Greg Graffin

i can't belive it
the way you look sometimes
like a trampled flag on a city street, oh yeah
and i don't want it
the things you're offering me
symbolized bar code,quick ID, oh yeah
cuz i'm a 21st century digital boy
i don't know how to live but i got a lot of toys
my daddy is a lazy middle class intellectual
my mommy's on valium(she's)so ineffectual
ain't life a mystery?
i can't explain it
thie things they're saying to me
it's going yayayayayayaya, oh yeah
cuz i'm a 21st century digital boy
i don't know how to read
but i got a lot of toys
CHORUS
i tried to tell you about no control oho
but now i really don't know
and then you told me how bad you had to suffer
is that really all you had to offer?
CHORUS
21st century digitsl boy(5x)
ain't life a mystery?

Against The Grain
three thousand miles of wilderness
overcome by the flow,
a lonely restitution of pavement,
pomp and show,
I seek a thousand answers,
I find but one or two,
I maintain no discomfiture,
my path again renewed,
against the grain,
that's where I'll stay,
swimming upstream,
I maintain against the grain
here labelled as lunatic,
sequestered and content,
there ignored and defeated
by the government,
there's an oriented public who's magnetic
force does pull,
but away from the potential of the individual,
against the grain . . .
the flow is getting stronger
with smaller increments of time and eddies
of new ideas are increasingly hard to find,
you need all that the other has,
your right to seize the day
but in all your acquisitions you will soon
be swept away,
against the grain . . .
there's a common consensus
and an uncomfortable cheer,
a reverberating chorus that anyone can hear,
it sings "leave your cares behind you,
just grab tenaciously",
this lulling sense or purpose will
destroy us rapidly,
against the grain . . .

All Good Soldiers
all good soldiers crack like boulders,
the sun climbs up to a razor,
violins, new boots, and numbers on a chain,
all good soldiers
all good soldiers fall in line,
when they march and shout
are a spectacle,
marching and singing
will go anywhere the president says,
because the president believes in god,
like all good soldiers should
all good soldiers wait like warheads,
when the fighting starts,
who will be accountable,
a cannibal, a cannonball,
six a.m. I can see my breath
and the clay dirt
is laughing at he weakling boy,
today is the day
that I'll write my friends
something I've been trying to remember,
I had a dream of a wall
that was twenty-one stories tall...
all good soldiers fall in line,
marching and singing,
will go anywhere the president says,
because the president believes in god,
like all good soldiers should.

American Jesus
I don't need to be a global citizen,
because I'm blessed by nationality,
I'm a member of a growing populace,
we enforced our popularity
there are things that seem to pull us under
and there are things that drag us down,
but there's a power and a vital presence
that's lurking all around
we've got the american jesus
see him on the interstate,
we've got the american jesus
he helped build the president's estate
I feel sorry for the earth's population
'cuz so few live in the U.S.A,
at least the foreigners can copy our morality,
they can visit but they cannot stay,
only precious few can garner our prosperity,
it makes us walkwith renewed confidence,
we've got a place to go when we die
and the architect resides right here
we've got the american jesus
overwhelming millions every day
(exercising his authority)
he's the farmer barren fields,
the force the army wields,
the expression in the faces
of the starving children,
the power of the man.
he's the fuel that drives the clan,
he's the motive and the conscience
of the murderer
he's the preacher on TV,
the false sincerity,
the form letters that written by
the big computers,
he's the nuclear bombs,
and the kids with no moms
and I'm fearful that
he's inside me.

Anesthesia
everybody is talking about the girl
who went and killed the delivery man,
but she looks so kind and gentle,
it just doesn't stand to reason,
I saw her right there just the other night
as stately as a slot machine,
but when she looked my way something mad
as hell came over me,
anesthesia, mona lisa, I've got a little gun,
here comes oblivion,
I never loved you, how did you find me?
the cops will never complicity now, anna . . .
all good children go to heaven!
I remember your face that august night
when we lied about the beautiful time to come
and that crazy old man who came much to late
and caused a chain reaction,
I've been hanging out there for eleven long years
like a church mouse where the cat has gone,
and looking at you now
is driving me to distraction.

I've got nothing to say,
I've got nothing to do,
all of my neurons are functioning smoothly
yet still I'm a cyborg just like you,
I'm one big myoma that thinks,
my planet supports only me,
I've got this one big problem:
will I live forever?
I've got just a short time to see,
modern man, evolutionary betrayer,
modern man, ecosystem destroyer,
modern man, destroy yourself in shame,
modern man, pathetic example of
earth's organic heritage
when I look back and think,
when I ponder and ask "why?",
I see my ancestors spend with careless abandon,
assuming eternal supply, modern man . . .
just a sample of carbon-based wastage,
just a fucking tragic epic of you and I.

a grizzly scene on my electron beam
told a story about human rights
so all of Kings horses
and all of Kings men
had a riot
for two days and nights
Well, the city exploded
but the gates wouldn't open
so the company asked him to quit
Now everybody's equal
Just don't measure it
Well Hanson did it hester
and Mark David did it to John
and maybe Jack dit it to Marilyn
but he did it to South Vietnam
for beauty and glory
for money, love and country
Everybody's doing it,
Don't do that to me
I don't know what stopped
Jesus Christ from turning
every hungry stone into bread
and i don't remember hearing
how Moses reacted
when the innocent first born sons
lay dead
Well I guess
God was a lot more demonstrative
back when he
flamboyantly parted the sea
now everybody's praying
Don't prey on me

Entropy
random blobs of power expressed as that which we all disregard,
ordered states of nature on a scale that no one thinks about,
don't speak to me of anarchy of peace or calm revolt,
man, we're in a play of slow decay orchestrated by boltzmann,
it's entropy, it's not a human issue,
entropy, it's a matter of course,
entropy, energy at all levels,
entropy, from it you can not divorce
and your pathetic moans of suffrage tend to lose all significance,
extinction, degradation;
the natural outcomes of our ordered lives,
power, motivation; temporary fixtures for which we strive,
something in our synapses assures us we're ok
but in our disquilibrium we simply can not stay,
it's entropy . . .
a stolid proposition from a man unkempt as I,
my affectatious I can not rectify,
but we are out of equilibrium unnaturally,
a pang of consciousness of death
and then you will agree.

heard a sermon from a creaky pul pit with no one in the nave, i paid a
visit to the synagogue and i left there feeling blame, no one could
tell me what to do, no one had the ability to answer me, what the
world needs now is some answers to our problems, we can't buy more
time because our tender isn't valid, if your soul needs love you can
consoled by pity, but it looks as though faith alone won't sustain us
anymore, watched the scientists throw up their hands conceding,
"pregress will resolve it all", saw the manufacturers of earth's
debris ignore another green peace call, no one could tell me what to
do, they had not the capacity to answer me, what the world needs now
is some accountability, we can't buy more time because time won't
accept our money, if your soul needs love you can always have my pity,
but it looks as though faith alone won't sustain us no more...

Flat Earth Society
lie, lie, lie . . .
the full moon is rising over dark water
and the fools below are picking up sticks
and the man in the gallows lies permanently
waiting for the doctors to come back and tend to him,
the flat earth society is meeting here today,
singing happy little lies
and the bright ship humana is sent far away
with grave determination . . .
and no destination, lie, lie, lie
yeah, nothing feels better than a spray of clean water
and the whistling wind on a calm summer night,
but you'd better believe that down in their quarters
the men are holding in for their dear lives,
the flat earth society is somewhere far away,
with their candlesticks and compasses
and the bright ship humana is well on its way
with grave determination . . .
and no destination, lie, lie, lie, ad infinitum.

lascivious, it's all that i can think of as i drag my feet, searching
lika a diogenes, dangerous, the adjectives of the decasde and of your
alluring intricacies, i cah see your green-screen mentality and i can
feel the sting of its consequence, and i know i shouldn't but it's too
much to ignore, an emotion i deplore, every time i look at you, i just
want to do it, i can clench my fist right through it but i just want
to get off, rectilinear, this direction we've been heading never
realizing we are on a runaway machine, angular, the momentum that does
turn us one step further on our ladder, one more turn toward the east,
i realize your green-screen mentality and i know it is shared by many
more, i know it is quite impossible but i am damned to find a way to
revolve the other way, every time i scrutinize i just say "screw it",
we're on a ride down a blind conduit and i just want to get off

God Song
and did those feet in ancient times
trod america's pastures of green?
and did that anthropocentric god wane
with their thoughts and beliefs all unseen?
I don't think so,
he's up there with the others lying low,
vying with those who you've traded
your life to bless your soul,
and have they told you how to think,
cleansed your mind of sepsis and autonomy?
or have you escaped scrutiny,
and regaled yourself with depravity?
now we all see, "religion is just synthetic
frippery, unnecessary in our expanding
global culture efficiency"
and don't you fear this impasse
we have built to our future?
ever so near,
and oh so austere.

