1. PRISON OF DECAY

Why me? What did I do?
You're looking down on my back
From your bird's-eye view.
Do you like what you see...
Silently judging me?
Am I measuring up
To what you thought I could be?
Fine then, I'll play your game
I'll be the ant in your farm
On which you place blame.
I will carry your cross
Because you are the boss;
I've got nothing to gain
But the blame for my loss!

I'd make a break for it
But I can't run away,
I'm going to be stuck
Inside of here everyday.
I'm just a piece of trash
That someone threw away,
I'm doing time in your
Prison of Decay.
Help me out - I'm trapped
And I don't want to stay,
For God's sake
Does it look like
I will be okay?
I'm only in here
'Cause I chose to disobey,
You're the one who built my
Prison of Decay.

I will find my own way;
You know if I made the rules
I'd be inclined to stay -
But you are in control
Because you bought my soul,
And now I'm falling inside
Of a bottomless hole.
Jump hoops, tapping the dance -
You sent me into the pit
Without a fighting chance.
Yes I want to prevail
But I'm destined to fail,
I cannot spread my wings
When I'm locked in your jail!

Give up - I'm giving in,
I don't see any possible
Way I can win.
Because of the neglect
I've become a reject,
And now everything else
In my life is all wrecked.
What now? I'm down on my back.
Do you really think I've got
The stamina to attack?
Look I'm beaten and bruised
And I'm broken and used.
I hope that I've amused
'Cause I'm feeling abused!


2. WHEN SHE FALLS

She was born into it all,
Silver spoons
Since when she crawled.
Never had to work a day,
But still she
Threw us all away -
She's only humble
When she falls.

There she goes,
She's the focus
Of the world,
But she's just a
Spoiled empty girl.
She lied and she thought
She'd fool us all,
She is only truthful
When she falls.

She pulls the wool
Over your eyes,
And sells her
Manufactured lies -
And still you pay
To buy it all.
She only admits
If she's caught,
And makes excuses
For her plot -
She's only honest
When she falls.

She is plastic
And sarcastic,
And yet she is still
Loved by one and all.
She's a taker,
And a faker...
That's why it's
So damn beautiful
When she falls.

She claims her fame
Is all her own,
And says she earned it
All alone,
But she stands on others
To be tall.
She takes their heart
And soul and sweat -
She does this all
Without regret.
I'm always happy
When she falls.


3. CHURCH OF MAN

I followed your
Man-made rules, and I
Obeyed everything
That you fed to me.
I listened to
All there was and I
Saw everything
That I need to see.

You teach it,
Yeah yeah.
You preach it,
Yeah yeah.
You sew it,
Yeah yeah.
You reap it,
Yeah yeah yeah.

You twisted the Heavens
And Hell, and you
Bend them in the shape
That you want them to be.
You sell your
Version of God, and you
Expect us all to adopt
So our guilt is set free.

How dare you
Attempt to mandate that the
Masses follow the way that
You claim is the word
And the truth.
Can you justify
Or explain when the
Innocent is sodomized and
Clergy is raping our youth?

I cannot be naive
And make believe
In your day dream.
You will realize
Your countless lies
Aren't what they seem...
Church of Man!

"Come pass the plate -
Put all your money in now."

Your divine laws
Written by man,
I will not follow
The follower's plan.

Spoon-fed
Hypocritical masses of
Oblivious sheep
Getting lead to slaughter.
I hope that you
Change your mind when you
Find out that your priest
Molested your daughter.


4. UNSTABLE

Gotta run
Gotta run
'Til I fall,
Gotta keep on
Feeding the crave.
Gotta build
Gotta build
Up my wall,
Gonna keep on
Digging my grave.

Gotta fight
Gotta fight
'Til I bleed,
Gotta keep my head
Screwed on tight.
Gotta stay
Gotta stay
In the lead,
Gotta make sure
I win this fight.

It's okay if I'm
A bit unstable,
I've been doing
Just fine on my own.
I don't care if I am
In denial,
It's a mild syndrome.

Gotta deal
Gotta deal
With the pain,
Gotta put up
With all the lies.
Gotta break
Gotta break
Off the chain,
Gotta silence
All of the cries.

Gonna lose
Gonna lose
My own head,
Gonna finally
Run out of luck.
Gonna fall
Gonna fall
'Til I'm dead -
And frankly,
I don't give a...

