1. THE STAGE

So I arrived, naked and cold
A welcomed change from the abeyance of a ghost town catacomb
No need for counsel, I appreciate the time I’m not alone
(Why don’t you get my lawyer on the phone?)

There were days these child eyes
Would overlook the ugliness and fantasize
I found my heart for the first time and I awakened in me
I left myself to navigate… and oh I felt control
(It seems these sheep have quite an appetite)

Who is the crowd that peers through the cage,
As we perform here upon the stage?

As the boy became a man
In came a calm sophistication I can hardly understand
So lost in ego, didn’t notice when the time had slipped away
(Yeah, everybody’s got a sob story)

Jesus Christ was born to die
Leave it to man to levitate his own to idolize
We’re simply sociopaths with no communication baby
I see your angle but we differ from our points of view
(So tell me, what’s your cross to bear?)

Who is the crowd that peers through the cage,
As we perform here upon the stage?
Tell me a lie in a beautiful way
I believe in answers, just not today

Hope my wheels don’t abandon me now,
Seeing that I’m out here alone
I’m running out of fight
And the wind speaks a comforting voice,
Guiding me to her arms
Mother, I’m alright

It took the birth of sin to snake-rattle the mind
Before a blow to the head by the gavel of time
To wake up
Won’t you wake up?
When did the walking apes decide that nuclear war
Was the only solution for them keeping the score?
Just wake up
Can’t you wake up?

(You do know this is just a simulation, don’t you?)

Who is the crowd that peers through the cage,
As we perform here upon the stage?
Tell me a lie in a beautiful way
I believe in answers, just not today

2. PARADIGM

You've been breaking down for far too long
Far too many moons since you've felt well and strong
You see, you could say goodbye but you don't have to die
Not ever

Engineer the wires to your brain
Architect a code so you won't feel the pain
With your family by your side and vigor in your eyes forever
Live forever

I'm way up, a god in size
Beyond the reach of mortals I shed my human side
Farther, O' Father
I stare at my reflection, have I lost that boy inside?
Final paradigm

What's it really mean to be a man?
Think about your answer but please understand
While it's natural to fear, I'll make it disappear forever
I forever

I'm way up, a god in size
Beyond the reach of mortals I shed my human side
Farther, O' Father
I stare at my reflection, have I lost that boy inside?
Final paradigm

Singular I am

I have to question if these thoughts are mine
To live forever but did something in me die?
I'm clawing my skin but I can't feel it inside
I know the agony of pain would hurt so much better

I'm way up so far up
Have I lost myself tonight?
Father, O' Father
Have you lost that boy you used to know?

3. SUNNY DISPOSITION

We've been through hell. Sewn up our eyes.
Found fuel in meds. Viewed through the narrow.
Encouraged fear when so inclined.
Bought peace through wars that doomed our children to die.

Ego is sure to fix the world.
Served up to happy boys and girls.
I'd make a decision if granted the privilege but I'm afraid my taste is unrefined
And no one likes cheap wine.

When the clouds kiss your eye,
Shadows stain on the high-rise
Raise your thumb to the sky
Fossilize

You own the burg. We sleep in streets.
You dine then waste. We forage to eat.
Well who pays the tab when you cross the line?
Who writes the check? Who's herding the swine?

Just takes a fence to rule the roost.
As long as the scale has been reduced.
How can we see outside of the pen when survival has possession of our minds?
Calmly walk the line.

When the clouds kiss your eye,
Shadows stain on the high-rise
Raise your thumb to the sky
Fossilize
All good things come with time
When you know then you'll know
Such a marvelous find in an illusion

(Vlader Lauder sat in sorrow
For all his teeth had gone
He drank sweet rum
While fingering his gun
And eyeballed a feast
Not one bite he could eat
Somebody cut off his head!)

Dear radiation, my sweet friend
Let agents dance upon my nerves
Let sunlight glow under my skin
Let toxins seep into my soul

When the clouds kiss your eye,
Shadows stain on the high-rise
Raise your thumb to the sky
Fossilize
All good things come with time
When you know then you'll know
Such a marvelous time I will find in an illusion

It's an illusion...

4. GOD DAMN

Oh!

Hey - can't you see we're tripping on the wire
Waltzing through the candy land of our desires
Press the magic button and behold the world you crave
But where's the fun in freedom when it renders you a slave?

