1. BESIDE STILL WATERS

Cast adrift upon these dark and storm - tossed seas
Clouds of chaos hide the stars as land fades out
Of sight behind me
Stranded on the shoals I linger
Fleeting sense of sanctuary
Before the rising tide sweeps me into the storm again

My body floats to the surface
Borne by waves of consequence
If this is really all there is
I would gladly see an end
Put to all of this frustration
Animosity and strife
This ill-fated voyage
On the darkened seas of life

Ever rising desperation
As the last light fades
Clutching only emptiness
My pain never betrays
The slow suffocation
My conscience holds me down
Break the windows of my soul
So I can finally drown

Laying open arteries
I watch life drain away
Fading glimpses of the smiles
That I tried to save for better days
Now I draw the veil of silence
Across my haunted eyes
As everything that's left of me
Is taken by the tide

Ever waiting patiently
The darkness warm and safe
She is not my enemy
She softly breathes my name
Gather darkness, comfort me
Close my tired eyes
Lead me beside still waters
So I can rest a while

But there is no pain in this quiet place

Here beside still waters
I can breathe again
A moment of peace as tides of pain
Swell and rise within
I walk among the tombstones
In the graveyard of my memories
Where rotten flowers feed the earth
And long dead hearts still bleed

The current running stronger now
As I turn my face into the wind
And it scatters some painful memories
As chaos welcomes me home again
The pain returns like a lover
The maelstrom has made us as one
Together we are carried away
To where only dark currents run

The siren song of self destruction
Echoes in my head
I've followed her advice before
And somehow I've survived instead
My lungs still draw this clean air
As chaos sets me free
Only change is permanent
So there's Hope while there's still air to breathe

Ever waiting patiently
The darkness warm and safe
She is not my enemy
She softly breathes my name
Gather darkness, comfort me
Close my tired eyes
Lead me beside still waters
So I can rest a while


2. A TASTE OF PAIN

Nobility in suffering
Crawling on
Our scabbed and bleeding knees
This Human bondage
My wish id your command
Sweet and tender flesh
Beneath my shaking hands

As I force it in you
There is no denial
When I lock my hands around your throat
I can almost see you smile

Captive beauty
Bound to serve my needs
Degradation
Your violated flesh still bleeds
Nobility in suffering
Crawling on
Our scabbed and bleeding knees
This Human bondage

As I force it in you
There is no denial
When I lock my hands around your throat
I can almost see you smile

All love fades
Everything will end in pain
So while you lie below me
I savor the taste
All love fades
Even when it's so depraved
It's only natural
To love the taste of pain

As I force it in you
There is no denial
When I lock my hands around your throat
I can always see you smile

Nobility in suffering
Crawling on
Our scabbed and bleeding knees
This Human bondage
Nobility in suffering
Crawling on
our scabbed and bleeding knees
This Human bondage

As I force it in you
There is no denial
When I lock my hands around your throat
I can always see you smile

All love fades
Everything will end in pain
So while you lie below me
I savor the taste
All love fades
Even when it's so depraved
It's only natural
To love the taste of pain

I love the taste of pain
It's only natural to love the taste of pain


3. RISE AGAIN

Hide my face from the sun
Cool darkness shelter me
Sometimes the light just burns
And these open wounds are festering
Still I try to break
These chains of consequence
Stumbling through the wreakage of my past
Rising just to fall again

So you've tried to hold me down
I will bite the hands that beat me
And I guess I can take some pride
In the fact that I'll never be just like you
I'd kill myself before I'd be like you

Rise from a broken life
Smiling as the bridges burn
These scars tell the story of a few mistakes
Hard lessons that I've had to learn
Now I stand above it all
As twilight settles in
And a cool breeze of memory
Soothes my blistered skin

I am my only enemy
You wouldn't believe the things I've done to me
I scream-scream out loud
Try to wake myself
From this nightmare that I call my life

From the ashes
I will arise
Turn my back to all your pain
And search for bluer skies
From the ashes
Hope is born again
To help me make it through the night
Till morning comes again

Rise
From the ashes of self destruction
From the ashes of self destruction
I will rise