1. |
Can I Bum A Life?
03:41
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We laughed for about three hours
until the jack stopped tasting sour.
But, your guess was just as good as mine.
We never mentioned politics, no intentions of conflict,
we were just enjoying each other's time.
And the Sun did rise again to stir the shadows of our friends
lying on the floor all across the house.
As these chemicals leave our veins,
we'll rise to fight another day.
All we want is to breathe a little bit.
As we tip another bottle in memory of our fathers,
they drank way more in hopes we 'd never have to.
I remember when you told me you gotta make a man out of yourself,
it's all that you can do.
But, I won't build a thing that I don't believe in.
We're just human, to scared to make a change.
And so often we've been dreaming of some better off feeling,
too often we accept that this is it.
And tomorrow we'll be running
as those futures keep on coming,
if we never find our peace,
we've got ways to help us sleep.
It's a consequence of growing older.
Choices get that much bolder.
But, I won't pretend that I'm not just some kid.
Like all the students in the crowd talk and share their plans out loud, and hope that no one can see they've forgotten history.
And all the workers move so quickly to the skyscrapers in the city
to look down on all of us
hoping to impress their boss.
Now, I can't talk to anybody
at the risk of seeming folly
because they're so readily
open to take you seriously.
But as I sat to have a smoke,
it was like some fucked up joke
that a cigarette could help us to agree.
Maybe it wasn't just the nicotine,
but something else in between addiction and the moments obscurity.
But, I thought back to that night,
where that bottle made things right
and washed away any doubts of the lives we lead.
Surrounded by each other
you know that nothing made us stronger,
and maybe, maybe that's all that we need.
We are all we need.
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2. |
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The experts agree we can make some things better,
more pragmatic and more practical.
But, just how closely can you really measure
the untamed and the magical?
Solutions seem so simple
undiluted by the arts.
We want something to swallow
to feed our starving hearts.
There are children in Los Angeles, the city of angels,
eating ketchup packets they stole off their lunch room tables.
We're debating GMOs and the morals of eating animals
like a cameraman watching a vulture eat a child.
And the abandoned buildings in the city of brotherly love,
filled with heroin addicts and wandering homeless,
are best left unoccupied. Leave them to their own demise.
Put up a fence, dust off your hands, turn your back and walk away.
Yeah, we all want to be loved,
or at least a lot more money.
We all want to belong.
We all want to love somebody.
I know I'm not good for much,
I'm at my best when sitting down.
But, if we can stand to think that that sounds better,
we can get ourselves off the ground.
I've been working on defining progress.
My thoughts need to be dismantled.
Foundations built under duress
are far to self-assured to handle.
I've been part of the problem.
I've always knew it all along.
I want to make the world a better place,
but I've only got this song.
Alright
Like dust holds all that has passed,
my spirit is riddled with grey.
Like everything that we've built,
my mind erodes away...2, 3, 4.
A rusted gaze upon a broken world,
the cracked foundations of all thought.
Sinews tear and bones will splinter,
but memories never rot.
The soil will claim our wreckage.
Everything rises from debris.
Take solace in this severage,
For I am you and you are me.
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3. |
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Still so much that you don't know,
and I'm trying not to say it,
I'm pretty sure that I'm in love with you.
So if I'm quiet in the morning,
please don't hold it against me.
I'm just happy taking in the view.
When there's nothing on my mind that should mean everything is fine,
but for some reason we have to pry it anyway.
But she never bothers me, too many words drive us crazy.
Yeah, we prove our love for ourselves every day.
And it feels like I've been chasing something I might never catch.
And the only thing I can hold onto is the ripcord to detach.
But, I'm not giving up just yet.
I'll float back to earth on my feet.
Yeah, love is something the world cannot defeat.
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4. |
Four White Walls
02:19
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I won't sing to you any of my songs anymore.
I guess I was meant to sing them on my own.
But, when I'm finally by myself,
I find myself staring out
wondering just where the hell I'll go.
But, with one cowboy killer left,
and the ass end of a beer,
chug through a kamikaze before I get out of here.
And on my way out I'll kiss the ground.
