1. THE DISCONNECT

All of our lives we've been told what to believe
"Nothing is perfect" so what's the point of purpose?
The line that separates the weak from us who truly care
Is one I don't intend to cross

The heart of man beats but only in greedy hands
And it seems that most are still content
Where most are comfortable accepting insignificance
We strive to find the effort within

If you open up your eyes
And open up your mind
You will be exposed
To a world as cold as those who are left to populate it

Two decades spent swallowing lie after lie
Has sparked a fire in my heart
And the time has come to spread the flame

We can't continue wasting time
Day after day trying to find a new means of escape
We can't continue wasting time
Day after day

We do this day after day
We do this day after fucking day

And I can't face the disconnect
I'll shed the dead weight and rise
And I can't face the disconnect
I'll shed the dead weight and rise

I never thought
That I would need to justify a reason
To continue on in this life I lead
I fucking hate the world
I fucking hate myself
I swore I'd never fucking feel like this

And I hate the world
And I hate myself
I hate the world


2. I AM NO ONE

Every fucking day
I have to deal with the pressure I put on myself, to outdo myself
But I can’t ask for help, I can’t admit I’m weak
I’m going back on my words, going back on who I used to be

Every day I wage a war on myself because I’d rather die than let this win over me
I can’t let this win over me

How can I be expected to help anyone else,
When I can’t even help myself?
Call me a hypocrite,
And I’ll be the first one to agree

I am no longer the prophet that I once claimed to be

And I’m stuck between trying to find where I stand, and what it is I stand for
I am no one


3. THE CONSTANT

I will graciously accept that my life’s work, whether it be in the past, the present, or the future
It will be overshadowed by those around me
With a different definition of “success”
Though I can’t explain the path I’ve chosen,
All I know is I’m right where I need to be
And though I’ve turned down a chance at fame and fortune,
I know that there is no greater payment than this

And I’m so fucking far from the life I’m supposed to lead, and the man I’m supposed to be and I couldn’t be happier
And I will remain a constant, I know where I stand, and I refuse to let their selfishness take control of who I am
Take control of who I am
Take control of who I am

And while I may die poor, at least my life had meaning
There’s more to life than living, and I truly feel alive
And I know that when I die,
There will be others who feel the same way ready to take my place

This is our song of protest
I promise you that nothing is slowing us down
I promise you
That nothing is slowing us down

And while I may die poor, at least my life had meaning
There’s more to life than living and I truly feel alive
And I know that when I die,
There will be others who feel the same way ready to take my place
And I will laugh in the face of those who tell me different
And I will laugh in the face of those who tell me different

Even with both of my feet planted firmly on the ground,
I am free to move in my own direction
I will remain a constant
I know where I stand
I KNOW WHERE I STAND
I know where I stand
I know where I stand
I know where I stand


4. MMVII

Why do I need to justify my opinion,
After all that I’ve seen and done?
And year after year, we give our everything to get nothing in return

The time has come for things to change
We don’t need your adoration but we demand your respect
I won’t allow anyone the opportunity to deny half a decade of labor
The places we’ve been, the faces we’ve seen, the months spent far from home
This is what moves us
This is what we’ve grown accustom to
What we will leave behind cannot be measured in a dollar figure
There’s a much deeper meaning than that

I can’t wait until the day when we’ve surpassed everything that gave you a false sense of importance
I want you to question yourself
I want you to question yourself
I want you to watch you slip away
I want you to realize that your existence has meant nothing

I hate you more than you could ever know
And I hate you for making me feel like this

I know deep down that I am a good person
And the best retaliation I can think of, would be to let you know that for once in my life
I am truly happy
I’m more than content with who and where I am
And your oppression has had no effect

I don’t need to justify my opinion after all that we’ve been through
And year after year, what we get in return, I can’t explain with words
I’m so fucking thankful that I made it to where I am today
(I watched the world upon your shoulders, and from these heights it’s so far down)


5. OPTIMIST

I never asked for anyone to listen
And I never asked for anyone to take my words to heart
I’ve let myself become a target based on nothing more than expression
I won’t lie to others and I won’t lie to myself
If you’re searching for safety you can find it somewhere else,
And I won’t mind

EEEHHH fuck
I’ve never seen myself as optimistic, so this should come as no surprise
No one feels good forever
Not even me

But this doesn’t give us an excuse to become useless like the rest
We will turn our hatred into something to be proud of

We will make life worth living
We will make life worth living


6. JUMPING SHIP

As time passes by, I feel everything changing but me
I will not feel the sting of defeat
I’ve watched days become months, become years
And I’ve lost all faith in progression
I will never allow myself to exchange all my morals for acceptance
If this is truly where I belong, I’ll fucking be here until the end of time

