1. TRUE NORTH

Unrepentant vagabond.
Plot the new coordinates and cast the map aside.
Now I gotta ramble on,
Navigate the pitfalls and cross the great divide.

The mapmaker's legend has direction and a key.
He set the declination, but what good is it to me?

I can't see the rationality.
The world's not my responsibility.
And happiness isn't there for me,
But maybe I'll inch closer to the source

When I find true north.
With or without a friend.
Keep searching till the end.

Testing fate and cheating death.
No one ever told me it was gonna be like this.
Contemplate the randomness.
When the mind is willing, it gets downright perilous.

Overburdened, underwhelmed, their ethical decrees.
That's your moral compass, but what good is it to me?

I can't see the rationality.
The world's not my responsibility.
And happiness isn't there for me,
But maybe I'll inch closer to the source

When I find true north.
With or without a friend.
Keep searching till the end.

When I find true north.


2. PAST IS DEAD

Solemn regret.
Transgressions fill my head.
A measure of success
Is how well to forget.

And the past is dead.

Strewn about the battlefield of life are the remainders of History.
When convenient, we exalt them and pay them such respect,
As if we're all in an equivalent trajectory.

And trash piles high in the rubble we forgot.
The angels of our nature just sit and watch it rot.

Now the past is dead.
Let's focus on tomorrow instead.
Oh, the tragic present said, the past is dead.

Who can say what constitutes the most important sector of Society
When the dominant portion seek an instant gratification
And are proud of intellectual poverty?

I'd like to be empathetic but I can't.
The jeopardy, too great to make a stand.

Now the past is dead.
Good deeds won't help you get ahead.
Yeah, the modern signpost read, the past is dead.

My next great decision is just lying in wait.
The action might turn out to be the world's most grievous Mistake.

Yeah, the past is dead.
More veritable words have never been read.
Oh, the tragic present said, the past is dead.


3. ROBIN HOOD IN REVERSE

Here's the church; there's the steeple.
Open up the door; corporations are people.
Wait, what did he say?
What the fuck did he say?

It couldn't last; they had to crash.
Some parties are just made that way.
But when the bell rings, the boys will sing,
Swing low sweet precariat.

Let's say we try to get this right,
Said the plutocrat to Jesus Christ.

And when the old fox, fearing the worst,
Made his entrance in a hearse,
Then the nine in black robes all went berserk.
Oh yeah.

This is a tale of Robin Hood in reverse.

Citizens united. I was excited.
(When the kids are united, they can never be divided.)
But that was yesterday.
There's a brand new sham today.

Let's say we try to get this right,
Said the plutocrat to Jesus Christ.

And when the old fox, fearing the worst,
Made his entrance in a hearse,
Then the nine in black robes all went berserk.
Oh yeah.

This is a tale of Robin Hood in reverse.

Oh yeah.

Let's say we try to get this right,
Said the plutocrat to Jesus Christ.

And when the old fox, fearing the worst,
Made his entrance in a hearse,
Then the nine in black robes all went berserk.
Oh yeah.

This is a tale of Robin Hood in reverse.
This is a tale of Robin Hood in reverse.


4. LAND OF ENDLESS GREED

I don't really care what other people may say.
I've gotta go on living my life anyway.
Everything is golden; everything's for sale.
I'm done with unsubstantiated fairytales.

But out here in the lap of luxury,
Unlimited guarantee for your insatiable need,
In the land of endless greed.

In the emerald forest, hear a nasty sound.
The big rigs and the miners come and shake the ground.
On the field of plenty, the grazers gather round
To watch the game of supply and demand go down.

But out here in the lap of luxury,
Unlimited guarantee for your insatiable need,
In the land of endless greed.

I don't really care what other people may say.
I've gotta go on living my life anyway.
The poor don't have to struggle in dismal poverty.
Anyone can be the way they wanna be.

Out here in the lap of luxury,
Fortune bears no scrutiny.
What you want is all you need
In the land of endless greed.


5. FUCK YOU

Everybody needs a slogan in their pocket or two.
It never hurts to have a strategy you can go to.
Sometimes I have no sense at all.
As most flawed men are won't to do,

Just say fuck you. Pavlovian rude.
A menace too. Pay homage to
Your bad attitude.

You can even get cerebral if you want to.
Make a radical assessment that sticks like glue.
Sometimes it takes no thought at all.
The easiest thing to do

Is say fuck you. Pavlovian rude.
A menace too. Pay homage to
Your bad attitude.

The reaction it brings, just one of those things.
Your friends might not want you around.
If the impulse is right, you might get in a fight,
Even though you can't hold your ground.

But all rest assured; sometimes just a word
Is the most satisfying sound, yeah.

Sometimes it makes no sense at all.
The easiest thing to do

Is say fuck you. Pavlovian rude.
A menace too. Pay homage to
Your bad attitude.

Just say fuck you. Whatcha gonna do
With that attitude? Just say fuck you.