Kerosene
everywhere I look I see exclusive huddled
uninviting shelter is privilege,
of the sane and competent,
kerosene keeps me warm,
I'm alone to watch it burn,
kerosene
exposure, is a pitiful
and pointless way of dying
before it gets me,
I'll set a funeral pyre
kerosene keeps me warm,
I'm alone to watch it burn,
kerosene
I'm a man and my dignity
won't wave,
tonight buildings rage,
kerosene keeps me warm,
it feels so good
to watch it burn,
kerosene keeps me warm,
feels so good to watch it burn,
kerosene.

suddenly, it came to me
a potent dosage of reality
i saw myself in the broad daylight
and it made me think
about life
im not the kinda guy
who nods his head
with closed eyes
i scoff at labels
i defy censuses
and despise group mentality
all along i through
that this was only human
but i know now that
i'm in the minority
i'm lookin' in
now i think in relation to
my fellow man
and what strives to do we fail to see
theres no compromise
our evolution
is our demise
one day you may find
that you are also one of me
a micrososm
of the human race
observing those around us
desiring to belong
behing the guise of salvation
we suffer along the way
we're lookin' in

Man With a Mission
rescue me when I get to deep,
talk to me there's nothing to tell,
everyone, is a hypocrite, look to me,
I'll save your soul,
now somebody out there must be reading my mail,
cuz everybody knows,
I'm a man with a mission,
coming to your town today,
I can damn you to fiery prodititon,
cuz I'm a man with a mission,
follow me, when you give up,
work for me, it'll serve you well,
everyone's a hypocrite,
come to me, I'll save your soul
now somebody out there must be tapping my phone,
'cuz everybody knows,
I'm a man with a mission,
I'm gonna fly you away,
high above the noise and competition,
yeah, I'm a man with a mission,
I'm a man with a mission,
passing through your town today,
I condemn you to fiery prodition,
yeah, I'm a man with a mission.

so proud a history, replete with sanctity, orbs in their harmony, they
sing their code to me, have you ever heard yourself the orbit that you
are in? the terse, oppressive blanket that's instilled here by our
spin, it's misery and famin, it's a force we cannot see, misery and
famine, it compels us naturally, misery and famine, great ellipse, we
bend to thee, misery and famine, just accept your vagrancy, others who
bear no name, who feel that life's a game, my verse they will defame,
we suffer all the same, they pay no regard to their position or their
speed, but the firmament still covers them with its malevolent seed,
it's misery and famine..., "you look for meaning in things no one
comprehends, you feel no affinity to the rabble we're in", sources of
inquiry have nothing to portend, they will perplex us all until the
coming end, a feeling of despair, hungry and full of care, we resent
everywhere the fortune that we share, "this earth could be a better
place" is a concept i condone, given our pathetic course our destiny
is known, it's misery and famine...

listen to the warnings
verify all your fears
there's a world outside
that's ready to blow
and we're all to blame
when it finally explodes
you gotta listen up
gotta listen to what
they're telling you
gotta listen up and think
about what they're saying to you
they're the modern day catastrophists
they've got practical solutions
(know all the right equations)
they're the self-appointed
righteous pragmatists
and they know 50 ways
to save the world
what makes you think
you can cure our disease?
maybe its just our biology
maybe its time to make room
for another species
this is the 21st Century

I've got nothing to say, I've got nothing to do,
All of my neurons are functioning smoothly,
Yet still I'm a cyborg just like you,

I am one big myoma that thinks, my planet supports only me,
I've got this one big problem: Will I live forever?
I've got just a short time to see,

Modern man, evolutionary betrayer,
Modern man, ecosystem destroyer,
Modern man, destroy yourself in shame,
Modern man, pathetic example of earth's organic heritage,

When I look back and think, when I ponder and ask myself "Why?",
I see my ancestor spend with careless abandon,
Assuming eternal supply,

Modern man, evolutionary betrayer,
Modern man, ecosystem destroyer,
Modern man, destroy yourself in shame,
Modern man, pathetic example of earth's organic heritage,
Just a sample of carbon-based wastage,
Just a fucking tragic epic of you and I

My Poor Friend Me
I know a man who doesn't have many friends,
I know a place where he lives where trouble never ends,
I know it's hard for him to read 'tween the lines,
and his day are getting so much shorter,
he simply turns away instead of bearing down,
his ship is crumbling,
his crew is one of the clowns,
he doesn't care as long as he can wear the crown,
I know this man all too well,
it's my poor friend me,
a portrayal of the great dichotomy
(a reminder of a tragic history),
it's my poor friend me
and I'm running out of steam
I know there are people who are cynical and vane,
they point their finger cuz they can't accept the blame,
they live their lives under a blanket of shame and their
progeny crawl from underneath it,
lately I've come to see the solution,
and it begins with me,
but I'm so fallibly human,
I've picked the lot.

Operation Rescue
it's an s.o.s sent out telepathically,
signs of our distress don't allow complacency,
we need restoration now of our integrity and a
drastic bold reminder of our morality,
the rectifying troop is here,
the ones we have needed all these years to stop
the heinous wrongdoings and verify our moral
benevolence as a people,
operation rescue,
they're here to right our fall,
they have heard a troubled call,
operation rescue,
you may wonder where they come from,
but I just wonder why they're here at all,
life ever-after is what they're in business for,
see them brandish the key to their kingdoms door,
it's persuasive, it's a part of you and me
but it's not overwhelming as they wish it to be,
if no one believed in fairy tales
there would be nothing they could do but fail
yet everywhere we look someone is trying to reassure our
moral benevolence
as a people,
operation rescue . . .
you may wonder where they come from,
but I just wonder what compels them all.

Portrait Of Authority
nothing more, nothing less,
in icon on the wall decoration and duress,
which many strive to be,
it's the marble statue standing over me,
and nobody has the will to tear it down,
it determines wrong and right,
but to me it's just a stereotype
and it makes us lose our sight
the portrait of authority,
you tell me that's what I'm supposed to be
(it embodies what he cannot be)
another time, another man,
an oppressive intrusion
and a plague across his land,
and it haunts him every day,
it tells him he has no chance
his hopes just fades away,
and he lives his life prepared to tear it down,
but he can't muster the support,
and to him it's just a stereotype
of his life-long fight.

Positive Aspect Of Negative Thinking
let's gather round the carcass of the old deflated beast,
we have seen it through the accolades and rested in it's lea,
syntactic is our elegance, incisive our disease,
the swath endogenous of ourselves will be our quandary,
we've nestled in it's hollow and we've suckled at it's breast,
grandiloquent in attitude, impassioned yet inept,
frivolous gavel our design, ludicrous or threat,
excursive expeditions leave us holding less and less,
so what does it mean?
when we tell ourselves it's only for a while we have been deceived
and it's only for a moment that the treasures of our day
make life easier to complicate,
the treasure thrown away,
I'm so tired of all the fucked up mind
of all the terrorist religions and their bullshit lines,
of all the hand-me-downs from all industrial crimes
and the weeping mothers and those who are led so blind,
from the plastic protests and the hands of time
and the pursuit of mirth and all hating kind.

offer me eternity, and i'll trade a cup of coffee and a dime, looking
for a handout on behalf of those who have so little time, but who
wants to live on just 70 cents a day? padding your pockets doesn't
make this a better place, "cereal and water" is a feast for some you
say, your price-tag on existence can't cover your double face, quality
or quantity: a choice you have to make, dipping in the icing, bringing
home the largest turkey from the field, breaking all the piggy banks,
scooping up the booty, licking all the right holes, bolstering the
payroll, why reduce life to a dollar amount per day? and why let the
world think this is the american way? your uneaten greens ar a feast
for some you say, survival and living are concepts you can't equate,
quality or quantity don't tell me they're the same

Recipe For Hate
can't you feel it, can't you see it
the promise of prosperity,
it's overwhelming you and me
it afflicts us like a disease,
ubiquitous compelling too
we cling to you like crazy glue,
and inject such a potent seed
it's best for all humanity,
the spread of culture,
the sword of progress,
the vector of suffrage a warm and
septic breeze,
the pomp and elation,
the duty and vocation,
the blood of the hybrid
it's just a recipe
re-living our ancestry
the frightful lack of harmony,
our fore-fathers who led the way,
their victims are still here today,
now it's time to erase the story
of our bogus fate,
our history as it's portrayed
it's just a recipe for hate.