The more I try,
The less I'm free.
The more I fail,
The more I hate me.


5. SOMETHING WICKED

Something wicked
This way comes for you!
Cultivates your fears
And burrows through.
Burns the light away
And leaves the hate,
Frail is the mind
Of this wicked state.

Hatred...
Can you feel it
Building up inside?
Hurting...
Can you feel
Your mental suicide?
Losing everything,
Everyone that you see;
God have mercy
On the likes of me!

Silence
Deafens that which
You cannot explain.
Fury building up inside
Your chest again.
Futile is the path
On which you
Lightly tread;
Why should you
Retaliate when your
Cause is dead?

Passion fizzles out
Like it's a
Candle flame.
Darkness rides along
With many
Different names.
Tempers fueled with
Primal instinctual rage
The inner beast
Escapes the outer cage.

Frailty - now it's time
To watch the giant fall
Empty is the heart
After it's seen it all.
Hollow is the soul
When all is said
And done...
Now you're left alone
With no where to run!


6. I DESPISE

You want what's in my head,
You wanna tap my well,
You want the secret trick
Behind my magic spell.
You want my knowledge base,
Only without the sweat,
You wanna borrow me
Except without the debt.

You wanna reap rewards
From my blood and tears,
You wanna take fruit from
The crop that took me years.
You wanna have it all
Despite at my expense,
You wanna take my life
Without the consequence.

Everything I gave to you...
It saved you,
But it destroyed me.

I despise
Takers and the apathetic,
Cold-hearted under-educated
And unsympathetic.
I despise
Self-fulfilling egocentrics,
Self-righteous shallow-minded
Ignorant and phallocentric.

You want the tricks
Of the trade
Without the lessons to learn,
You want my key to success
For the success that I earned.
You want me to give it up
So you can take it all home,
And pat yourself on the back
While you get credit alone.

If I gave you what you want,
Would you then bring me along?
Could I stand up by your side?
Would you consider that wrong?
Would you give me any time
After I gave you my all?
Or would you just set me up
In preparation to fall?

Every time I tried to make amends
And try to be a friend,
You found a way to
Take advantage of me.
You simply used me for my energy;
You sucked the life out of me,
And to this day you deny and disagree.
From here on out I'll only hang you up -
Maybe I'll bang you up,
And make you suffer
For what you did to me.
I hope you're happy with the
Choice you made
And the sick game that you played,
But I don't work for free!


7. HOUSE OF RED TAPE

So you think you're
The brain?
Got it all figured out?
Self-righteous and vein
But you are mindless!
On top of the world
In your House of Red Tape,
House of Red Tape!

A delusional trap
Full of lateral change,
We deal with your crap
Because we're spineless!
We gotta stay in the box
Because it's safe in
Your cage...
Safe in a cage?!

House of Red Tape
My will to try decreases,
House of Red Tape
You break my soul to pieces.

Fuck The Man!
God damn the Corporation!
Take a stand
Against manipulation.
We demand -
Stop your intimidation
And lies!

“Think outside of the box.”
Gotta play by their rules.
Gotta suck corporate cocks
To fucking survive.
It's like a race of the rats
To get a nibble of cheese -
Get down on your knees!

Shake a hand, make a deal
Under a ceiling of glass.
Spinning that hamster wheel
Just to stay alive.
Over over again -
Until the day that you die;
Can't escape ‘cause I tried.


8. FOLLOW ME DOWN

Terrified -
The petals shaken
From the rose.
Teary-eyed, she slowly
Puts back on
Her clothes.
"Maybe if I
hadn't cried
he wouldn't have
hurt me," she said.
Torn inside, she sobs
Herself to sleep in bed.

Follow me down
To where the
Sinners stay,
Where they cry and the
Broken souls pray.
Follow me down
To where the abused lay,
At least I know she is
Safe this way.

Another day,
Another chance
To take her dreams.
He makes her pay
With guilty thoughts
And silent screams.
"Maybe if I hadn't run
he would have
let me go," she said.
She starts to pray
For release from
Her fear and dread.

Follow me down
To where the
Angels fall,
Damned for the lust
Of the meek
And the small.
Follow me down to where
The helpless crawl.
The sins of others
Are my downfall.

