1. |
Alright
07:02
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She appeared out of nowhere, a stranger across the bar, as the paper fell from my hand. She caught it with her slender sinewy arm before it hit the floor.
She said, "We'll have to make this work as an introduction". Then she read my scribbles out loud.
It said,
"I thought that I had caught her
But her heart decayed to clay
So I went and asked her father
Why his daughter couldn't stay
"He said I shouldn't even bother, he taught her
That love dies long, long, long before it grays
'The wind whips across the water
Which will wash you right away'"
So I said it wasn't mine. She said, "Oh no?"
I said, "Okay it is, it was, but that was a long long time ago."
She sat down across the table and said, "I don't know what's worse--
Recalling or dreaming or thinking or writing or speaking in verse."
So I stopped. I stopped. I did. She sipped her drink. I gulped mine. My face was red. I looked up at the TV. I watched whispers of war, watched markets free-fall. She said nothing. I bit my nails. I started to stand.
She said, "Not yet." She shook her head. She set down her glass and she said,
"This gritty rusty world has got me feeling kind of shitty
The apocalypse that's coming's got me weighed down in pity
So if you're still feeling, if you're still feeling... witty
I guess I'd just like to hear... something pretty."
So I said,
"The sky over our city is gonna fall tonight
But I don't want you to think it won't be alright
Out west the moon's still shining bright
And I'd like to see you in campfire light
The mountains are still standing, the snow will melt
The falls remind us how fairy tales felt
The Leviathan smiles but he's miles from here
We've got a little while before he's anywhere near
We'll spill our dark secrets in some ruined hotel
Then skip out to the courtyard to throw them down the wishing well
Down the wishing well
"When the ocean catches fire, the air turns black
We'll fight for the future, forget about the past
Climb the crumbling towers till the view is clear
Then watch it all disappear
But we're still here
We're still here."
Then I stopped, embarrassed, and mumbled to the floor, "I'm really not the fine man you may take me for. My past has died, my present lies, and it's only when the world ends that I'll hit my stride. But if you have a little patience till the end of days, we can talk awhile, and stay up late."
She said, "That's a fucked up way to ask me if I want to spend the night."
Then she said, "Alright."
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2. |
Grew
04:25
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In haunted homes
Our minds overflowed
With Nintendo codes
The faint whiff of new pheromones
The world still unknown
Still throwing a soft glow
We were small, weak and prone
To being blown away by cyclones
And now that we're grown
Heads hung low under car loans
Our bones they moan
As we reach for the phone
It's not our fault the world's corroded and slowed
But we won't bitch and moan about what we think we're owed
We're older than we should be
It's colder than it could be
My shoulder can hold both you and me
We grew
Into our shadows
We knew
What the future held
The truth
Was pretty simple
We accrued lots of secrets but we had nothing knew to tell
We've overflowed with haunted homes
Nintendo codes and pheromones
A sudden glow, a world unknown
Pay no mind to groaning bones
I've heard and seen a lot of things
Cast-off rings and summer flings
Screaming queens stuck in-between
Bitter kings and broken dreams
The soothing purr of soft machines
The rushing blur of springtime streams
The way your eyes shined and beamed
The last time that we got clean
The soothing purr of soft machines
The rushing blur of springtime streams
The way your eyes shined and beamed
The last time that we got clean
The last time that we got clean
We grew into our shadows, knew what the future held
We accrued a lot of secrets, but nothing new to tell
I accrued a lot of secrets, but nothing new to tell
Except the way your eyes shined and beamed
The last time that we got clean
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3. |
Why'd You Come Back
04:09
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Why'd you come back?
Why couldn't you leave well enough alone?
Did you think that
I'd come crawling on my knees back home?
Since I did, don't you think
That it should have been a warning sign?