Skyscraper
come let us make bricks
and burn them hard,
we'll build a city with a tower for the world
and climb so we can reach
anything we may propose,
anything at all
build me up, tear me down
like a skyscraper,
build me up, then tear down
these joining walls
so they can't climb at all
I know why tore it down that day,
you thought, if you got caught
we'd all go away,
like a spoiled little baby
who can't come out to play,
you had your revenge
build me up, tear me down
like a skyscraper,
build me up, then tear down
these joining walls
so they can't climb at all.

a grizzly scene on my electron beam
told a story about human rights,
so all of kings horses
and all of kings men had a riot
for two days and nights
well, the city exploded
but the gates wouldn't open
so the company asked him to quit
now everybody's equal
just don't measure it
well hansson did it to hester
and mark david did it to john
and maybe jack did it to marilyn
but he did it to south vietnam
for beauty and glory
for money, love and country
everybody's doing it,
don't do that to me
I don't know what stopped
Jesus Christ from turning
every hungry stone into bread
and I don't remember hearing how Moses
reacted when the innocent first born sons lay dead
well I guess God was a lot more demonstrative back when
he flamboyantly parted the sea,
now everybody's praying,
don't pray on me.

Struck A Nerve
there's an old man on a city bus
holding a candy cane,
and it isn't even christmas,
he sees a note in the obituary that
his last friend has died,
there's an infant clinging to
his overweight mother as they go to
shop for cigarettes,
and she spends her last dollar
for a bottle of vodka for tonight
and I guess it struck a nerve,
like I had to squint my eyes,
you can never get out of the line of sight,
like a barren winter day,
or a patch of unburned green,
like a tragic real dream,
i guess it struck a nerve
every day I wander in negative disposition,
as I'm bombarded by superlatives,
realizing very well that I'm not alone,
introverted i look to tomorrow for salvation,
but I'm thinking altruistically,
and a wave of overwhelming doubt
turns me to stone
and I guess it struck a nerve,
sent a murmur through my heart,
we just haven't got time to crack the maze,
like a magic speeding clock,
or a cancer in our sells,
a collision in the dark,
I guess it struck a nerve
I try to close my eyes,
but I cannot ignore the stimuli,
if there's a purpose for us all
it remains a secret to me,
don't ask me to justify my life.

i had a friend who kept a candle in his pocket,
he used to touch it when the wind was blowing high,
i guess it mad him feel like he could
buck the system and when it flickered out we laid him down to die,
turn on the light, turn on a million blinding brilliant white
incendiary lights, a beacon in the night, i'll burn relentlessly until
my juice runs dry, i'll construckt a rock of tempered beams and
trusses and equip it with a million tiny suns, i'll install upon the
roof on my compartment and place tinfoil on my floor and on my walls
then i'll turn on the light... and i'll burn lika a roman fucking
candle, like a chasm in the night, for a miniscule duration, ecstatic
immolation, incorrigible delight

Unacceptable
irreducible is the word for today,
plastic compounds and nuclear waste,
what the hell is the matter with the people
on this planet? have all gone insane?
the stigma of industrial progress killing us
over and over again,
one part per trillion . . . unacceptable,
one part per billion . . . unacceptable,
one part per million . . . unacceptable,
this mammoth pogrom set upon courtesy of the U.S.A
inexcusable are the men before our time,
I'd like to kick their ass for what they left behind,
cancer-causing chemicals,
ozone-depleting aerosols,
we're all going to fry,
so put your head between your legs
and kiss your ass goodbye.

Walk Away
shut off the t.v and peel off those sunday gloves,
and I'll stain the clean that you've been counting,
old mr. fletcher passed by here today,
after 40 years of toil he just up and walked away,
fantastic the panic that showed in his eyes,
he shrugged when I asked him about it,
he said "young man pay heed, you listen well to what I say,
now there comes a time for a man to walk away",
walk away, I'll be a parade,
and I'll be determined that no one shall dissuade on my way,
I'll sure take some time to burn all the bridges that I'm leaving behind,
he passed by again and he was shivering from the cold,
I'm not sure but I think that he was trying,
he told me about the weather and something old to pay,
"but tomorrow", he said, "I'm gonna surely walk away".

Watch It Die
I was born on planet earth,
the rotating ball where man comes first,
it's been around for a long, long time,
but now it's time to watch it die
I saw a man on my big blue screen,
he ruled the world economy,
he said the rich would never concede,
but some day soon he'll be put to sleep,
I've seen the life of the forest gree,
and adaptations of the deep blue sea,
and who knows who is the fittest,
they will all soon be put to sleep,
on a plunging flight and we're sitting
in the pilots seat in the midst of life,
people on a dark horizon praying
somebody will save their lives
I was born on planet earth,
at a drastic time full of plastic mirth,
and every day I've seen increasing signs,
and you would too if you'd opened your eyes,
you had a chance, you did not try,
so now it's time to watch it die.

I refuse to abuse what is kind to the muse
But it's there and it's happening to me along the way
As we go through the snow, we cannot forget our foes
But the dinner's always waiting at the table along the way, yeah

What you see, not for me, isn't what you planned to be
But you'll have what you wanted in the end along the way
And we'll cry as we try and our brothers pass us by
To be strong through the ages of our tears along the way, yeah

Now we grow as we show that the morals we must know
Will be shapen and mistaken by the falls along the way
But forget, don't regret, to find love and happiness
Unless you're willing to be strong when they are gone along the way
Like Tommy, you are free, and you will not follow me
Until we see each other once more on the path along the way

I hate my family, hate my school
Speed limits, and the golden rule
Hate people who aren't what they seem
More than anything else, American dream

American dream's gonna swallow you whole
It's bursting at the seam
It'll sweep you away, so enjoy it today
Tomorrow you'll be old thus useless

American dream (2x)
American dream, that's ok
Cause no one dare give you away

I hate my job, I hate your god
I hate hypocrites and common slobs
Hate people who aren't what they seem
More than anything else, American dream

Promise me today
I'll have a Chevrolet
With whitewalls on the side
One boy, one girl, comfortable lies

American dream (2x)
American dream, that's ok
Cause no one dare give you away

American dream!