I’ve watched everyone around me jump ship, and I hope they’re left to sink
The current will carry us

I am proud of all that I’ve become, and I’m well aware that I have steered myself in the right direction
And life is yours to destroy
I just can’t respect your decision
I would rather isolate myself than be a walking definition of “travesty”
I watched you do away with everything

I watched you do away
I would love nothing more than to watch this world swallow you whole
You were the catalyst for your downfall

But where the rest have failed, we are bound to succeed
And mark my fucking words, as long as we are breathing,
We will overcome
We will overcome

The integrity we emanate day-to-day is unparalleled
And our efforts will not go unnoticed
We will be remembered
We will be remembered
We will be remembered
We will be remembered
We will be remembered
We will be remembered


7. PEDESTAL

I’m looking back on those I once looked up to
And I can’t help but feel that I’m looking down
Everyone I’ve ever admired has left me with nothing,
Not even a memory

I remember growing up, and yearning to be just like you
It pains me to admit that I held you in such a high regard,
As if my life would mean nothing without your approval
But now I see the error of my ways
All that time spent searching for myself in someone else

I think it’s safe to say that I’ve become everything I wanted to be
And no one can take that from me
All of my heroes have failed me, but I won’t fail myself

I can’t believe how naive I used to be when I never really needed anyone
All my heroes have failed me, but I won’t ever fail myself
All my heroes have failed me, but I will never fail myself

(All of my heroes have failed me, all of my heroes have failed me)


8. THANK GOD

I want to thank You for never being there
Your absence has forced me to find my own way
While others are led through life with a blindfold,
I can see clearly the rain will wash me away
I reject the thought of a God when all we see is the work of an ill-fated world
I reject a liar’s Cross

Who am I to say what I believe is right for the masses?
I just know it’s right for me
For this I have secured my place in Hell,
But every day I face is my own heaven in the making
What do you believe in?
What do you think is right?
Centuries have passed but the voice of reason is still being suppressed
Salvation dances in front of their faces,
But they’re too blind to see

I reject the thought of a God when all we see is the work of an ill-fated world
I reject a liar’s Cross

Thank You for never being there
Thank You for never being there
Thank God for never being there
Thank God for never being there


9. UNCERTAINTY

Though I look forward to my future, just know I’m scared to death
After all is said and done, I won’t have a clue what to do next
Will I struggle to find the answer?
Will I take an easy way out?
Or will I find the strength inside to carry on?

My greatest fear is amounting to nothing
I fucking hate the fact that I feel no sense of security
But more importantly, I hate the fact that I can’t confide in myself
It feels like nothing good will stay,
Unless I stay the same
I need to find a way to dissolve the uncertainty

This is who I am, and this is who I’ll always be

And I refuse to be afraid, of something I don’t know to be true
Something to be true
I need to pick myself back up,
I need to find a way to keep all the worry from head,
Before it sends me to an early grave

I refuse to let fear define me
I refuse, I refuse to let fear define me
I refuse, I refuse to let fear define me
I refuse to let fear define me
I refuse to let fear define me
I refuse
I refuse


10. SINKING

This is the only thing I have worth holding onto
I have condensed my past to fit the lines on the pages that no one will ever see
But still I fight day after day ‘cause this is all I’ve ever wanted my life to be
And I push everything I’ve ever loved away
To keep myself from sinking
To keep myself from sinking
To keep myself from sinking

If I find the bad in everything,
I can never be attached
I’m trying to find a balance
I’m trying to find a way
But every choice I’ve ever made brings me anywhere but home
But I’ve welcomed sacrifice with open arms
And I will never regret my decision
This is the only thing that makes me feel alive

Makes me feel alive

I’ve simply been searching for the right place to rest my head
I’m searching for common ground between all that I am and all that you need me to be
I’ve seen a future and want nothing to do with it
A constant campaign to impress those who never ever cared
I’m struggling but I won’t allow myself to sink

You know where to find me
I keep my composure and assume my place, in front of those who I love most
You’re the reason why we’re here
I’m struggling, but I won’t allow myself to sink
I’m struggling, but I won’t allow myself to sink


11. REFLECTION

I’ve never told this to anyone
I’ve just tried to move past
But lately it seems like my insecurities have got the best of me
And I’m no longer in control
No one should ever have to feel like this
To feel like me
And even though the good I have outweighs the bad,
The bad is what’s leaving me with sleepless nights

I spend most of my time arguing with my own reflection
For no apparent reason
And it may seem as if I have all the answers, but I’m just as lost as you
I’ve spend the past few years trying to overcome my own misery
But these sort of things take time, and I’m running out of mine
I’m running out of mine

So I will pray to a God that isn’t there, to a world that doesn’t hear, to anyone who will listen
To keep me from becoming everything I promised myself that I would never be
I do not deserve this