1. |
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beyond the valley of the wolves
grew up in a little place so obscure, pastoral and pretty and so secure, generations raised up to know for sure everything would stay the same. weren’t a lot of things a young man could be, it was school and then the farm and the factory. all that i could hear was the big city calling out my name. so i went to find a new life, always thinking i’d be back some day. did the cost of living rise faster than your pay? if you can’t foot the bill then you just can’t stay. everyone i grew up with has moved away and the place just ain’t the same. my father passed away and my mum moved on. the community that nurtured me is dead and gone. it doesn’t look so different but it feels all wrong when nobody knows your name. we built something worth believing, but their money swept it all away. is your childhood bought and sold now? don’t look back, it’s out of your control now. you’ve lost your way, you’re feeling old now. you can never go back home.
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2. |
Counting Backwards
02:36
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counting backwards
first you’re born into a world with no room for you, then you’re schooled in austerity. flee the fear of disgrace and destitution. chase the mirage of prosperity. you wanna count for something but you’re counting backwards and in the end you’re left with fucking nowt. you wanna count on something but the only thing you’re really sure of is your own self-doubt. get a job and you’ll keep it if you’re lucky, make enough to keep the wolves at bay. find a place and cling on for all your life’s worth: a well-earned rest on your dying day.
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3. |
Brains
02:36
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brains
grating on me, living your disease. it’s overrated tolerating these carbon copy days. let me count the ways that hating thee is just a phase. if i stand here at your age enraged by a world i hate, i’ll paint my fucking d****y m***l with my brains. if i see your point of view in time for the world i knew to exsanguinate with me, i’ve lived too long. inside your tomb, why abide by new? all these rules are suffocating you. go way back when who cared what you said, you made
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4. |
Thankful
03:20
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thankful
feel like i missed out on love and rockets and other things people talk about. and when i look back there are so many holes and empty spaces, but i can’t let go. it’s not that it hangs on but it’s just all i know. gotta make the most of it. everything that’s in this weight has driven me, has shaped me and has left me who i want to be. everything that’s in this wait has driven me, and i’m thankful for that. i wish that i could see, a thousand open hands that wait ahead of me. and while i live inside, why i live inside these walls is still a mystery. i look at years ahead and find a way to honestly take you with me.
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5. |
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it’s a phil ochs kind of day
there’s mornings when i wonder why i carry on. been rehearsing for retirement since the day i first drew breath. i rub my eyes and wonder where those years have gone, when every single step i take feels like a step closer to death. and we’re trying to keep hope when everything’s so hopeless, believing in the sunshine though this life is cold and grey. try not to lose heart when all the world’s so heartless, and working for tomorrow, never giving up today. is it worth the effort just to raise your voice, when we’ve seen to many martyrs and there’s be more yet to come. in the end it comes down to a simple choice. do we struggle to get smarter or sit back content and dumb? we’ll keep singing till there are no more songs. write the words of warning though we cannot right the wrongs. try not to lose hope when everything’s so hopeless, believing in the sunshine though this life is cold and grey. try not to lose heart when all the world’s so heartless. let’s play another record, its a phil ochs kind of day.
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6. |
Half Empty
02:57
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half empty
what more could i want than a little rented space, a life that i could sleepwalk through with a blanket fresh and on my face. someone wake me up before they put me in a hearse. has-been doesn’t sound so good but never-was is even worse. now you wonder how it came to this. if it seems so unfair, you can cry in despair. you might as well scream at a wall. you’ll soon understand that the half empty glass in your hand is better than no glass at all. what did i expect? would everything fall into place? hello health and happiness with a helpful smile on every face. someone pick me up, i’ve got as low as i can get. as long as i keep crawling back at least i’ll know i’m not dead yet. better wake up, cos this is all there is. dreams are dreams and nothing more, they’ll promise fortunes fit for kings, tempt you with life’s rich rewards, and die when the alarm clock rings.
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7. |
If the Black Shirt Fits
03:24
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if the black shirt fits
casual vehemence passed off as common
sense,murder dressed as moderation.
wield your prejudice and call it self-defence.
aren’t you proud of your fine nation.
you think you speak for everybody here,
but you’re on your fucking own.
fascist is such an ugly word,
but if the black shirt fits… red-top rhetoric
keeps tripping off your tongue, spitting
spurious statistics. lead a lynch mob asking
who needs to be hung, proud to be so
pessimistic. and you thought this shit would
play well in this town, but you really should
have known. fascist is such an ugly word,
but if the jack boots fit…
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8. |
Inconvenient Reminder
03:24
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inconvenient reminder
when those who make our history can’t think in present tense, and those who give the orders can’t abide the consequence. an inconvenient reminder of an ever present shame, just like the voices in their conscience given face and life and name. and now they wanna send you back from whence you came. but you’re already home, so don’t you believe them. if you need a helping hand we’re here with open arms, and we’ll stand together against those who’d do you harm. if you need sanctuary, sanctuary you’ve found, cos we know you’ve crawled through hell and fire to reach this solid ground. and these bastards wanna turn you back around.
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9. |
Signing Out
02:50
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signing out
i’m not so inclined to socialise, got a butter-fingered grip on family ties. so i say goodbyes till i’m here alone. the lights are on, the door’s unlocked, but no-one’s coming home. everyone i ever cared about is signing out. is it out of line to try and keep in touch, and do those i miss miss me half as much. well, if our golden future’s never gonna be, just know that every memory means the world to me. everyone i ever cared about is signing out. signing out, plans unmade, down the road your taillights fade. signing out, pulled apart, i’ll leave a space here in my heart.
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10. |
We Aren't the Champions
02:45
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we aren’t the champions
i’ve paid my dues, and i’ll keep paying.
it’s been a long hard drive
and we’re not sure where we’re playing.
the road is rough and so confusing.
you learn to love the journey
when you’re losing. if we don’t break down
then we’ll see you soon in your shit town,
cos we aren’t the champions.
we’re not even runners up. we cant much
play but we’ll do our damnedest anyway,
and while you break out the champers
we’re gonna drink warm ale from the
losers’ cup.
there’ll be mistakes and comic pratfalls,
and you can pay us with your heckles
and your catcalls.
the game is rigged but we’re still in it,
because you know that
we love every stupid minute.
we aren’t the champions of the world.
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Johann's Face Records Portland, Oregon
Est. 1989. Do What Thou Wilt Shall Be the Whole of the Law. Love is the Law, Love Under Will.
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