1. |
Bullets and Borders
04:50
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“Bullets and Borders” by Odist Abettor
(Copyright 2011 Luke Schutz)
They’ve got you brainwashed, brother, believin’ everything they say They’ll give your blood-washed hands a brand new coat every single day Tie you up like an animal in false motives and ideals
And teach you how to take a life, make you forget how to feel
With all the things they’ve taken, there’s only one thing left...to steal
Kill a man, can you kill a man
A son like you from another land
Can you hold the weight of guilt in your hands
If you’re just following orders
Can you paint the world blood red
‘Cause the ones on top put the thought in your head
That freedom is a line we draw with bullets and borders
Hey, everybody, what’s all this talk about right and wrong
I’m just a citizen who’s been taught how to go along
‘Cause when my rights are threatened, I’ll give you what you deserve If this is about justice, then tell me what I can earn Just give me honor and a uniform, the purpose makes it worth the burn Just give me a target and I’ve got no lessons left.... to learn
Kill a man, can you kill a man
A son like you from another land
Can you hold the weight of guilt in your hands
If you’re just following orders
Can you paint the world blood red
‘Cause the ones on top put the thought in your head
That freedom is a line we draw with bullets and borders
And mortar shells to blow it all to hell
They’ll tell your family you did so well when you’ve died ‘cause you did what you had to do (obligations of the dutiful)
A flag over the grave of the one who killed a man
his kids, his wife, his father, and his mother too...(ain’t it beautiful)
Kill a man, can you kill a man
A son like you from another land
Can you hold the weight of guilt in your hands
If you’re just following orders
Can you paint the world blood red
‘Cause the ones on top put the thought in your head
That freedom is a line we draw with bullets and borders
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2. |
The One-Eyed Man
03:42
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"The One-Eyed Man" by Odist Abettor
(Copyright 2011 Luke Schutz)
Old soldier sits in a burger joint laughin’
On his shaking shoulders, a well worn green jacket
Talkin’ to his buddy, hands wavin’ wild
As the horrors of his past hide behind the occasional smile
“For King and Country” declares the back of his coat
in an ironic sort of grey
On top of a patched-on, upside-down American flag
that’s unusually un-frayed
He stops for a minute to sip from his cup
a bit of coffee and a bit that’s not
Then pats his friend on the back with a sadness in his eyes
thanking God for all that he’s got
And we see it everyday
We don’t know quite what to say
[chorus:]
Will you go down to the bridge by the river
and meet all the folks who call it home?
Will you walk past them on the sidewalk
and look for someone to talk to
or just do your best to be left alone?
Will you make a sacrifice that could save a life
or just give some pocket change
to ease your troubled mind?
Will you live to be the change or would you rather stay the same
and just like me keep on walking blind?
Donate to charities, maybe even get on your knees
Send up half-hearted prayers for those others in need
But mostly day by day we’ve got our kinds of problems
And the issues in this world, not like we know how to solve ‘em
Is it despair or is it apathy, whether you care or not it’s gotta be
Do your part so long as you never see the face of the broken
Even when you’re looking in your own mirror [chorus]
We’re all guilty of hate crime
‘Cause we hate to be bothered
by someone who might waste our precious time
We’re all guilty of racism, sexism, classism, narcissism
Isn’t it time we realized
The guilt is yours, the guilt is mine/The guilt is yours, the guilt is mine
The guilt is yours, the guilt is mine/The guilt is yours, it’s mine!
Will we go down to the bridge by the river
and meet all the folks who call it home?
Will we walk past them on the sidewalk
and look for someone to talk to
or just do our best to be left alone?
Will we make a sacrifice that could save a life
or just give some pocket change
to ease our troubled minds?
Will we live to be the change or would we rather stay the same
and just keep on walking (by...blind?)[repeat]
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3. |
Wreckage
04:28
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“Wreckage” by Odist Abettor
(Copyright 2011 Luke Schutz)
You love yourself when he says that he loves you
Though doubts arise sometimes, if he’s even thinking of you
He’ll play the hero and save you just enough to
Hypnotize with all the lies he’s learned to speak
And you realize but his eyes still make you weak
We say, “it’s okay, go along, play the game
It’s your right, your time,” though we know it’ll fade
And we say we’re your friends
Though we know how it’ll end
And we’ll be there, once again, to watch you break
Used to be you had standards to which you held
Now you get high off of how far down you fell
Used to have dreams but ripping seams wear out too well
And his stabs get sharper with every little flirt
But you give him what he wants, ‘cause you’re scared to say it hurts
We say, “it’s okay, go along, play the game
It’s your right, your time,” though we know it’ll fade
And we say we’re your friends
Though we know how it’ll end
And we’ll be there, once again, to watch you break
Like a ship lost at sea lookin’ for any harbor, any home
Making a lighthouse out of lightning, so you don’t feel alone
And we could see the waves were too strong
But never told you what was wrong
I’m sorry, darling, we knew it all along
You get excited when you say that you love her
And you play the part, though your heart’s not thinking of her
Are we slaves to the labels we pin on each other?
