1. |
Messiah Blues
03:56
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In the board rooms they’re calling
For a brand new messiah
While the walls are crashing in
A dashing three piece suiter with
Cold hard connections
To build the wall up again
The shareholders are crying
That everything’s dying
And the dying are fighting again
An old street singer howls about souls
The airwaves are pregnant with the future of old
A digital tube squeezes out this week’s messiah
The ground’s uneven
So the boys are happy wheeling
Dealing in guns and peaceful quotes
They’ve got all the answers
Perfect gentlemen gangsters
Here’s a fishy cat casting for votes
There’s the great pretender playing national defender
Blowing bubble boy blues of no note
But he’s sucked his inflated belly in
Sells the scars on his rumpled skin
Says his lines are signs that he’s the new messiah
Fake news, fake men, fake truths, amen
Fake me out, it’s getting pretty weird
Soon this nightmare should disappear
Fake news, fake men, fake truths, amen
Fake news, fake men, fake truths, amen
They’re crowning fakes in academia
Then sell them to fake media
As gifts to a tired world
They’ll run you with fake history
And grind down your humanity
As old style depravity unfolds
They’re selling saccharine stability
With collapsing credibility
In fairy tale forms that grow cold
But a myth is trusted just like gold
In an empire’s market where dreams are sold
A digital spray splashes out this week’s messiah
Fake news, fake men, fake truths, amen
Fake news, fake men, fake truths, ah men
Fake news, fake men, fake truths, amen
Fake news, fake men, fake truths, ah men
Fake news, fake men, fake truths, amen
Fake news, fake men, fake truths, ah men
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2. |
Dangerous Times
05:15
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Have you seen what’s recognized
As liberty in a soldier’s disguise
Freedom walking bound but untied
In the gravity of these dangerous times
You paint me with the smell of death
In every breath of every myth
That mouthed the words that led the troops
That crashed the walls and butchered youth
I’m supposed to fight for you
Sacrifice and die for you
I’m supposed to close my eyes
And let you define this world of mine
No, no, no, no, no
How can I recognize
The quiet monsters that reside
In a galaxy of truth with particular lies
Parading as gods in a bad disguise
Well, I’m supposed to know from you
The bigger truths never proved
The way this world has always moved
In your mind
I’m supposed to fight for you
Sacrifice and die for you
I’m supposed to close my eyes
And let you define this world of mine
No, no, no, no, no
In the land of the living ruled by the dead
What crazy thoughts run through my head
Am I an animal hunting for blood
Or a lost soldier looking for love
Where is my king, my lord is gone
We made a play and cut him out
He had blood, blood on his mind
In these dangerous times
Well, I’ll never fight for you
Won’t sacrifice, won’t die for you
I’ll just use my eyes
And define for me this world of mine
In these dangerous times
In these dangerous times
Don’t muzzle me, muzzle me, muzzle me, insecure man
Intolerant man
Don’t tell me lies
No leader of mine
In these dangerous times
In these dangerous times
We’ll get by in these dangerous times
We’ll get by in these dangerous times
We’ll get by in these dangerous times
In these dangerous times
We’ll get by
We’ll get by
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3. |
Down On The Queen
04:12
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I saw them ribbon wrap their heroes
Stokin’ swollen canons that might burst
Then shrink within the mouth of history
With a soft answer that could never be believed
And there with anger planted
They made some play in well-rehearsed scenes
In the old lines that are still around
And you wonder, why, I’m down on the queen
And you wonder why we’re down on the queen
Lie die lie die lie die lie die lie
Lie die lie die lie lie lie lie die
In legs of tireless repetition
Spin doctors turn their tales
Mouths move in fake arousal
Swallowing the songs of well worn dreams
And bureaucratic missionaries with shriveled heads
Come hardened and come mean
Still their passions flow empty
Because they can’t come down on the queen
Because they can’t come down on the queen
Lie die lie die lie die lie die lie
Lie die lie die lie lie lie lie die
And all the impotent wannabes
Wanna be what they would kill
Buy their new profile makeups
In the prison house of cocktail forms
Don’t tell me same is different
Our pictures lie in broken dreams
And how quickly we follow the fold
And avoid going down on the queen
And avoid going down on the queen
And avoid going down on the queen
And avoid going down on the queen
And avoid going down on the queen
And avoid going down on the queen