See my body it's nothing to get hung about
I'm nobody except genetic runaround
Spiritual era's gone it ain't comin' back
Bad religion a cabal that is all that's left

Hey Mr. Mind
Stop wasting my time
With your factory precision

Factory precision is your

Bad religion too good to take
Indecision it's not too late
Bad religion bad religion

And don't you know the place you live's a piece of shit
Don't you know blind faith in life will conquer it
Don't you know responsibility is ours
I don't care a thing about eternal fires

Listen this time
It's more than a rhyme
It's your indecision

Your indecision is your

Bad religion too good to take
Indecision it's not too late
Bad religion too good to take
Indecision it's not too late
Bad religion
Bad religion
Bad religion

See my body it's nothing to get hung about
I'm nobody except genetic runaround
Spiritual era's gone it ain't comin' back
Bad religion a cabal that is all that's left

Hey Mr. Mind
Stop wasting my time
With your factory precision

Factory precision is your

Bad religion too good to take
Indecision it's not too late
Bad religion bad religion

And don't you know the place you live's a piece of shit
Don't you know blind faith in life will conquer it
Don't you know responsibility is ours
I don't care a thing about eternal fires

Listen this time
It's more than a rhyme
It's your indecision

Your indecision is your

Bad religion too good to take
Indecision it's not too late
Bad religion too good to take
Indecision it's not too late
Bad religion
Bad religion
Bad religion

See my body it's nothing to get hung about
I'm nobody except genetic runaround
Spiritual era's gone it ain't comin' back
Bad religion a cabal that is all that's left

Hey Mr. Mind
Stop wasting my time
With your factory precision

Factory precision is your

Bad religion too good to take
Indecision it's not too late
Bad religion bad religion

And don't you know the place you live's a piece of shit
Don't you know blind faith in life will conquer it
Don't you know responsibility is ours
I don't care a thing about eternal fires

Listen this time
It's more than a rhyme
It's your indecision

Your indecision is your

Bad religion too good to take
Indecision it's not too late
Bad religion too good to take
Indecision it's not too late
Bad religion
Bad religion
Bad religion

Death and the shadow that it casts on life scares me little or none
People tell me of a divine right and the happy chosen one

I'm a freak 'cause my morals clash with others in the world
I go home while they work hard, then they say I'm wrong

There's only one place to be, while living with tragedy
If their sins affected me, I gotta be damned to be free

Freedom is responsibility, pay more than it's worth
Instincts tells us not to die, hazy myth since birth

Learn their rules and play their game, deceive yourself in haste
Turn your own brain into dust, it's not theirs to waste

There's only one place to be, while living with tragedy
Extract the nectar, burn the tree, I gotta be damned to be free

Thinking this world it ain't so bad
Dying it's just another fad
Working eight hours, that's not for me
Dying it's just your destiny

See the fight
Old men crying, deny their ruin
Watch them try
The cynic laughs at the optimist's closed eyes

Darkness falls, curtain calls, the cynic's beer soon overflows
Other watches, has a seat, and from the same cup, they drink
I'm doing time, how long I don't know

William had 26
Blew his brains out, now look at him
John had only one
Watch the mother mourn her only son

I'm doing time, how long I don't know
I'll kiss goodbye my brain and body
And go to sleep for generations (2x)

Salvation
Cease concentration
You'll only lose the fight
Don't tell me what's wrong or right
You're losing sight
You're just gonna die anyway

Heard a word, suicide
Not from one, but from thousands that tried
The lawyer's wife and the teenage brat
One thing in common, they all wanted out

And it's plain to see
It goes for you and it goes for me
And all the screwed up little girls and boys
All thrown in without a choice

But I heard him say
I want out
No complaints and no doubts
Just a chance to go on

I heard a word, suicide
And not from one, but from thousands that died
Want some attention and a little less regret
A teenage fluff, little threat and

And there are those, there are those who think
That drastic actions will make them unique
It's really all the same
That no one's happy and nobody's to blame

And the moral to this story is old
It's quite taboo, seldom told
The seed is reaped before it's sown
A bad choice was never resolved

Heard a word, suicide
Not from one, but from thousands that tried
The lawyer's wife and the teenage brat
One thing in common, they all wanted out

And it's plain to see
It goes for you and it goes for me
And all the screwed up little girls and boys
All thrown in without a choice

But I heard him say
I want out
No complaints and no doubts
Just a chance to go on

I heard a word, suicide
And not from one, but from thousands that died
Want some attention and a little less regret
A teenage fluff, little threat and

And there are those, there are those who think
That drastic actions will make them unique
It's really all the same
That no one's happy and nobody's to blame

And the moral to this story is old
It's quite taboo, seldom told
The seed is reaped before it's sown
A bad choice was never resolved

Weak and sick, dying in the sand
No such thing as a promised land
Don't lose faith in a better life
Reincarnation, poor excuse

You're dying you assholes, your religion can't help you now
Dying and starving in the fields you used to plow

Rotting bones in your barren fields
Worshipped creature's supposed to heal
He won't save you and he won't save me
See what you want to see

Hindu religion in the mind of a working Joe
Starving and dying in the fields you used to know

You're tied and bound to a God's useless advice
Bloated stomachs from aching diseases hold back the fight
In the end you'll return once more to die again
Go on till you can't no more in non-eternal sin

It's all right to have faith in God
But when you bend to their rules and their fucking lies
That's when I start to have pity on you

You're living on a mound of dirt
But you can't explain your reason for existence
So you blame it on God

There's so much hatred in this world
And you can't decide who's pulling the strings
So you figure it's God

Your whole life foreshadows death
And you finally realize you don't want to die alone
So you'll always have God

It's all right to have faith in God
But when you bend to their rules and their fucking lies
That's when I start to have pity on you

It's all right to have faith in God
But when you bend to their rules and their fucking lies
That's when I start to have pity on you

There's people in the world today
Who say they're jewish, christian and such
They're all ignorant fools

They'll tell you you can't have your own way
Unless you pay money and dedicate your life
Or you'll be damned in hell

Don't be feeble like all of them
You have your own brain full of thoughts and choices
So use it don't let them use you

It's all right to have faith in God
But when you bend to their rules and their fucking lies
That's when I start to have pity on you

I'm tired of this city
All this toil and strife
Trying to cross the boulevard
Playing frogger with my life

Frogger with my life

There's people out there that say I'm no good
'Cause I don't believe the things that I should
And when the final conflict comes, I'll be so sorry I did wrong
And hope and pray that our lord God will think I'm good

Countries manufacture bombs and guns
To kill your brother for something that he hasn't even done
Smog is ruining my lungs, but they aren't sorry they've done wrong
They hide behind their lies that they're helping everyone

In the end the good will go to heaven up above
The bad will perish in the depths of hell
How can hell be any worse when life alone is such a curse?
Fuck Armageddon, this is hell
Fuck Armageddon, this is hell
Fuck Armageddon, this is hell

We're living in the denouement of the battle's gripping awe
So what's the use of being good to satisfy them all?

How could hell be any worse? Life alone is such a curse!
Fuck Armageddon, this is hell
Fuck Armageddon, this is hell
Fuck Armageddon, this is hell
Fuck Armageddon, this is hell
Fuck Armageddon, this is hell

In the city, the day is too hot
And you're hoping for relief, 'cuz your head is filled with pain,
But you get no relief, 'cuz the night is the same...
In the night, in the night you see through jaded eyes.
In the night, in the night you feel barely alive.
You live your life in darkness, you've got pennies on your eyes.
But you say that it's all right, 'cuz you've never lived a lie,
As you crawl back to your womblike existence in the night.
In the night, in the night you see through jaded eyes.
In the night, in the night you feel barely alive.
You can't see no light, but you hear those heavy footsteps,
And the little man inside twists your tormented mind.
Your mind is filled with shadows, your palms are wet with sweat.
Limbs are bound and tangled in a fatal net.
There are two things you can do.
One is turn and fight.
The other's run headlong into the night.
In the night, in the night you see through jaded eyes.
In the night, in the night you feel barely alive.
You can't see no light, but you hear those heavy footsteps,
And the breathing at your side, is it yours, or is it
Good bye!