Don’t wanna watch you break...
Still we say, “it’s okay, go along, play the game
It’s your right, your time,” though we know it’ll fade
And we say we’re your friends
Though we know how it’ll end
Will we be there, once again, to watch you break?
Will we be there, once again, to watch you break?
We’ll be there, your best friends just watch you break.
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4. |
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"Eyes Shut Tight" by Odist Abettor
(Copyright 2011 Luke Schutz)
If there was a way out, I’d be the first to see it
I was only looking for you with my eyes shut tight
I heard your words behind me and I watched my comfort fight
With the uncertainty of what is right
Take my hand (look into my eyes)
And shake my hand (see me for the first time)
Try to understand (I’m not the bad guy)
Just try to see me, Open your eyes and see me
So little I could do, but even less I did
Some small coins and you act like I saved your life
I could walk away thinking nothing could change but I
Hear a voice sayin’ if I stop then I just might
Take my hand (look into my eyes)
And shake my hand (see me for the first time)
Try to understand (I’m not the bad guy)
Just try to see me, Open your eyes and see me
Stare into a dark’ning mirror and watch these old eyes melt away
Not much now is clearer, erased into the gray
Perhaps it’s hard for us to admit the truth
That we all secretly want the same exact thing as you
A warm coat on a cold night
Cold water when it’s hot outside
A kind word to make us feel alright
Shelter from this rainy sky
A bit of food and a bit more time
For good friends not to say goodbye
For a chance to go back and change my life
If I had another shot I would do this right
To not feel so alone inside
To not wish that it was me who’d died
To know the answer to the question “why”
Or maybe just someone to look us in the eyes and not look away in shame
When all we really want to say is...won’t you
Take my hand (look into my eyes)
And shake my hand (see me for the first time)
Try to understand (I’m not the bad guy)
Just try to see me, Open your eyes and see me
Take my hand
And shake my hand
Try to understand
Just try to see me, Open your eyes and see me, Open up your eyes
Just try to see...
[If there was a way out, would I have been the first to see it
Was I only looking for you with my eyes shut tight?]
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5. |
Blood On Your Birthday
02:56
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"Blood On Your Birthday" by Odist Abettor
(Copyright 2011 Luke Schutz)
Hey baby, whatchu wearin tonight?
Heard someone say you’re at the top of fashion, that’s right
If you’ll only look away from reality’s contrast
As you’re rising up the ranks of the upper middle-class
(so much for freedom and justice for all)
(‘Cause we’re) Free to be okay
With our plastic innocence
Congress will pay
For our store brand ignorance
Nothing to say
Cliches, our deliverance
Numb out the pain, who wants
Blood on your birthday?
Hey news reporter, you must understand
As you wave to your constituents with coffee in hand
Between celebrity gossip and sports, there was a genocide
And you probably could’ve made a real difference if you ever tried
Instead of only talking politics to blame the other side
(who really wants fair and balanced after all?) [chorus]
Free to be okay
With our plastic innocence
Congress will pay
For our store brand ignorance
Nothing to claim
But our false inheritance
United we stay
Complacent...HEY! HEY! [chorus (cut last line and go to)]
[Numb out the pain...]
God bless the USA!
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6. |
Singularity
04:58
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"Singularity" by Odist Abettor
(Copyright 2011 Luke Schutz)
Today I saw the future of earth inside a plastic box
and a forest of mannequin dolls with hearts like clocks
corporations ruled and democracy was based on stocks
and inflation, it rose like the seas we unfroze,
and do you suppose it was a dream or not?
Today I saw the children of my children’s children losin hope
they’d been starvin on the seeds of reapin’ all that we had sown
the machines of our greed and thoughtlessness had exponentially grown
in a singularity of woes, getting lost in all the things we own
but do you suppose in these fears i’m all alone?
Today I saw the mind of the last human genius getting trashed
downloading his consciousness into the creation that was erasin his past
ludicrously lost we all were struggling to care, much more to act
and it just goes to show that with all the things we think we know
well in the end I suppose, it’s all worth a good laugh
what do you think of that?
Today I saw the world as a grave for the almost dead
but a blind man walked by and told me to think of other things instead
there’s so much to look forward to, he winked behind his mask and said
and who really knows where this whole story goes
and do you suppose it was all in my head?
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