After what you did, and what I'm doing
Something's not right in my mind
You were right about everything but me
When you said I was kind and good and honest through and through
I'm not half the man I pretended to be
I'm wrong about everything but you
You should have let it rest
Let us both keep our illusions
It would have been best
Not to come to this sad conclusion
Cause now you have to see
My darker predilections
And my hungriest addictions
That have all been set free
You were right about everything but me
I'm gonna close my eyes and hope that you're gone by the time I count to three
Cause you broke my heart so if you give me the chance I'll break yours, too
Now that's what I do
I'm wrong about everything but leaving you
I can't take you back tomorrow
But I'll take you in tonight
We'll lie sweetly to each other
Say everything's all right
But there's still a bright light in the space between us
I thought had all but died
I don't need it where I'm going
So you should take it, I don't mind
In the morning when I wake up
And I know that you're gone
I'll never ever let go
I'll just stop holding on
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4. |
Winter
03:34
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I'm not quite dying
But I'd be lying
If I keep denying
That the dark is rising
The dark is rising
Don't think I haven't drawn back the curtains
Seen the falling snow, heard the calling crows
And other signs of the squall
Don't think I didn't make goddamn certain
I could see the words are clawed six inches deep
Into the wall
The dark is rising
The dark is rising
But no
No, I'm not dying
No, no
I'm far from dying
A little bit of winter don't mean a thing
A little bit of winter, it don't mean a thing
I've got a warm warm blanket and a thousand dreams
So a little bit of winter don't mean a thing
Whatever the rising darkness brings
The freeze is never quite as deep as it first seems
A little bit of winter don't mean a thing
We'll build a fire and sing sing sing
I've got a warm warm blanket and a thousand dreams
So a little bit of winter don't mean a thing
A little bit of winter don't mean a thing
A little bit of winter don't mean a thing
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5. |
Suck You Dry
07:02
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I didn't used to be this way
I didn't used to be this way
I didn't used to be
Used to be this way
My tie smiles for me
My wallet thinks for me
My phone speaks for me
I didn't used to be this way
They say I'll live forever
They say I'll live forever
They say I'll live forever
They say I'm never gonna die
They tamed me
And they named me
They trained me
And they paid me
They explained
They were gonna ordain me
Then they laid me
Out on the rug
And they drained
They drained my veins of blood
They sucked me dry
I know I took it bravely
There was no one there to save me
My bridges were burned
When they come on back to wake me
I'm not afraid of what I'm craving
I lick my lips
I wake as the daylight's fading
I can see my future plainly
It's glowing bright
Spin me around to the window
Tell me what I need to sell
I'm getting kind of hungry
So point me towards that smell
Through the whole in your soul
Your neck, wrist or thigh
I'm gonna suck you dry
I'll suck you dry
I'll suck you dry...
I'm gonna suck you dry!
And I'm never gonna die!
So just give it up, and close your eyes
I'm gonna suck you, gonna suck you dry
Through the whole in your neck, your wrist or thigh
I'm never ever, never ever gonna die
I'm gonna suck you dry!
And I'm never gonna die!
Cause I'll suck you dry!
Through the whole in your soul, your neck or your thigh!
Please drive a stake through my heart
Before I tear you, tear your apart
You better drive a stake through my heart
Before I tear you, tear you apart
And I suck you dry
Or else I'm never gonna die
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6. |
Vu Deja
02:14
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I don't miss your touch
I don't miss it all that much
"Trust me, I'll be fine,"
I lied
In the backseat of your car
We measure how far apart we are
And decide
Maybe we've taken this a bit too far
This is a strange case of vu deja
It hasn't happened before but it will someday
And I swear that when it does you'll wrap my arms back around you
You won't remember this time when it happens again
But it'll feel familiar just beneath your skin
And you'll probably chalk it up to deja vu
Four months have gone by and you still deny
That you may have made a mistake
And you don't know why when you say my name
Your legs uncontrollably shake
When you lie awake at night
My ghost floats around you in the moonlight
If you touch my shadow on your bedroom wall
You can breathe me back to life
This is a strange case of vu deja
It hasn't happened before but it will someday
And I swear that when it does you'll wrap my arms back around you
You won't remember this time when it happens again
But it'll feel familiar just beneath your skin
And we'll probably chalk it up to deja vu
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7. |
Table It
05:25
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Let's assess the present situation
Open up a channel of communication
Consolidate the team's integrated cooperation
You know my expectations of increased integration
Let's take it to the next iteration
Let's table it
Let's take it offline
Let's table it
Ping me when you've got the time
Let's table it
We'll try to shift the whole paradigm
Increase productivity
Reduce negativity
We're gonna nurture creativity
But we'll have to stifle all this sensitivity
We've got a lot of competition in these harsh market conditions
But you're all integral parts of our new value proposition
So help me help you make a smooth transition
To expand the definition of your current position
Let's touch base
And let's table it
Wait till we're off the clock
Let's table it
We'll figure it out ad-hoc
Let's table it
Let's do it outside the box
Let's table it
But touch base tonight
Let's touch base tonight
Your next will show a bump in compensation for that HR violation
To ensure my actions won't impact the corporation's reputation
You should be proud of all your efforts and energy
Vis-a-vis your mastery of synergy
I know you're expecting much more executive visibility
But ideally you'll bury my memory underneath that trembling machinery
Ideally you'll bury my memory underneath that trembling machinery
Ideally you'll bury my memory underneath that trembling machinery
Ideally you'll bury my memory underneath that trembling machinery
Ideally you'll bury my memory underneath that trembling machinery
Um...
Where was I...
What was I saying...
Synergy... corporate visi... energy...
Nevermind...