In this world today there ain't nobody to thank
Just blame it on the kids and toss 'em into the tank
And if they yell for justice we'll hide them from the light
So that when they learn the truth they won't be scared of the night

Put the key in the hole when you get home from school
I'll be home by 8:30, your father will too
If you cause any trouble then I don't want to see
Cause you'll go straight to bed and you won't have no TV

When everybody dies around you, from someone else's gun
It really makes you stop and think about the years to come
Something good had to happen to the human race
We all had better stop hoping and set our heads on straight

You've gotta turn over a new leaf
'Cause that old one's turning on you
We've gotta turn over a new leaf
If the future's only hoped for, we are doomed

Today is over, it's already shot, so we can think about ourselves
They keep on working on our nature, they're saying that can only help
Start throwing out your pockets, keep what you really only need
Save life and earth and water, there can't be any other need

You've gotta turn over a new leaf
'Cause that old one's turning on you
You've gotta turn over a new leaf
If the future's only hoped for, we are doomed

You've gotta turn over a new leaf
'Cause that old one's turning on you
You've gotta turn over a new leaf
And let your love come on through

You've gotta turn over a new leaf
'Cause that old one's turning on you
You've gotta turn over a new leaf
A new, a new, a new

Presidential election every four years
But neither man we can see or hear
Urgent cries for society
But he can't see the blood on me

Do you see?
Do you see too much for me?
Try that with our oligarchy (2x)
Oligarchy, oligarchy

The final page is written in the books of history
As man unleashed his deadly bombs and sent troops overseas
To fight a war which can't be won and kills the human race
A show of greed and ignorance, man's quest for dominance

They say when a mistake is made, a lesson can be learned
But this time, there's no second chance, the hate engulfs the world
A million lives are lost each day, a city slowly burns
A mother holds her dying child, but no one is concerned

I show pity on the human race,
On the ignorant plenty who devote their lives
To an icon that they've never known.
I show pity on eons past,
When early man started the first civilization
And human aggression was born.
I show pity on the future to come,
When the government system will be omnipotent
And we'll be worse off... than we are now!
Pity, pity, on the billions of ignorant people.
Pity, pity, on the masses of aggression.
Pity, pity, on the future centuries to come,
on the billions of ignorant people,
on the future centuries to come,
on the masses of aggression.
It's all a matter of looking at the past.
It's all a question, are we gonna last?
If we endure the aggression that's inside all of us
We'll wipe out our own species and thus... the world!
Pity!
Pity on...
on the masses of aggression,
on the billions of ignorant people,
on the future centuries to come,
on the masses of ignorant people,
on the future centuries to come.

Economy, technology, doesn't really work
Can't try running for government, I'm not a jerk!
I've tried to see these faces all around the way
You're lucky if they listen to a single word you say

What is right and what is wrong? The government decides
You don't have no rights at all, as long as you don't fight
We're all being oppressed by the upper middle class
The government you vote for is the one that you put there

I've put down enough dues, I'm due and so are you
Residents fear the president, I'm not the government
We ignore the masses of the whole entire race
Then our streets will all get filled without a happy face

Economy, technology, doesn't really work
The guy running the government, another jerk
I've tried to see these faces all around the way
You're lucky if they listen to a single word you say

This isn't art, this is suicide
In a social way
I don't have the need and I don't have the time
I'll tell you why

'Cause I think about it all the time
I think about what's true and what's lies
I used to think the things in my head were true
Sensory feedback from the things like you (2x)

I don't know why this must be
It's misleading me
I don't know why we've got a social suicide

Sensory overload, what a hell of a time
Gotta sensory overload, gotta tricky little mind
Tricky little mind, yeah
Go!

'Cause I think about the quivering flesh
I think about this urban mess
Think about playing these games for real
I wanna write down all the things I feel
I don't wanna hide from the things I hear

I don't know why this must be
The guitar's misleading me
I don't know why we've got a social suicide

Sensory overload, what a hell of a time
Gotta sensory overload, gotta tricky little mind
Tricky little mind, yeah

Don't try to say that I threaten your freedom
We've done without for 20 years, so think if we really need 'em

We're all just slaves for the troop commanders (3x)
We're all slaves

We can blow up things better than in any country except this one
Waiting for it too then you realize it ain't too much fun
We're in a country, democracy, supposed to be the best on the globe
Living from the denoument lifted from the high class clones and

We're all just slaves for the system masters (3x)
We're all slaves

And we're all just slaves for the system masters
We're all slaves

Don't try to say that I threaten your freedom
We've done without for 20 years, so think if we really need 'em

We're all just slaves for the troop commanders (3x)
We're all slaves

We can blow up things better than in any country except this one
Waiting for it too then you realize it ain't too much fun
We're in a country, democracy, supposed to be the best on the globe
Living from the denoument lifted from the high class clones and

We're all just slaves for the system masters (3x)
We're all slaves

And we're all just slaves for the system masters
We're all slaves

Neighbors, no one loves you like he loves you
And no one cares like he cares
Neighbors, let us join today in the holy love of God and money
Because neighbors, no one loves you like he loves you
And what better way to show your love than to dig deep into your pockets
Dig real deep, until it hurts
Alleviate your guilt
Free yourself once again, because he gave to you, brothers and sisters
Please give a 10, 25, or a 50 dollar tax-deductible donation
And I assure you your modest pledge will be used to censor TV and radio
Ban questionable books, and contribute to many other godly services
No longer will young Christian Americans hedonistically indulge in masochistic submission
To rhythmic music, for with your monetary support
There is no end to what we can achieve in this country

The voice of god is government (3x)
In God we trust, sinners repent!

Can't you see what we believe in, all our thoughts and all our reasons
Pursuit of life and liberty and happiness we cannot see?
Speak of truth with a mighty voice, but politics are your real choice
Hire men to change the law, protect and serve with one small flaw

The voice of god is government (3x)
In God we trust, sinners repent!

If we shun God and Jesus Christ, religious love is sacrifice
Love for God is shown in cash, the love they send is mailbox trash
With every pamphlet we receive, more money asked for godly needs
Build a million dollar church, with money spent on God's research

The voice of god is government (3x)
In God we trust, sinners repent!

On late night TV, God can heal, a certain force you cannot feel
Love for money in God's name, religion's now a TV game!
Build a million dollar church, with money spent on god's research (2x)

The voice of god is government (3x)
In God we trust, sinners repent!

Yeah!
The voice of god is government (3x)
In God we trust, sinners repent!

early man walked away as modern man took control.
their minds weren't all the same, to conquer was his goal,
so he built his great empire and slaughtered his own kind,
then he died a confused man, killed himself with his own mind.
go!
we're only gonna die from our own arrogance.

(repeated over and over)

Wasted children, fixed blank eyes, blood and sweat, we socialize
Broken homes from which they come, beer-stained dad, compliant mom.
Fear and love, much despised, replaced by comfortable lies.
Teenage classic, more cliche, one step further on the edge of decay.
White trash, 2nd generation, white trash, 2nd generation,
White trash, 2nd generation, don your crown and cleanse the nation.
Are you ready to fight for your morality? right wing allies, white supremacy.
Pretty fascist on the tube draped in red and white and blue
White trash, 2nd generation, stupid foibles, indignation
Offspring of suburban fright, pearl-white creatures of the night
White trash, 2nd generation, white trash, 2nd generation,
White trash, 2nd generation, don your crown and cleanse the nation.
Stiff blue collar, coat and tie, brand new breeds side by side.
Christian ethic, right extremes, shoved down our throat as the american dream.
White trash, 2nd generation, stupid foibles, indignation
Offspring of suburban fright, pearl-white creatures of the night
White trash, 2nd generation, white trash, 2nd generation,
White trash, 2nd generation, don your crown and cleanse the nation.
White trash, 2nd generation, white trash, 2nd generation,
White trash, 2nd generation, don your crown and cleanse the nation.

US government blew its plan
Too much money down the can
Look and listen to what the president says
The first lady's a fuckin' lez
They think they know it all
America, China's about to fall
Lethargicism will overrule us
Government's wading pool

World War III (4x)

"Forget it," came from the president's door
I'll make us have another world war
It don't matter what the people think
We have to save our precious brink
Here I go, I'll push the bomb
It's headed straight for Guam
And the rest will release soon
In your living room

World War III (4x)

Run, but don't be scared to look behind
Stop, don't wait too long, make up your mind

The end is almost here
The sky, the air, so nice and clear
The sound of your decay
And the ringing in the air is the sweet debris of yesterday

There, now that you know it's not so bad
See, the good meet soon for lots of air

So if you try to enhance
We don't deserve another chance
Just laugh along the way
And kiss your ass goodbye with a shadow dream of yesterday

Yesterday, the good old days
Yesterday, the way we used to play
Yesterday, it just got worse and worse
Yesterday, the future's been rehearsed

Run, but don't be scared to look behind
Stop, don't wait too long, make up your mind
The end is almost here
The sky, the air, so nice and clear
The sound of your decay
And the ringing in the air is the sweet debris of yesterday
Yesterday
Yesterday

A crack developed and a name blew in
Billy Gnosis, weak and thin
He moved to California to start a new life
Because back in his hometown he just killed his wife

He started drinking heavy back then
He starting eating things that made his head trim
Then his brain became a factory
For making chemicals that shouldn't be

Oh Billy couldn't remember his name
Billy Gnosis was going insane
And soaked in blue light he played and played
I can still hear that sound he made

Billy burned his phone and blew up his car
He sat and watched TV and played the guitar
And read a book that made his head spin
How could he have known that there were worms within?

