The Return

 

Tina

Baby it’s good to be seeing you again. I’m sorry about the shape I’m in. Ground hasn’t been too kind. I’ve got quite a tale to tell. I hope you can stand my smell. Need a minute of your time. Leaving way too soon, but I remember promising you I’d be back the next full moon and my words came true. Please don’t look at me that way. Thinking night and dawn and day. Seeing things I can’t explain. Six feet between us- more than I could stand. Please take a hold of my skeleton hand.  Let’s go walking in the rain. I just can’t stand the pain. Tina can I pick your brain? There must be something in this rain. Will I ever make you see just how much you mean to me? Now you’ve locked me out again. Tina, Tina let me in. Can’t you see you just can’t win?  But I’ve got the time, and you’ve got the time and when you’re ready I’ll be right outside. Baby, baby I love you so. Got nowhere else to go. Why do you always run and hide? I just can’t stand the pain. Tina can I eat your brain? There must be something in this rain.

 

New Song #2

Little pretty girl, she’s running from home today.  Still isn’t sure what she’s running from.  “But it’s gonna be good”- she’d better be right. She keeps everything locked inside and she knows no one will ever find her there. Hang on for me and I will stand up to him for you.  But you know there is only so much I can do. He sits at home and wonders what he did to make his dad so mad at him. He said “not like that, please not today” he’s packing up before he moves away cause he knows there is a better life to find. Cause he’s gotten burned and as far as he’s concerned he ain’t got the time that he can afford to lose, and she said “come along with me and we can drive towards the sea cause now on a day like today would you like to stay, would you love to stay?” He said some other day, but not today. He didn’t know what he had done. He wished that he could turn and run. Said “everything I did, I did for you, there was only so much that I could do”. He was so afraid about the choice he made.  He could’ve left today but now he’s here to stay. It’s gonna be good, he knew she was right, he kept it all locked inside and now a day like today he didn’t want to stay. He could’ve gone away. He could’ve left today, but there’s just no way.

 

Day Of The Dead

I’m walking down the street, the world is trembling in my wake. This tired city’s filled with the zombies that I hate. Look out I’ve got a gun.  Everybody better try and run. You kill a walking corpse with a bullet to the brain. Today is the day.  Day of the dead. I try to close my eyes and pretend it’s all a dream. The undead want to eat this brain inside of me. I’ve gotta get away if it’s the last thing that I do.  When I’m in times like this I think “what am I gonna do? What would Justin do?”

 

Next Exit

Don’t worry baby it will all be over soon, I’m going to take it easy on you. It’s been driving me crazy but it’s all that I can do one of these days you won’t have to choose. But I can’t change anything and I can’t waste any time cause I know you’re mad. I see it in your eyes. It’s gone.  Where did we go wrong? When I used to see you smile lovely lady, reminds me of times we were young and crazy. But now I’m feeling old and tired.  It’s been making me lazy and I just don’t feel that I’m the same. Did we lose our way?  It only seems like yesterday we had a plan for each and every day. Say it isn’t so where did the good times go? When did we leave our lives behind? Fork in the road- if we can choose the one that’s right, we can make it home in record time. Keep driving on? Well that’s for you to decide. But we’ll never know until we go and I think you should know. Let’s go, it’s the only way to know. It’s a lonely road you’ll never walk alone cause you can count on me for anything you need.

 

Ghosts Of Monochrome

Hey would you like to come with me? We’ll sneak in for free, and we will stay the night. Turn the lights down low for our own private show.  Everything’s alright.  You are my favorite girl, witness to this war of worlds. Collision of two cultures that fade into the night. We’re here in living color with the ghosts of monochrome. We’ll bring this movie theater back to life. We’ll turn this water into wine. Travel back in time. We’ll make this a night that will never leave your mind. And I look in your eyes, know everything’s alright, I wish this could last forever.  Yeah I know you’re probably scared, but I’ve come prepared. I’ve brought my light. As we head into the storm, I will keep you warm. Just hold on tight.  Put your arms around me. We’ll hide out in the lobby. Make sure we’re safely out of sight.  We are the only ones, hiding from the sun. We’re children of the night. We are the only ones. We are the only ones who see the ghosts of monochrome. Watching over us until dawn, they’re gonna last forever. They’ll take us safely through the night. And I look in your eyes, know everything’s alright. I know that we will transcend time.