Because we can’t come down on the queen
And you wonder why we’re down on the queen
And you wonder why I’m down on the queen
And I wonder why I’m down on the queen
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4. |
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I heard you went to a movie
The one that nobody’s seen
The one they always told you
You’d find just behind the screen
Where you’re the writer
Lighting your scene
Your shadow dance just out of reach
Your body’s turned on memory
Moves in sync with your speech
And the story swirls in motion
From a thread to a giant ball
Weaving time together
From the countdown to the fall
Between the words that our breaths make
Where the snake of the lamp rides high
Where nothing’s worth remembering
Where the blinking blade bats an eye
We return new sounds to silent cuts
Hear bleeding voices in our ears
Who will be in and who will be out
When the focus is finally clear
And the story swirls in motion
From a thread to a giant ball
Weaving time together
From the countdown to the fall
We bound the marks on our bodies
In traplines that spring free
With each kiss of a folded fortune
Healing skin for our ceremony
In darkness definition calls
Show me everything
Tell me all of your secrets
Let me witness your pain
In the movie they live forever
Wherever it’s still being seen
But we’re wise to those frozen moments
In these tortured digital dreams
Where countless others
Fall to their knees
And pray in these temples of mirrors
We re-arrange our rhythmed reply
Where desire flickers with fear
And the story swirls in motion
From a thread to a giant ball
Weaving time together
From the countdown to the fall
And the story swirls in motion
From a thread to a giant ball
We’re weaving time together
From the countdown to the fall
From the countdown to the fall
We’re weaving time together
From the countdown to the fall
From the countdown to the fall
From the countdown to the fall
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5. |
Where Are You Now
07:44
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Where did you come from
School of hard knocks rappin’ on big time’s door
Chasin’ fashion like you’re going out of style
And I thought this crowd was where it’s at
Where are you now
With cold blooded porcupines huddling in fear
Breaking and bandaging each other’s bodies
At the edge of a centre that was never mine
Who’s speakin’ now
Me for you or you for me
You might as well tell me, not many are listening
And you’re so far away
I’ve learned to live without you anyway
Where did you come from
They’re draggin’ bloody bodies out in bandage words
With half cracked masks and crooked smiles
Then hamster wheel into a movement
Where are you now
One day your words will turn against you
And I’ll be happy I forgot to make those promises
That would only make me feel guilty
Who’s speakin’ now
Me for you or you for me
Been everybody once, learning to love and to hate
Now I’m not saying I’m not guilty
I just don’t make the mistakes you make
Where did you come from
A naked dream with angry red doors
Where sponge walls suckle wet stories
And tireless floors take you in step
Where are you now
Spent and wasted in a cold day dream
A zombie in a clown suit and sagging smiles
Following a sunburned circus into a sunset
Who’s speakin’ now
Me for you or you for me
No mirror has a mouth large enough to swallow all the news that we’ve been fed
And at times, when I’m down enough
I wish that you were dead
Where did you come from
House of cards words collapsing in your own wind
An over-rested imagination up a borrowed sleeve
A presentless ribbon tapping aimless money
Where are you now
Tell me, where are you now
Me for you and you for me
Me for you and you for me
Me for you and you for me
Where are you now
Where are you now
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6. |
USA Make My Day
03:08
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There’s a cop down the road
Protects me for free
He swaggers in myth
On my cable tv
He always gets in
I gave him my key
It don’t cost me too much
He just takes what he needs
USA, make my day
Give me hope I’ll find the American way
Give me hope I’ll find the American way
He lives on a diet
Of movies and might
Taught me what’s wrong
Showed me the light
And if he should ever
Put up a fight
I’ll argue for show
Then admit that he’s right
USA, make my day
Give me hope I’ll find the American way
Give me hope I’ll find the American way
He tells me his rains
Are raining for me
An umbrella he holds
For all who agree
Its webbing is thin
But I believe honestly
It’ll hold till tomorrow
When he’ll sell me three
He’s not my leader
We’re buddies you see
In many a country
We make history
We move in together
Just like it was home
And blast it to hell
With drones and bank loans
He shows me his showdowns