And the worms ate into his brain
Through his eyes and through his ears they came
They left their home so they'd multiply
And feed on Billy's chemicals in paradise

Oh Billy couldn't remember his name
Our unsung hero had gone insane
And soaked in blue light he played and played
The only thing that killed the worms: my brain

There was a man who banged his head against a wall
He banged for 20 years, the damn thing wouldn't fall
He left an honest life, he left a broken wife
He left it all behind, just to see what he could find

Millions and millions chase the wild goose tonight
To conquer loneliness they'll chase it all their lives
And when they find it they can just lay down and die
It seems the game is mostly pointless in the presence of the prize

There was a woman who had a man as cold as ice
He built four walls so strong and he kept her locked inside
She harbored loneliness, her husband couldn't guess
That she'd take off her dress and kill herself without a mess

The systems of life hum accordingly
Every day, every year, every century
But, everywhere humans go things get worse and worse
Can't you tell through the smoke on the dirty city

The jungle was once a tranquil hideaway
For the king of the trees and the mountains themselves
But man those things sell a million dollars a pound
Cut them up, dry them out, good display for the shelves
Why can't we just leave them alone?

Who is the animal?
Who is that dangerous beast?
Why were the other ones made?
I know it wasn't just for our feast

And now they're down to 250 lone souls
They're a breed of a losing generation it seems
The killers are ourselves so you know who to blame
It was man with his plan and his frightening greed
I don't think we'll ever leave them alone

Who is the animal?
Who is that dangerous beast?
Why were the other ones made?
I know it wasn't just for our feast

When you're sitting alone
Frown and groan
Over your bad day

When you're laughing with peers
Forget your years
Then be on your way

But don't forget, all the while
That you've crossed the social mile

And a million days is worth one good laugh

But don't forget, all the while
That you've passed the social mile

And a million days is worth one good laugh

Hey did you find the
Pieces your mentor left behind?

And did you care, did you
Trade his genius for your dispair?

Did you walk the line, did you
See the mongrels on either side?

Did greasy fingers grasp for pieces of your mind?

Part one
From the bird and the deer who live on the same
To the condominiums that litter the plain
It took time... time and disregard
From the green and the trees that shot high in the air
To the high-business market-men who take all that's there
It took time... time and disregard

Part two
One more acre, another tree
It's all untamed, of course it's free
One more acre, it seems no one cares
Another great chance to put a building there

Part three
I used to roam, wherever I would
I'd see my friends and I'd eat what I could
We did live together in our borderless state
Survival our instinct, nature our fate
Today I see borders and my friends disappear
Man chooses my fate thus I live in fear
Tomorrow the trucks come
I've nowhere to run
My home is destroyed so they can have fun.

Part four
From the wild natural wonderland from which we all came
To the cement and metal that lost all the game
It took time... time and disregard............

I refuse to abuse what is kind to the muse
But it's there and it's happening to me along the way
As we go through the snow, we cannot forget our foes
But the dinner's always waiting at the table along the way, yeah

What you see, not for me, isn't what you planned to be
But you'll have what you wanted in the end along the way
And we'll cry as we try and our brothers pass us by
To be strong through the ages of our tears along the way, yeah

Now we grow as we show that the morals we must know
Will be shapen and mistaken by the falls along the way
But forget, don't regret, to find love and happiness
Unless you're willing to be strong when they are gone along the way
Like Tommy, you are free, and you will not follow me
Until we see each other once more on the path along the way

See my body it's nothing to get hung about
I'm nobody except genetic runaround
Spiritual era's gone it ain't comin' back
Bad religion a cabal that is all that's left

Hey Mr. Mind
Stop wasting my time
With your factory precision

Factory precision is your

Bad religion too good to take
Indecision it's not too late
Bad religion bad religion

And don't you know the place you live's a piece of shit
Don't you know blind faith in life will conquer it
Don't you know responsibility is ours
I don't care a thing about eternal fires

Listen this time
It's more than a rhyme
It's your indecision

Your indecision is your

Bad religion too good to take
Indecision it's not too late
Bad religion too good to take
Indecision it's not too late
Bad religion
Bad religion
Bad religion

I'm tired of this city
All this toil and strife
Trying to cross the boulevard
Playing frogger with my life

Frogger with my life

When everybody dies around you, from someone else's gun
It really makes you stop and think about the years to come
Something good had to happen to the human race
We all had better stop hoping and set our heads on straight

You've gotta turn over a new leaf
'Cause that old one's turning on you
We've gotta turn over a new leaf
If the future's only hoped for, we are doomed

Today is over, it's already shot, so we can think about ourselves
They keep on working on our nature, they're saying that can only help
Start throwing out your pockets, keep what you really only need
Save life and earth and water, there can't be any other need

You've gotta turn over a new leaf
'Cause that old one's turning on you
You've gotta turn over a new leaf
If the future's only hoped for, we are doomed

You've gotta turn over a new leaf
'Cause that old one's turning on you
You've gotta turn over a new leaf
And let your love come on through

You've gotta turn over a new leaf
'Cause that old one's turning on you
You've gotta turn over a new leaf
A new, a new, a new

Run, but don't be scared to look behind
Stop, don't wait too long, make up your mind

The end is almost here
The sky, the air, so nice and clear
The sound of your decay
And the ringing in the air is the sweet debris of yesterday

There, now that you know it's not so bad
See, the good meet soon for lots of air

So if you try to enhance
We don't deserve another chance
Just laugh along the way
And kiss your ass goodbye with a shadow dream of yesterday

Yesterday, the good old days
Yesterday, the way we used to play
Yesterday, it just got worse and worse
Yesterday, the future's been rehearsed

Run, but don't be scared to look behind
Stop, don't wait too long, make up your mind
The end is almost here
The sky, the air, so nice and clear
The sound of your decay
And the ringing in the air is the sweet debris of yesterday
Yesterday
Yesterday

I heard them say that the meek shall reign on earth
Phantasmal myriads of sane bucolic birth
I've seen the rapture in a starving baby's eyes
Inchoate beatitude, the Lord of the Flies

So what does it mean when your mind starts to stray?
Kaleidoscopic images of love on the way
Brother you'd better get down on your knees and pay
1,000 more fools are being born every fucking day

They try to tell me that the lamb is on the way
With microwave transmissions they bombard us every day
The masses are obsequious, contented in their sleep
The vortex of their minds ensconsed within the murky deep

So what does it mean when your mind starts to stray?
Kaleidoscopic images of love on the way
Brother you'd better get down on your knees and pay
1,000 more fools are being born every fucking day

Above us lay the burdens
Below us lay the truth
We're somewhere in the middle
And we're all discontent too

Is someone watching over you?
Inside they know what's best for you

Judgment's not tomorrow
It's today, yes now it's here
But no, it isn't Jesus
Take a look at all your peers

They're all looking down on you
Inside they know what's best for you

Everybody knows what's best for you
Everybody knows what's best for you
Everybody knows what's best for you
Everybody knows what's best for you

Everybody knows what's best for you
Everybody knows what's best for you
Everybody knows what's best for you
Everybody knows what's best for you

Delirium of disorder
Delirium of disorder

Life is the sieve through which my anarchy strains
Resolving itself into works
Chaos is the score upon which reality is written
The timeless, swirling gyroscopic horde

Delirium
Delirium of disorder

Yeah, I am just an atom in an ectoplasmic sea
Without direction or a reason to exist
The anechoic nebula rotating in my brain
Is persuading me contritely to persist

Delirium of disorder
Delirium of disorder
Delirium of disorder
Delirium of disorder

Delirium of disorder
Delirium of disorder
Delirium of disorder
Delirium of disorder

Hey, do what you want, but don't do it around me
Idleness and dissipation breed apathy
I sit on my ass all goddamn day
A misanthropic anthropoid with nothing to

Say what you must, do all you can
Break all the fucking rules and
Go to hell with Superman and
Die like a champion, yeah hey!