 

Five Across The Eyes

You think this is a joke. I’ll make you eat your words until you fucking choke. You’ll be crying “mommy, mommy, please take me home”. You’re looking for your friends but you’re here all alone. You’re burning your last bridge. Went ahead and made your bed now it’s time to sleep in it. Never saw no early warning. Never saw no sign. Now everytime you move your lips I know you’re fucking lying. You know I don’t like songs like this. But I saw what you did and I got so damn pissed. You’re crying “mommy, mommy, please take me home”. You’ve backstabbed all your friends. Enjoy the long walk home. You’d better not forget every word I know you said. Can’t take you anymore. If you come around once more you’ll have a war.

 

Hollywood

If I’m gonna believe in something, might as well be something good. But you know that’s awfully hard when you see a scene like Hollywood. She came here looking for a dream. She’ll be lucky if she can find a vein. Just how long will this story go? We won’t know. As we walk the star-lined streets bathed in neon light. And everything we see is a carbon copy of this world. Will we make it out alive? Is this what you came to see? Is this what you hoped to be? Have I done all that I could? Fuck Hollywood. It’s gonna be great. It’s gonna be good. It was gonna be everything I knew it would. But now there’s nothing here that could make me stay another day in Hollywood.

 

Everybody

Everybody’s got something they want. Everybody’s got something they want to do, but everybody’s just sitting here wondering what to do. I’ve been watching them for some time and I’ve been seeing all the warning signs. Not leaving you here to die. We’ve got a lot of work to do. Don’t be the weakest one. We’ve got a lot of ground to gain. I hope you’re ready to run. We’ve got a lot to talk about. I hope you speak your mind. We’ve got a lot to think about. I’ll give you all my time.  We’re all a portion of the total sum. Stronger together than we are as one. Help each other get further along. Come on. How many here know what I’m talking about? You know we couldn’t scratch the surface without. To change a situation gotta stand up and shout. And everyone is waiting for the word that brings upon the changes to this world. But if we do, it’s all at once. Together or not at all. But if we try know I won’t let you fall.

 

Crushed v2.0

There’s a girl, know what she’s thinking about.  When she locked me in and then she let me out.  And I saw the whole world burning down in a dream I had last night. When it burns away, I’ll be alone that night.  Can’t get close but can’t get pushed away.  And I’ve had some good times in this town but nothing will help that now. I saw her once but now I’m seeing red. I wish she’d stop fucking with my head. Pack of matches in my hand, burning down the world. Better think two times before running around cause I ain’t got a thing to show that I’ve been down the darker road. And I can show you all I know.

 

Refuse To Be

I’m not the guy you used to know. So your story goes. Well maybe so, but don’t think I don’t know the pain that comes with growing old. Cause I can say look at my face. You can see I’m not the same. I must refuse to be this thing that I’ve become. I have grown up to be what I’d hate when I was young. And I think back to the time, eighteen years old. When I felt I had a handle on the world. Now a dog that’s past its day. State of decay. See my old friends and I hope they can relate. And when it gets too much to stand, that’s when I got to buckle down and be a stronger man.  And it seems the more I’ve changed, the more I felt I stayed the same, well ain’t that strange.  But everything I did, everything I still do, it’s all for the same reasons that I hope are still true.  But mirror can’t you see who’s that looking in on you?  It’s not me. So to all my friends I used to know, don’t say I told you so.  Just put your trust in me.  I’ll show you who I used to be.  Not just some average guy, who wears a suit and tie. And you’re not the only one who hates what I’ve become.

 

Holiday

My girlfriend said she can’t see me again. In the time I’ve been gone she’s made all new friends. So we talked on the phone for an hour or two. We said our final goodbyes and our I love you’s and now I don’t feel like going home for the holidays. Baby let me look at you. It must have been a year or two since I last laid eyes on you. Time’s been on your side. But what ever happened to this town?  The place I grew up in all seems so run down. Mom I’m coming home, cause if I stay here I’ll spend New Year’s alone. So hey, here’s to holidays.  Do it one last time if that’s alright. My friend Chris got caught in the machine.  He never had the chance to realize his dreams.  Susan put a bullet in her own brain and I always knew her father was the one to blame.  Now I don’t feel like going home for the holidays.

 

Feeding Time

Was anyone in here around in 98, when the music scene in Portland was so great? Dollar beers, playing on a Tuesday? Getting monster burgers at EJ’s? Feeding time is over and you know that kids got no place left to have fun in this town. But we won’t back down. One down, another one’s gone. How long can this go on?  Counting down 4 3 2 1. Well I don’t know if this is gonna last forever so this one goes out to the ones that know.