Dry your eyes -
He cannot hurt you
Anymore.
She denies
She's the victim
And he's the whore.
Now he's gone
I put an end to his
Sadistic little game.
Sent to Hell -
I'll see him there
But he's to blame.


9. MR. VANITY

Confident your opinion
Is the only one that matters
'Cause you think you've been
Right all along,
But you're wrong!
Positive your perspective
Is the only one that holds up;
Yes, your Narcissistic Deity
Complex has grown strong!
Monkey see, monkey do -
Makes a monkey out of you;
Funny how, even now,
Weak-minded believe
Your lies are true!
Come on down off your high,
Get your head out of the sky,
Time to stop perpetuating lies.

Why must you hide
Way inside, Mr. Vanity?
Why do you try to deny
Your own humanity?

So who died? Made you king?
You're not god of anything.
What are you? Just a man!
Who on Earth gave you
The master plan?
Get a life. Get a clue.
Someone here should humble you.
You're a hoax and a fraud;
Self-fulfilling prophecies
Are flawed.
Blinders on, not too brave -
It's affirmation you crave.
On your thrown of deceit,
I will never bow down
At your feet.
Narrow-mind, ignorance,
Selfish and incompetence -
Predator feeding on innocence.

Feed your greed
And your pride...
Hope it eats you up inside.
You're so smug; insincere -
Your dark agenda
Is crystal clear.
Arrogant and so vain,
See through you
Like cellophane.
Drop the act, give it up -
Sick of hearing lies
So just shut up!
Dirty mind, filthy soul
We never gave you control.
Stop the game, you have lost.
Time to reevaluate the cost.
Time is up, loose the crown;
Now it's time to break you down,
Time to find your new home...
In the ground!


10. PULL YOU DOWN

You helped me up
And gave me
Everything I need.
Unselfish act,
But your aim
Was just to mislead.
Trusted you
Until the shroud
Began to fall...
Ignorant and naive -
I believed it all.

And now I'll
Pull you down!
Pull you down
'Til you cannot breathe.
Don't make a sound,
How could have I
Been so naive.

Abandoned me,
Leaving me lifeless
On the floor.
Betrayed me,
Leaving me worse off
Than before.
Discarded
And thrown away
Like a piece of trash;
You can't forget
'Cause guilt has risen
From my ash.

And every time
You ever wanted to
Erase me,
You turned around
And thought you're free
But there I was...
Inside.
And every time you ever
Wanted to run from me,
I followed you
To make you see -
There's no where
Safe to hide.


11. ALONE IN THE CROWD

Everything is broken,
Nothing here is real.
All the world
Is fractured,
And there's no chance
To heal.
Drowning in the sorrow of
Self-destructive dreams;
Hopefully tomorrow,
Things aren't
As they seem.

Am I the only one
Alive out here?
Can someone lend a
Sympathetic ear?
Am I alone?
Or have I disappeared?
Are you all
Just too proud?
Or do I have to
Shout out loud?
Am I alone?
Alone in the crowd?

I know that
You can see me,
'Cause I saw you
Look away.
So why do you ignore me
When I've got
Something to say?
You think that
You're so sly
And clever,
While you wait
For me to fall.
But just as I approach
Your high horse -
There's no one there...
At all.


12. KATIE'S PET BIRD

Katie locked herself
Inside her room;
Put on a dress
And sprayed perfume.
But she's not going
Out tonight, no no.
Lit a cigarette
And poured a drink,
Then Katie sat down
More to think
About her life and she
Turned on the radio...

"I hope to God
That you take really
Good care of
My pet bird,
'Cause he's the
Only one that cared."

Katie wrote a note
And kissed the page,
Put some birdseed
In Polly's cage,
Then she closed the
Window and
Let out a sigh.
She shut the light
And sat down
On the floor,
Took down her hair,
And thought some more.
Then she whispered
To her bird,"goodbye."

When the cops
Arrived there
In the room,
The sight they saw
Was full of gloom -
They took the gun
From Katie's hand
And covered her head.
They found a note
With a lipstick stain
And on that page,
Written real plain,
Was a single line
In dark blue ink
From a ball-point pen
That said...

"I hope to God
That you take really
Good care of
My pet bird,
'Cause he's the
Only one that cared."