Pledge allegiance, no flag
God nation, goddamned
The devil dances with the scorned
And how the fire keeps us warm

Hey - it goes beyond big brother in the sky
Beyond the threat of martial law, no Horus eye
No one came to cuff you, they just handed you the chains
Blind follow the blind and now the one-eyed man is king

Pledge allegiance, no flag
God nation, goddamned
The devil dances with the scorned
And how the fire keeps us warm
Tunnel vision, no man
Damn nation, god damn
Can't see the forest for the trees
Can't heal the wound before we bleed

No form of payment, no pot of gold
Will satisfy the debt of what he's owed
Spilling from the houses in a trance, the children lined up on the road
Cursing at the piper as he lured your kids away and led them to the river
For what was their final day
No need for convincing on his pipe, he played a song to fool them all
Fooled them all

Pledge allegiance, no flag
God nation, goddamned
The devil dances with the scorned
And how the fire keeps us (keeps us, keeps us)
Tunnel vision, no man
Damn nation, god damn
Can't see the forest for the trees
Can't heal the wound before we bleed

5. CREATING GOD


Standing in the shade of altruism, answering the call.
Came a modern messiah to save us all.
Something far beyond a work of fiction, Positronic brain
A world that's void of all the anguish and suffering, pain

Better tame your convictions before you go and open the cage.
We're creating god, master of our designs
We're creating god, unsure of what we'll find

Never held a high regard for Darwin, selection takes too long
A little kick in the pool shouldn't do us wrong
Devouring the very last invention man would ever need
But exponential growth is a frightening thing, indeed

Sweet bohemian jury rounded up and hung in the streets.
We're creating god, master of our designs
We're creating god, unsure of what we'll find

Sometimes when I look up to the sky I have to wonder are we
"summoning the demon" you and I?

Have you noticed that I'm needin' it more now, more than it needs me
Got a couple of billion that seem to agree
Surfing in an artificial dimension, but we're not alone
Now the master has become just a steppingstone, oh

Like a blow to the ego the bitter pills are harder to take.
We're creating god, master of our designs
We're creating god, unsure of what we'll find
We're creating god, in search of the divine.
We're creating god. Committing suicide.

6. ANGELS


Took me years to make my motives clear
And the days have not been kind
Once a steady gaze and charming smile
Has me buried in the lines, I find
I walk in the noise, quiet employs
And darkness seems to know just where I am

Mother, wash the devil from my hands
Pray the lord I have the strength to stand
Mother, tell me, was it all a lie?
Show me where the angels die

There are words that never found my lips
There are words I'd soon forget
Thought the trick was never to look back
But it seems I've lost my grip, I slip
The faster we run now, the closer the gun now
And somehow all the bullets bear my name

Mother, wash the devil from my hands
Pray the lord I have the strength to stand
Mother, tell me, was it all a lie?
Show me where the angels die

Took the road but should have chased the stars
Now I've lost my own way home
Had a photo of the time we shared
But I burned it long ago, I know
I struck all the matches stuck in the ashes
Forgive me, won't you simply speak my name

Mother, wash the devil from my hands
Pray the lord I have the strength to stand
Mother, tell me, was it all a lie?
Show me where the angels die

The faster we run now, the closer the gun now
And somehow we all found the warmth of the gun now

The faster we run now, the closer the gun now
And somehow we all found the warmth of the gun now
(Took the road but should have chased the stars
Now I've lost my own way home)

The faster we run now, the closer the gun now
And somehow we all found the warmth of the gun now
(Had a photo of the time we shared
But I burned it long ago)

The faster we run now, the closer the gun now
And somehow we all found the warmth of the gun now
(Took the road but should have chased the stars
Now I've lost my own way home)

The faster we run now, the closer the gun now
And somehow we all found the warmth of the gun now
(Had a photo of the time we shared
But I burned it long ago)

7. SIMULATION

It seems I should have walked away
Reverse the wager I've no means to pay
Toto has pulled back the green tonight, in sight
Blue pills coat with such disdain
I've worn the shades for so long
That I've forgotten how to see
The curtain rises but who dares to pull the strings

I know this may be hard for you to believe, and all
But you only exist because we allow it

I've questioned all the voices in my head
Are they mine or have I been misled?
Total understanding don't seem to mean a thing
When you can't see behind the silver screen, a figurine
Can't you hear me scream?

By the way of cosmic rays
A subtle breakdown jarred the code display
A simulation as I can tell, our cell
Playing out a hopeless scene
We stand to lose all our charm
And faith just seems to wane
A billion years can seem a stunningly short time

You've been beaten down time and time again...
But still, you find yourself at the center of it all

I've questioned all the voices in my head
Are they mine or have I been misled?
Total understanding don't seem to mean a thing
When you can't see behind the silver screen, a figurine
Can't you hear me scream?

You hear me?
You had one thing to do - one thing!
And you fucked it up. Fucked up! You piece of shit.

Nurse, patient 666158 needs to be sedated.
We need 500 CCs of Blue Comfort.

Oh, hello there, dearie.
I've been expecting you.