6. DHARMA AND THE BOMB

Wasted days and cigarettes.
Cracked cement and palms.
Bodhidharma has gone fission
With your vedic mom.

Yeah, the Sergeant Major is dreamin' of genie
And she's armed with a borrowed polka-dot bikini, oh yeah.
Tomorrow's coming down
Like dharma and the bomb.

Falling down, falling down.
Like dharma and the bomb.
Falling down, falling down.
Like dharma and the bomb.

The shallows seem evangelical
When you're slammed up against a wall.
And you're stoked to watch all creation
Go over the falls.

Yeah, Kali is coming and you'd better believe it.
That girl's got the atom and the bhagavad ghita, oh yeah.
Samsara's coming down
Like dharma and the bomb.

Falling down, falling down.
Like dharma and the bomb.
Falling down, falling down.
Like dharma and the bomb.


7. HELLO CRUEL WORLD

I can't stop the way I feel,
But I can penetrate your religion with a nail.
You are mine and we are twine.
When we radiate in waves together, everything is fine.

Hello cruel world.
Do you know that you're killing me?
I don't mind,
But I could use a little sympathy.

I've been blind
As a fool can be.
My dear cruel world,
Do you ever think about me?

I can feel so alone with you right here.
And yet, I turn to you for comfort in my despair.
You are dust and I am bone.
And I will love your endless gaze of madness until I turn to stone.

Hello cruel world.
Do you know that you're killing me?
I don't mind,
But I could use a little sympathy.

I've been blind
As a fool can be.
My dear cruel world,
Now I know you are my everything.

Please forgive me.

Hello cruel world.
Do you know that you're killing me?
I don't mind,
But I could use a little sympathy.

I've been blind
As a fool can be.
My dear cruel world,
Now I've made a mess of everything.


8. VANITY

I'll strike it if I don't like it.
Gimme a club and I will have myself a riot.
I'm a monkey with a brick on my shoulder
And I'm getting bolder.

Let's deny and defame.
Let's destroy and recreate in our glorious name,
And when the joke of our centrality is upon us,
Grovel and decry

Our vanity.
Disgraced to face our own humanity,
In a world that mocks our tragedy.

Hyper-aware and impaired.
Terrified by nature's mocking stare.
Yearning for significance beyond our animal ken,
On which we do depend.

Such vanity.
Isolated with our own inanity.
Entangled by our callow gravity.
Disgraced to face our own humanity.


9. IN THEIR HEARTS IS RIGHT

There's something pathetic in the world today
And I don't know how it all began.
As if all the shame and punishment
Will finally make me understand.

A word means nothing wanting action.
Intentions are valuable as deeds.
And a wound can dog you for a lifetime,
Unless it only makes you bleed.

Everybody (everybody, everybody) knows,
Everybody (everybody, everybody) knows,
Everybody (everybody, everybody) knows,
Everybody (everybody, everybody) knows now.

Everybody, everybody, everybody knows,
Everybody, everybody, everybody knows
What's in their heart is right.

I'm just a termite on an ant hill.
I think about it every single day.
A senseless being lacking inspiration,
Just waiting to be blown away.

Everybody (everybody, everybody) knows,
Everybody (everybody, everybody) knows,
Everybody (everybody, everybody) knows,
Everybody (everybody, everybody) knows now.

Everybody, everybody, everybody knows,
Everybody, everybody, everybody knows
What's in their heart is right.

Everybody (everybody, everybody) knows,
Everybody (everybody, everybody) knows,
Everybody (everybody, everybody) knows,
Everybody (everybody, everybody) knows now.

Everybody, everybody, everybody knows,
Everybody, everybody, everybody knows,
Everybody, everybody, everybody knows,
Everybody, everybody, everybody knows
What's in their heart is right.


10. CRISIS TIME

There's a feeling about myself that I can't understand.
It's a foreboding sense that I see all around the land.
When the wheel of fortune turns progressively depraved,
It's the manifestation of a biospheric decay.

Keep yourself in line; there's no design.
The new paradigm is crisis time.

Luxury was privilege and I knew it all along,
But to let human reason get trumped by emotion is wrong.
All the bonds were broken when I said I loved you so,
But rejection of a fantasy is just a way to help you grow.

Keep yourself in line; there's no design.
The new paradigm is crisis time.

Yeah

There's a feeling about myself; I feel it oh so strong.
It's a romantic notion and I've thought about it darn too long.
On the crest of progress, we can't balance on the wave
If the measure of success is only tallied in the lives we save.

Keep yourself in line; there's no design.
The new paradigm is crisis time.

Keep yourself in line; there's no design.
The new paradigm is crisis time.


11. DEPT. OF FALSE HOPE

Welcome, my son,
To where the work is never done
And the hungry are seldom ever fed.

The department of false hope
Is a proving ground for dopes.
And they'll grind your tiny bones to make their bread. (Hosanna.)

So hold your head up high, forgotten man.
Tomorrow won't be made for you.
And everybody's gotta try to lend a helping hand.
For god and man, there's nothing more to do.