Hug the ceiling for not falling down
while all four corners of my world spun around.
I'll grab my baggage of paper and plastic,
a head case locked loaded and sarcastic.
Hey, are you okay? Please don't seem so enthusiastic.
Still got the will to take the punch,
yeah I still don't care enough.
No one can take the air out of these lungs.
I love you and hope you're happy,
but I'm done building barricades.
If we can't care for ourselves, how could we care for this house?
But, walls, walls, walls,
you helped me sing these songs,
echoed them throughout the halls,
when I was too afraid to go outside.
I stared at you,
you stared back at me
with a wild white that burned to see
the truth hiding right behind the blinds.
So, I won't play into your hands again.
This rooms to cold for both of us my friend.
But, everybody needs a cave
to give creeping thoughts a place
to make sense of the mess they're in.
so, with a box of empty bottles
and a bin of store bought problems,
I'll pick up the debris
and then I'll be on my way.
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5. |
Bras and Boxers
01:34
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Well there are things that I can't quite smell anymore.
Like those freshly cut soccer fields,
you're tangled split up choppy hair
bouncing out the door.
Yet, I haven't found a way to end this war
or the roots under those clumsy words.
"Just chill out" only makes it worse,
everyone knows what's growing in those drawers.
Now, I know you like to brag about your endeavors.
Somehow saying them out loud makes them sound better.
And maybe I'm just not as keen,
as I think I used to be,
something doesn't taste right with you what you said.
So, please don't think that you had gone unnoticed.
It doesn't matter, I think you already know this.
A touch can go a little ways,
but a scream will get you through the day.
Your problems are all inside your head.
There will be times that I will not remember.
Like those wax burns up and down my back,
that bad trip spent trying to get back to some better weather.
But, there's no point in trying to please these clouds.
The bullet behind every tear drop is never enough to make your heart stop.
Now, I'm just sad that I had ever met her.
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6. |
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Pat the Bunny is my favorite jam,
what does that say about me?
I'd hold out a helping hand if I could let go of my misery.
I'd tell you that I'm sorry if I could drop the situation.
But, every angry song I know creeps into conversation.
You needed something to believe,
I said "I'm at war with everything."
Like apathy is weaponry,
we conquer by forgetting.
Chelsea starting painting to stave away the darkness,
for memories still remaining will be the ones to haunt us.
I saw the cop who pulled me over,
his brother ate his own shell.
He ruled the town like a soldier to throw kids like me in a cell.
We're kindred in our suffering,
we're prisoners of our own blood.
If I could just be honest,
I'd say I feel pretty good.
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7. |
Pub's Pike
03:18
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This town has nothing left to do;
there's a new retirement home where that tall grass grew.
If it's not filled up yet,
I'm sure it will be soon.
I'm on my way to the pub on Second Street Pike,
it's the only one left that lets you smoke inside,
the barkeep knows my drink and my order too.
There's no one hear even close to my age,
and most of my writings on receipts these days,
but it don't bother me
I know the food will be good.
And even if you showed up to keep me company,
I'd still be leaving here feeling so lonely
breathing heavy walking home through my neighborhood.
I've been itching for a living
trying to shed my bad decisions
and all the while thinking
at least it will keep me fit.
I've never been close to starving,
but now I fear how much farther I am
from feeling like I've had enough of this.
So, I gave in last year
I got a new smart phone.
It hasn't made any better at getting along.
It's got a bright flashlight,
but I still can't find a care.
And I've got nothing else to do,
but I sure as hell won't get to know you.
How could I know you from so far over there?
I've been digging for a living
trying to bury my bad decisions
and all the while thinking
at least it will keep me fit.
I've never been close to starving,
but now I fear how much farther I am
from feeling like I've had enough of this.
And I've got nothing else to do.
I've got nothing else to do.
I've got lots of things to do,
but I'm not ganna do them today
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8. |
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And I couldn't dream last night because I drank.
And I couldn't save your life because I slept.
Burn cash, turn chemicals back to unhappy.
I guess I'm just addicted to misery.
One year with a break
then another six months wait,
and a couple extra days because I forgot to send the letter.