Hey, I don't know if the billions will survive
But I'll believe in God when 1 and 1 are 5
My moniker is man and I'm rotten to the core
I'll tear down the building just to pass through the door

So do what you must, do all you can
Break all the fucking rules and
Go to hell with Superman and
Die like a champion, yeah hey!

There was a boy who had too many toys
And an ache inside of his bones
He sought extrication through chemical vocation
And now he answers to Jones

It's deadly and alluring
The sound of pounding heat
Enslaving all who dare succumb
To the temptations of the forbidden beat

Thinking today of what I want to say
Thinking of inhibition and vice
What they call straight I do relegate
As I cautiously saltate along

It's deadly and alluring
The sound of pounding heat
Enslaving all who dare succumb
To the temptations of the forbidden beat

It thunders away at first light of each day
And the simpleton lifestyle evolves
But soon enters dusk as the last surrey rusts
And a new day upon us results

It's deadly and alluring
The sound of pounding heat
Enslaving all who dare succumb
To the temptations of the forbidden beat

Forbidden beat
Forbidden beat
Forbidden beat
Forbidden beat
Forbidden beat
Forbidden beat
Forbidden beat

Hey, everybody's looking but they never can see
All the angst, corruption and the dishonesty
Think about the times and places you've never known
You're a man-swarm atom and yet you're alone

So I give you me
I give you nothing
I give you me
I give you nothing

So you got a place that you can call all your own
But you make a habit of carrying the stone
Look around and ask someone if you are alive
You're a sidewalk cipher speaking prionic jive

So I give you me
I give you nothing
I give you me
I give you nothing

Respectable, despicable, it seems all the same
Now we realize that we have nothing to say
If your reserve is weak, audacity complete
Ask yourself again, do I deserve much from them?

No!

Hey, everybody's looking but they never can see
All the angst, corruption and the dishonesty
Look around and ask someone if you are alive
You're a sidewalk cipher speaking prionic jive

So I give you me
I give you nothing
I said I give you me
I give you nothing

Tell me can the hateful chain be broken?
Production and consumption define our hollow lives
Avarice has led us 'cross the ocean
Toward a land that's better, much more bountiful and wide

So when will mankind finally come to realize
His surfeit has become his demise?
How much is enough to kill yourself?
That quantity is known today, as we blow ourselves away

Tell me is there anything so sure?
Rapacity, tenacity, capacity for more
Like a dog that feeds until he suffers
The infirmity of man is brought on by his selfish cure

When will mankind finally come to realize
His surfeit has become his demise?
How much is enough to kill yourself?
That quantity is known today, as we blow ourselves away

Hey see, there's a girl
Who's afraid of the world so she stays at home
Also a boy
Who seems so lost in his joy, he's all alone

The camera's on them, they're in the land of competition
Southern California air feeds them
And they know they are best 'cause of the way they are dressed
But you can bet you are not welcome in their home

Hey see, there's a girl
Who sits and watches the world from her blue screen
Also a boy
Who truly wants to destroy his hometown scene

They both want to travel to the land of competition
Southern California will destroy them
And they won't be the best, they'll be the poseurs who dress
Like the plastic idiots who they copy

Tell me what do you need to make you happy?
Indeed, is it out of your reach?
Beware of number one
See all the damage it has done, there are so few of them

You won't find too many in the land of competition
Southern California doesn't breed them
If you just want the best turn to yourself for the rest
And forget about the ones who have it all

Be careful of the ones who have it all
Be careful of the ones who have it all
Forget about the ones who have it all

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

It's superficial progress
They call it liberation
With opiates of silicon
Big Brother schemes to rule the nation

We're one nation under God, we stand above the rest
With mighty high technology, we're never second best
Our specialty is infiltration
Prepare yourself for subjugation, victory through domination

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

The trepidatious throngs
All fear the big eye in the sky
The government observes them
With their own electric eye

We're one nation under God, we stand above the rest
With mighty high technology, we're never second best
Our specialty is infiltration
Prepare yourself for subjugation

Automatons, illiterates
And indigents of every shape and size
Don't stop but aid this cruel crusade
Participate in their own demise

We're one nation under God, we stand above the rest
With mighty high technology, we're never second best
Our specialty is infiltration
So pack your bags you third-world nation, victory through domination

We're widespread and well fed
The earth's rotating fate is in our head, oh yeah
We're dominant and prominent
And our deity's omnipotent, oh yeah

And immortality's in our mastermind
And we destroy everything that we find
And tomorrow when the human clock stops and the world's stops ticking
We'll be an index fossil buried in our own debris

We're listless, promiscuous
And life to us is either hit or miss, oh yeah
We're savoir faire and debonaire
And things we do are done with pride and care, oh yeah

And immortality's in our mastermind
And we destroy everything that we find
And tomorrow when the human clock stops and the world's stops ticking
We'll be an index fossil buried in our own debris

See, immortality's in our mastermind
And we destroy everything that we find
And tomorrow when the human clock stops and the world's stops ticking
We'll be an index fossil buried in our own debris

In our own debris

So here we are again to experience the bitter, scalding end
And we're the only ones who can perceive it
But others sing of beauty and the story that's unfolded
As one that deserves praise and ritual

My pessimistic lines, your superstitious lives
And the modern age's lies won't absolve you
And the professorial truth and the dear clairvoyant youth
And of course the nightly news will deceive you

My pessimistic lines, your superstitious lives
And the modern age's lies won't absolve you
And the professorial truth and the dear clairvoyant youth
And of course the nightly news will deceive you

Suffer - Bad Religion

Did you ever see the concrete stares of everyday?
The lunatic, the hypocrite, are all lost in the fray.
Can't you see their lives are just like yours?
An unturned stone, an undiscovered
Door leading to the gift of hope renewed, eternity for you.
The masses of humanity have always had to suffer.
The businessman whose master plan controls the world each day
Is blind to indications of his species' slow decay.
Can't you see his life is just like yours?
An unturned stone, an undiscovered
Door leading to the gift of hope renewed, eternity for you.
The masses of humanity have always had to suffer.
People blow their minds (they choose to resign)
This deformed society is part of the design.
It'll never go away (it's in the cards that way).
The masses of humanity have always, always had to suffer!
A door leading to the gift of hope renewed, eternity foryou.
The masses of humanity, still clinging to their dignity,
The masses of humanity will always have to suffer.
Always have to suffer.

So you waste another day getting older and gray in the head
And you're hearing lots of stories 'bout the happy times you have ahead
There are other folks in power so you kick back and get farther behind
And although the world rotates itself the only thing you twist is your mind

You see, the world's falling apart at the rifts
And surprisingly, the leaders can't make any sense of it
You mean nothing to the world, we're all someone else's fool
But oh, what can you do?

Yeah, you waste your time with losers if you get stuck in a rock-n-roll band
Do you find it more rewarding to compete with morons throughout this land?
They seem to be in power so I'll kick back and get farther behind
And I watch them as they fuck up every good thing on this earth with their minds

You see, the world's falling apart at the rifts
And surprisingly, the leaders can't make any sense of it
You mean nothing to the world, we're all someone else's fool
But oh, what can you do?

Yeah, you waste another day getting older and gray in the head
And we're hearing lots of stories 'bout the happy times we have ahead
The morons are in power so we kick back and get farther behind
And we watch them as they fuck up every good thing on this earth with their minds

You see, the world's falling apart at the rifts
And surprisingly, the leaders can't make any sense of it
We mean nothing to the world, merely someone else's fool
But oh, what can you do?

I said oh, what can you do?

I've seen a lot of things in five years
I struggle just to hold back the tears
But every-fucking-where I go, I see the pathos that I know
Will spell the termination of us all

Someone's got to tell me, do you see
That everything around you has a hidden tragedy?
Seeds of happiness have never found a place to grow
And our generation doesn't know

When, when will you try
To change the logarithmic face of kissing things goodbye?
When, when will you know
That human life is so short and death is oh so slow?