It crackled on the radio
Through bright plumes of the sun.
The announcer said the age of faith was dead.

Though the adolescent nation
Was just looking for salvation,
The beast of reason reared its ugly head. (Hosanna.)

So hold your head up high, forgotten man.
Tomorrow's not for me and you.
And everybody's gotta try to lend a helping hand.
For god and man, there's nothing more to do.

From your cradle of destruction,
With the poorest of instruction
And the merest sliver of a tune,
Oh, you managed somehow to muddle through.

So hold your head up high, forgotten man.
Tomorrow's not for me and you.
And everybody's gotta try to lend a helping hand.
For god and man, there's nothing more to do.

There is nothing more...


12. NOTHING TO DISMAY

Now there's a list of catalysts that hold the heart at bay.
They grip the mind and sap the soul and feed on your dismay.
And I never understood why you can't see the world this way.
The lines are drawn at the break of dawn; there's nothing to dismay.

It's no, no, no security.
No, no, no security.
No, no, no security.
Nothing to dismay.

It's no, no, no security.
No, no, no security.
No, no, no security.
Nothing to dismay.

The dissonance runs deep in me, resort to weak applause.
Associate and denigrate the root without a cause.
And just because the overwhelming odds are stacked away,
What good is should if at most I would? But nothing to dismay.

It's no, no, no security.
No, no, no security.
No, no, no security.
Nothing to dismay.

It's no, no, no security.
No, no, no security.
No, no, no security.
Nothing to dismay.

Well it's just a solo journey,
Bewildered and astray.
But pay no mind to what you find;
There's nothing to dismay.

It's no, no...
No, no...
No, no...
Nothing to dismay, yeah.

No, no, no security.
No, no, no security.
No, no, no security.
Nothing to dismay.

It's no, no, no security.
No, no, no security.
No, no, no security.
Nothing to dismay.

It's nothing,
Nothing to dismay.


13. POPULAR CONSENSUS

Some people are almost impossible to live with.
Some people have faith in the craziest things.
They follow outdated conventions that were recorded.
But most of it, to me, all sounds insane.

Maybe it's all you need to get you through the night.
Maybe you've seen the light.
But you know that popular consensus doesn't make it right.

Nothing can go on while forever increasing.
The universe expanding is a different thing.
But to turn a nasty habit into a virtue
Can't replace the need for charity.

Maybe it's all you need to get you through the night.
Maybe you've seen the light.
But you know that popular consensus doesn't make it right.

Like the seed of all creation or a doomsday scheme,
The future might be bright or bleak.
But you know that popular consensus doesn't mean much to me.


14. MY HEAD IS FULL OF GHOSTS

My head is full of ghosts, but I'm no revenant,
Despite my resident's rivalry.
And I'll be the faithful pilot
On our blind trajectory.

Do you wanna know a secret?
Will you hold it close and dear?
This will not be made apparent,
But you and I are not alone in here.

My head is full of ghosts. No apparition.
A partition from the host.
A temple of cognition
And forbidden to approach.

Oh, to hell with superstition.
There's a stranger in the house.
I don't need no exorcism.
I need a key and the lock is inside out.

Now meta-cognition is just intuition.
And dreamers, we'll bark at the moon.
The weaver's unknown by the loom.

My head is full of ghosts and I'm the pilot
Of ultra-violent ancestry.
And I'll destroy these passersby
With zest and artistry.

Ghost, part apparition,
A partition from the host.
A temple of the hidden
And unbidden to approach.


15. THE ISLAND

There's a world outside but I can't really make it.
There's a life to lead but I can't exactly fake it.
Yet the mood feels right, but my island is sinking out of Sight.

I made jetties so they'd catch all the sediment.
Removed the rocks and every impediment.
But the tide's rising high to wash away my island in the Night.

The sheltering sky was to be my everlasting lullaby.
They said that islands were solid as bedrock, standing firm Forevermore.
But over time, even basement wastes away to the unrelenting Shore.

There's a lonely seed waiting to be planted.
I've instructions but desire is wholly absent.
I'm just a petrel in the storm; my island can't protect me Anymore.


16. CHANGING TIDE

Every day's the same routine of endless chores and boring Details.
And you know you're waiting for the perfect condition for your ship to set sail.

But of course, the climate's always changing.
Clinging to the past has got you straining.
Comes the recognition now you're on a mission that is born To fail,
Leave it!

Brothers, say goodbye.
Sisters, don't you cry, yeah.
All embrace the times.
Wade into the changing tide.

Searching for philosophy of life can be a drag on the soul.
Nowadays we pick and choose the pieces from other people's Wisdom of old.

But of course, the climate's always changing.
Clinging to the past has got you straining.
Realizing all your most cherished beliefs are subject to Rot and mold.
C'mon!

Brothers, say goodbye.
Sisters, don't you cry, yeah.
All embrace the times.
Wade into the changing tide.