Why try when you can skate,
why blow it off when you can procrastinate?
I've got a lot to pay for,
can't I just enjoy the weather?
I'm not ready to get on the road again.
I'm not excited by anything.
I just wanna get drunk and watch cartoons.
I'm not worried that your ganna be fine.
I'm not sick of being up all night.
And if I had any luck, it'll all be over soon.
Let it be over soon.
A bike and a socket wrench
and a bucket full of cigarettes
half smoked or broken because I can't finish what I started.
And why run when you can spin?
Why can't I finish anything?
I had a pretty line for you,
but it just came out boring.
I get mixed up and start blushing.
I get excited by nothing
and my feet they always get the best of me.
I'm not bothered when you ask me questions,
I'm just bothered by the answers to them.
And knowing my luck, I won't have the nerve to leave.
I'm not ganna leave.
I'm not ready to get on the road again,
I still get excited by nothing
and my feet they always get the best of me.
I'm not bothered when you ask me questions,
I'm just bothered by the answers to them.
And knowing my luck, you'll ask me to leave.
Please, don't ask me to leave
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9. |
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So the air grew thick again.
I was caught in thinking I knew exactly what I needed.
And when the world did not end,
tomorrow was that much longer and I'm choking on my secrets.
We breathe through routine
and struggle to make things change, to make our lives better.
But, its just insanity
to think that we can make a difference
we never try to make a difference.
And I know that last night didn't go as planned.
I was at a loss for words,
but I swear I understand.
We made small talk as the rain was letting up,
but we both knew the worst was yet to come.
Now, every light pierces skin.
No one can read my thoughts, I won't let anything go wrong.
And sleep means giving in
when in a moment we'll forget that we felt anything at all.
Risking everything we love
to get by one more day in hopes we won't have to explain
the truth we're afraid of
is that this a mistake.
It's always been the same mistake.
So, my bad habits might have got the best of me.
But, I've proven time and time again that I can make a change.
We went outside to get away from all the noise.
I was paranoid as hell trying to maintain some poise.
There was a moment when everything felt fleeting.
Well, it's a losing battle that we just keep repeating.
Most of the time I'm just hating everything,
but I hold it in until I'm picking fights with friends.
I've got a few theories on how I got that way,
but it's no excuse for the way that I behave.
I'm working on believing in myself a little more.
It's harder than a few breaths,
but it's worth fighting for.
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10. |
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The stars always burn just out of reach.
I've been learning to embrace the distance.
When I trace the light back to nothing,
goddamn I feel the space between us.
Now, I'm analyzing every atom,
the little parts that make us whole,
and how the things we love and the things we hate
are made of those same molecules.
We're borne of water and tiny specks of dust,
we fight we hope we shrug off the rust,
but without oxygen,
we'd all be suffocating.
Well, usually I'm thinking on a cosmological level.
Like somewhere there's a world out there that's saying fucking thank you
and our problems seem so small
it's like they don't even matter.
Tried to explain myself to you,
you said I sounded like a robot.
Even though it hurt, robots are slaves,
I knew that you were wrong.
So, cut me open and see my circuitry splatter.
Can't be that great protagonist I know that I could be,
but I know the forces that are most important to me.
The earth may slip, the oceans may dry,
but sometimes love means saying goodbye.
So, take in a breath.
And Let it fill your lungs.
Feel your heart start to beat,
your veins flood with blood.
There's a spark in your head,
enough to get you out of bed.
You couldn't fight the day,
but you fought off gravity.
And your eyes bathe in the warmth,
bring better days to memory.
Time spun us up in circles
and we thought we were free.
but now we're just playing gods with party stories and violence,
well think the closest we can get to god is silence.
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Secret Base Life Southampton, Pennsylvania
Secret Base Life is the music of Dale Nicklas III.
With a driving, relentless acoustic
guitar and sardonic lyrics that shine the light on the human condition, Secret Base Life's music insists you listen and then you can't help but think.
A guitar style like the Clash, lyrics like a dystopian Dylan, and a vocal delivery of Zappa at his best SBL will make clear the world that surrounds you.
... more
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