And all his moves
And once in a while
When I’m in his groove
He lets me prove
I’m his buddy and pal
I’ll fight, kill, die for him
Buy whatever he sells
USA, make my day
Give me hope I’ll find the American way
Give me hope I’ll find the American way
Give me hope I’ll find the American way
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7. |
Oh Oh Canada
02:19
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Oh Canada
North of USA
Not quite American
Eh but not so far away
Oh Canada
Homeless native land
One tongue’s lost some spirit
The other one’s chirping commands
Scraping for symbols
In rusted railway ties
Full of tired slogans
A flagging leaf waves by
Oh Canada
Image vacant cries
A dove’s heart is bleeding
In an eagle’s eyes
Oh Canada
Big picture dreams
Big picture land
Big white wash it seems
Sea to sea to sea you see
It’s digital hearths aglow
One big happy family
Trapped in a tv show, oh
Oh Canada
Empire won’t make you free
The new world order’s so old
So avant-garde for thee
Oh what can you say
By the dim sacred light
The pride of power swallowing
Smiling in empty delight
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8. |
Welcome To The World
07:19
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I stepped into the theatre
Where you lived your first scene
Eight floors of illness,
Flowers and machines
Two rooms of newborns
Where you met your family
In blood and tears and smiles
Mixed with promises and fear
And we wonder how we’ll ride here
We wonder how we’ll fare
We’re ready for so much
We wish that we were more clear
Welcome to the world
Welcome to the world
Welcome to the world
Your mother gently passed me
Your bundled baby body
Your father told me stories
We whispered your new name
You didn’t cry or open your eyes
But you told us just the same
The world was moving through you
You don’t understand its pain
And you wonder how we ride here
You wonder how we fare
You’re ready for so much
And you wish that we were more clear
Welcome to the world
Welcome to the world
Welcome to the world
Time goes by
Siblings arrive
Cousins arrive
The family multiplies
And you walk and talk and climb everything
And we lay down markers that define
Who you are and who am I
As the games we play pass by
Did we leave you clean water
Healthy food, clean air
Did we leave you dirty politics
And anything that’s fair
Did we leave enough love behind
Amidst the cries of despair
Now Grandma forgets your names
And Grandpa’s sick and tired
And checking out of the game
And you all have jobs
And have moved far away
Far, far away
I’m a grandpa telling stories
We whisper your daughter’s new name
I can’t help but cry as I look in your son’s eyes
Did we leave you a good place to play
Will a world of goodness move through you
Will the world spare you its games
And we wonder how we ride here
We wonder and we care
We’ve been through so much
I guess we’re lucky we’re still here
Welcome to the world
Welcome to the world
Welcome to the world
Welcome to the world
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9. |
The Hero
06:04
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The hero lines his cape in bills
Backed with voices, and trusting still
In comic gods that sign dark designs
In paper reason past its prime
He’s tired of the status quo
Bucks in gear, fast forward mode
He sets his sights on might makes right
And cocks his trigger tight for a fight
They’ll write you a song my friend
If you fight till the bitter end
Their weakness gives you a name
Selective memory has no shame
In a hero’s game
Strung within his sallow skin
Pound sacred songs lamenting kin
He’s a wild weed hung on his seed
Righteous roots, dying breed
Chills his thoughts in army fatigues
His nursery rhyme mouth speaks only in decree
His voice is shrill and he misses the notes
But everything he does is worth a quote
They’ll write you a song my friend
If you fight till the bitter end
Their weakness gives you a name
Selective memory has no shame
In a hero’s game
All your doubts, misgivings, and fears
Drown in laughter on wise men’s beards
Furrowed brows ooze know how
Borrowed from an ancient vow
Their bloody stories give them their right
The mandarins mold corpses into monuments overnight
A future statue doesn’t need for(e)sight
Just a promise in stone and a name in bold type
They’ll write you a song my friend
If you fight till the bitter end
Their weakness gives you a name
Selective memory has no shame
In a hero’s game
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Gary Popovich Toronto, Ontario
Gary Popovich is a film, video, and music artist. Schmashing Idols is his first music album. Schmeki Noamson is a gadfly and subject of an online video project. Blablabla is the first single from his new upcoming album called Halalalalula.
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