Posturing the way I feel
Is truth only what we believe is real?
Marvel the sketches that paint the night, starlight
And take a breath before it's all erased away

8. HIGHER

Freed of the world
Shed of the weight
Onward to see you, my friend
Light years above (Take me higher)
Time seems to wait (Take me higher)
Promise to see you again (Higher, high)

It haunts to remember
All the memories of that day
Pre-flight demonstration
Led to desperate voices fueled by flames
Now I'm out here waiting
Hoping you would send a sign
Came a million miles
And the earth grows small as I lovingly leave it behind

Freed of the world
Shed of the weight
Onward to see you, my friend

We seem to have found it
All the hope we've been denied
There's more than we've been told
Had to find it on the other side
Now I must be dreaming
Face against the frozen glass
But there's no return now
And the blazing worlds salute
As we go flying past

Freed of the world
Shed of the weight
Onward to see you, my friend
Light years above (Take me higher)
Time seems to wait (Take me higher)
Promise to see you again (Higher, high)

Freed of the world
Shed of the weight
Onward to see you, my friend
Light years above (Take me higher)
Time seems to wait (Take me higher)
Promise to see you again (Higher, high)

Meet you in the stars tonight
There you find me drifting in the ether within the lull
[x4]

9. ROMAN SKY

As the embers rose through the Roman Sky
Tell me, were you calm when they took your life?

Just before you go, tell us how the heavens flow
Weightless evermore, as you walk beyond that door
Shine forever true

Shared with us the world well before your time
Though they took your voice, words forever shine, yeah

Just before you go, tell us how the heavens flow
Weightless evermore, as you walk beyond that door
Shine forever true

As they spoke your fate, a fearless man replied
"As you will sentence me, your fear is beyond mine, yeah"

Just before you go, tell us how the heavens flow
Weightless evermore, as you walk beyond that door
Shine forever true

10. FERMI PARADOX

Lights paint the windows in the sky
The past is sewn
In pursuit of our spirit shown
But for now, there's no one home

Heaven works on borrowed time (walk alone)
Empty pages burn, forever mine (walk alone)
Masquerade us upon high (walk alone)
And all we are is all we've left behind

My sweet Medusa, reflect the empty in our being
Snakes born of fire conjure the demon of our dreams

In the void we illustrate our lives
Emerge in small
Heed the sign meant to evolve
To the end, we send the call

Heaven works on borrowed time (walk alone)
Empty pages burn, forever mine (walk alone)
Masquerade us upon high (walk alone)
All we are is all we've left behind

Where children shiver in the cold
The sun will shine
Just a touch to heal the blind
In ourselves we hope to find

Heaven works on borrowed time (walk alone)
Empty pages burn, forever mine (walk alone)
Masquerade us upon high (walk alone)
All we are is all we've left behind

(Alone)

11. EXIST

Our truth is painted across the sky
In our reflection, we learn to fly
No hand to hold us
No one to save us from tomorrow

Sailing away, beyond the reach of anyone
Far beyond the dreams of everyone
No light to follow
A shot in the dark
Does anybody know?
Sailing away, beyond the reach of anyone
Far beyond the dreams of everyone
High from the heavens
I can't see the pain
Does anybody care?

Think for a moment of all the lives
Stripped of their essence before their time
We stand to conquer
But is there nothing left tomorrow?

I'm sailing away, beyond the reach of anyone
Far beyond the dreams of everyone
There's no light to follow
A shot in the dark
Does anybody know?
Sailing away, beyond the reach of anyone
Far beyond the dreams of everyone
High from the heavens
I can't see the pain
Does anybody care?

[Neil deGrasse Tyson:]
We have one collective hope: The Earth.
And yet uncounted people remain hopeless.
Famine and calamity abound.
Sufferers hurl themselves into the arms of war.
People kill and get killed in the name of someone else's concept of God.
Dare we admit that our thoughts and behaviors spring from a belief that the world revolves around us?
Each fabricated conflict, self murdering bomb, vanished airplane,
Every fictionalized dictator, biased partisan and wayward son
Part the curtains of society's racial, ethnic, religious, national and cultural conflicts,
And you find the human ego turning the knobs and pulling the levers.
When I track the orbits of asteroids, comets, and planets,
Each one a pirouetting dancer in a cosmic ballet, choreographed by the forces of gravity,
I see beyond the plight of humans. I see a universe ever expanding
With its galaxies embedded within the ever-stretching, four-dimensional fabric of space and time.
However big our world is — in our hearts, our minds, in our out-sized atlases?
The universe is even bigger.
There are more stars in the universe than grains of sand on the world's beaches.
More stars in the universe than seconds of time that have passed since Earth formed.
More stars than words and sounds ever uttered by all humans who have ever lived.
The day we cease exploration of the cosmos is the day we threaten the continuance of our species.
In that bleak world, arms-bearing, resource-hungry people and nations
Would be prone to act on their low contracted prejudices,
And would have seen the last gasp of human enlightenment —
Until the rise of a visionary new culture once again embraces the cosmic perspective;
A perspective in which we are one, fitting neither above, nor below, but within.