess they’ll just put me back where I belong.
Come on, helpless. Rise above this. No one else can open your mind. They don’t love you. Not like I do. They don’t see the blood in your eyes. Sleep soundly one more night — don’t you cry. Your ship will sail on time — one more night. The morning sun will rise.
The fire surrounds all who are frightened.
Light a flame in your feet. Make your way to the sea. Count the days until it comes:
a giant wave to swallow everyone.
I awoke to find that no one was beside me. It was just a dream. You see, there’s no home for me. Someone’s bound to find me; no one’s going to hide me. I am all alone in hell. All alone. Help me.
We had everything but now it’s gone.
Don’t you mess with my happiness. Or I’ll slam you against the wall until there’s a crack in your shoulder blade. Or I’ll punch you in the mouth until there’s a fault to your handsome face.
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9. |
Hand Me Down
05:09
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Where are you? Black and blue, hand-me-down kind of love. Blood surrounds like a glove.
Mysteries, hidden deep underground with the dead words that drown — in your breath.
Could you please make it breathe like a pain in the chest? Let the rain soothe the rest.
Clumsy feet carry me far too close to the truth — that I chose to bury you.
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10. |
Someday Tourniquet
06:53
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Holed up in a shed out west, with a muzzle up against your chest. They’ll never know what drove you. They’ll never know what they took.
With disaster on the brink, you’ll shed the tears and skin that stink of the dead. We’re sorry about the weather. We’re sorry for your luck.
Just lay your weight to the rain. They’ll call your name — someday.
Tie a tourniquet around your heart and please try to forget about the stars. We pray to God you’re okay. We hope like hell you’re safe.
Just hide your face from this hate. We’ll rise again — someday.
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Tin Star Orphans
This is a renewed and reinvigorated Tin Star Orphans.
With a new beginning comes a new outlook. The band has
parted ways with their record label in order to breathe more intimacy and passion into their work as they live and die for their music and for you, their fans.
... more
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