Just table it
We've gotta shift this paradigm
Just table it
Ping me when you've got the time
Just table it
Gonna take this all offline
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8. |
The Lakehouse
03:26
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At the lakehouse they won't find us
We're gonna break out of what binds us
We're gonna shake out of our shyness
We're gonna make out under the stars
The mistakes and doubts that used to bind us
Can help us make out what defines us
We're gonna fake out what's behind us
Before it finds us caught off-guard
"You gonna flake out like the last time?"
Was the first thing that she asked
I said, "We're only seventeen
We could be moving much too fast"
Then she laughed and said,
"I think you didn't quite get my point."
I said, "I might have missed your words
Cause I was so taken by the sound of your voice."
We kissed and went inside to find our friends, the keg, and the warming glow of a joint
At the lakehouse we'll wake up soused
Both wearing our fake daybreak pouts
Till we wade out to where the water feels right
Swim straight out towards that glimmering light
At the lakehouse
I said, "They're gonna find out soon this isn't really our place
That we chased out the real owners with threats and mace."
She said, "Baby trust me, that's the point, we'll be fine
When they've got us surrounded that's when you'll shine."
At the lakehouse they've got us staked out
They say they'll wait us out cause there's no way out
And the front gate's doused in warpaint
And gasoline
We're gonna break out of the lakehouse
Through our secret escape route
Hear the faint shouts behind us
Head straight south towards our submarine
We flee unseen along the stream, down the steep ravine
Moonbeams tease between the tops of the trees
The water's deepening, the cliffs are steepening
The pristine evergreens receding
We see the floating machine that'll carry us
All the way out to the sea
It's hard to believe there's no army we lead
It's just you and me in this widescreen scene
Your skin smells like sweet nectarines
I've never seen your face look so serene
Like this is your normal evening routine
This need to be redeemed
By a team of screaming machine-gun Marines
Chasing us back to our American dream
Sinning with a sweet sincerity
Sinking into sweat, we're seventeen
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9. |
The Bird Woman
05:37
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She found me at a party when I was at the end of my wits
I didn't know her face but her grace and movements seemed to fit
This woman I used to work with, whose tent I once shared
She camped out at the office at night to show her bosses that she cared
She asked to share a smoke, I told her that I'd quit it
"So have I," she said, "That's why we'll split it
Birds flocked to her shoulder the moment we stepped outside
A gentle breeze wrapped around her, and she started to rise
She said, "Each night when I sleep, they hollow out my bones
Every morning I feel lighter and sicker and more alone
They said I should surrender and I'm beginning to agree
I've made a phone call, I've made a deal, they're coming for me"
She climbed up on the railing and she stood right on my hand
She said, "The more you explore the universe the more it expands"
She fell slowly back and forth like an autumn leaf in the sky
The only girl in the world for which similes really apply
I told her I could save her, I could find her a home
She said, "Thanks but you're a little too late and a little too stoned
You just stand there confused and obtuse
They'll study me or fix me or they'll find me a use"
I asked, "Who are they?" She said, "Men of science
They'll finally allay all my thoughts of defiance"
But she asked me to come with her down to the city docks
I hadn't smelled the sea in a while so I took that walk
The harbor is covered in fog; I prepare to be brave
The wind she carries with her pushes back the waves
Out of the haze come men in white suits and masks
"Is there gonna be trouble?" the biggest of them asks
She touches my cheek and shakes her head
She says, "Don't get sentimental, look straight ahead."
She walks over and offers up her arm
When the syringe plunges in, she feels happy and warm
They lay her gently across the seats in the stern
But they can't quite get the engine to turn
They grab her legs and lift her into the air
She sails them away, on towards her repair
She sails them home, and I wave goodbye
To the only girl in the world to which similes really apply
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10. |
Won't Look Back
03:48
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You've made up your mind
You've decided to leave me behind
Even as we lie
Intertwined
Not even sure what went awry
Or what crime was enough to bring our demise
Or what I'm supposed to imply
From your wry tongue-tied goodbye
You said, "Quit your crying
It's just this night that's dying
And I don't want to
Do anything more to hurt you"
You said, "Keep on going
Keep your fear from showing"
Cause you're moving on
And you won't look back
I don't quite get it
Which of my bad habits
Was enough to make you end it
Which word did I say that you couldn't edit
It doesn't matter how far you are
Cause I'm still here playing your guitar
I'm sorry but it's true
This starry sky reminds me of you
You said, "Quit your crying"
It's just my mind that's dying
Soon there won't be
Anyone left to hurt you
She said, "Keep on going
Keep your fear from showing
I'm grown up now
And I can't look back"
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Tyler Taylor Boulder, Colorado
Hi, I'm Tyler. You may know me from my band, The Amends. I'm pretty sure you must if you've found your way here. I made this site so that I could have a place to quietly share my older songs (ones I mostly wrote before founding The Amends with Drew) with anyone who's interested. I recorded and played these myself, so forgive the varying sound quality. All songs are technically free. ... more
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