I've tried to make things make sense but I can't
I'm happy just to watch them all and laugh
And if you think you've got it made, just revel in your selfish ways
'Cause when the world stops turning so will you

Hey, sit down and listen and they'll tell you when you're wrong
Eradicate but vindicate as progress creeps along
Puritan work ethic maintains it's subconscious edge
As old glory maintains your consciousness

There's a loser in the house and a puppet on a stool
And a crowded way of life and a black reflecting pool
And as the people bend the moral fabric dies
Then country can't pretend to ignore it's peoples' cries

You are the government
You are jurisprudence
You are the volition
You are jurisdiction
And I make a difference too

It's a love song to the self, a story recapped every day
It's a world of bogus feelings and a world of slow decay
It's a world of laughter hidden by this world of fear and torment
It's a game of strange compulsion, our visceral convulsion

Anxiety for love of life, anxiety for pain
Anxiety, a feeling that you know you can't contain
Anxiety destroys us but it drives the common man
Foundation of society, anxiety, suppress it if you can

The caste of coffee-achievers didn't perform like they planned
The morning rush hour traffic is our play of false elan
So run around your frantic track and lay you down to sleep
Tomorrow's the redemption, we strive for that exception

Anxiety for love of life, anxiety for pain
Anxiety, a fear that you have nothing more to gain
Anxiety destroys us but it drives the common man
Foundation of society, anxiety, suppress it if you can

What are we angry for?
We all need a common cure
That common goal for which you strive
To have more than the other guy

The quest for truth, the quest for gold, we end up all the same
The common lie, the righteous cry, we end up all the same
The angry crowd, those lost and found, everybody's all the same
The poet's pen, these words I lend, we all bend to

Anxiety for love of life, anxiety for pain
Anxiety, a feeling that you know you can't contain
Anxiety destroys us but it drives the common man
Foundation of society, anxiety

He's the latest superhero with powers so profound
He can leap a dotted line in just a single bound
I know you must have seen him in the books and magazines
He's the quintessential mindless modern epicene

His life is meaningful
Because he gets things done
Bang bang, he's dead, bang bang, he's dead
Chalk up another triumph for our hero, the automatic man

It's true you must have met him, he's your best friend and your foe
His opinions are determined by the status quo
A true creature of habit, he smokes three packs a day
When he has an original thought he forgets it right away

He's the automatic man

He's a paradigm of carefree living
He's our mentor, disturb him if you can
He's the answer if your peace of mind is lacking
He's our savior, he is the common man

But if you are troubled by the daily bump and grind
Then take another look around and brother, you will find
The automatic man

This isn't another new fashion or a new plastic trend
Everybody's searching for something but in the meantime let's all just pretend
I've got this feeling and I don't know what it is
This room is overcrowded, man, and I need air to breathe, yeah

Big bang, big crunch, you know there's no free lunch
Kneel down and pray, here comes your judgment day
Big crunch, you know it's going to be quite a show
What goes around always comes around

A million hopeless faces dwell within protected walls
All waiting for a moment in their lives when they can heed the clarion call
And it's all so oppressive my mind feels like a sieve
This city is overcrowded, man, and I need room to live

Big bang, big crunch, you know there's no free lunch
Kneel down and pray, here comes your judgment day
Big crunch, you know it's going to be quite a show
What goes around always comes around

I think of the countless shadows that have all come and gone
All suffering in the notion of better things to come
If you share these beliefs, you know I wish you well
There's no room left in heaven and there's sure no room in hell

Big bang, big crunch, you know there's no free lunch
Kneel down and pray, here comes your judgment day
Big crunch, you know it's going to be quite a show
What goes around always comes around

I can recall the warm youth of a summer day, yeah
The sweetest lemonade, the darkest game arcade
And Billy had a yearning in the corner of his mind, yeah
It moved him secretly, it moved him powerfully

But prescience was lacking and the present was all
And his aptitudes were carelessly wasted
And challenging life with the abandon of a fool
He squandered the hours of his day

Then darkness and disorder slapped him sharply in the face, yeah
It hit him like a friend, struck something deep within
He couldn't break the chain of slow decay that seemed to drag him
Just like a fatal tie toward the other side

And Billy was a lunatic just barking at the moon
And his brain was totally wasted
He then exchanged his friends for a needle and a spoon
And he threw his future away

Bolt the door and throw away the key, yeah
Your dim reflection is all that you can see

So where is the justice when no one is at fault
And a human life is tragically wasted?
How fragile is the flame that burns within us all
To light each passing day, yeah

Well, the sheaves have all been brought
But the fields have washed away
And the palaces now stand
Where the coffins all were laid

And the times we see ahead
We must glaze with rosy hues
For we don't wish to admit
What it is we have to lose

Millennia incoming
The modern age is here
It sanctifies the future
Yet renders us with fear

So many theories, so many prophecies
What we do need is a change of ideas
When we are scared we can hide in our reveries
But what we need is a change of ideas

Change of ideas, change of ideas
What we need now is a change of ideas

Stranded
In a life in which your struggle for acceptance is a never-ending chore
Upbraided
For your actions past and present and rewarded for ideas of the future's bright open door

The henchman is a human analogue
Of the suffering multitudes who, like good dogs, sit and lick for their reward
So what good advice have I got for you
To insure against your likely metamorphosis into this reprobate?

Don't be a henchman
Stand on your laurels
Do what no one else does
And praise the good of other men for goodness sake

And when everyone else in the world follows your lead
Although a cold day in hell it will surely be
That's when the entire world shall live in harmony

Going through a world of sad debris
Regard quixotic reveries of ownership
The blossoming disease of man called tenure and accretion
The ancient western treadmill of deception and derision

But I want something more

Racing through a life of tragic wastage
I experience the loss of trust and innocence
The billowing cyclone of time has blown away our reasons
As we trudge like blind men forward trying to avoid collision

But I want something more

Hey brother Christian with your high and mighty errand
Your actions speak so loud I can't hear a word your saying
Hey sister bleeding heart with all of your compassion
Your labors soothe the hurt but can't assuage temptation

Hey man of science with your perfect rules of measure
Can you improve the place with the data that you gather?
Hey mother mercy, can your loins bear fruit forever?
Is your fecundity a trammel or a treasure?

And I want to conquer the world
Give all the idiots a brand new religion
Put an end to poverty, uncleanliness, and toil
Promote equality in all of my decisions
With a quick wink of an eye and a "God, you must be joking"

Hey mister diplomat with your worldly aspirations
Did you see your children cry when you left them at the station?
Hey moral soldier, you've got righteous proclamations
And precious tomes to fuel your pulpy conflagrations

And I want to conquer the world
Give all the idiots a brand new religion
Put an end to poverty, uncleanliness, and toil
Promote equality in all of my decisions
With a quick wink of an eye and a "God, you must be joking"

Is there a man that can conquer that which can't be tamed?
And if that mad could speak would the words evoked be sane?
Ask me the reasons for misery and shame
I'll give your reasons for the wind and rain

And I want to conquer the world
Give all the idiots a brand new religion
Put an end to poverty, uncleanliness, and toil
Promote equality in all of my decisions
With a quick wink of an eye and a "God, you must be joking"

I want to conquer the world
Expose the culprits and feed them to the children
I'll do away with air pollution and then I'll save the whales
We'll have peace on earth and global communion

I want to conquer the world
I want to conquer the world
I want to conquer the world
I want to conquer the world

The wheat waving next to you is healthy and so fine
As is dinner with your loved ones everyday
But your routine is changeless through the decades of your life
Green pastures, open spaces, holy ways

And it must look pretty appealing, the acres of light
The crowded festive nights and the millions of others just like you
Yeah, it must look pretty appealing, this other world of sin
We keep dreaming of what other people do

The person sitting next to you is dismal and deranged
On the bus ride home from work to end your day
And the food on your table is more plastic than protein
And your intellect depends on your TV

And it must look pretty appealing, the pastoral retreat
The folks on old main street and the few pleasant people just like you
Yeah, it must look pretty appealing, the simple way of life
We keep dreaming of what other people do

But we never do what other people do
You're too scared of other people not like you

Culture was the seed of proliferation but it's gotten melded
Into an inharmonic whole, to an inharmonic whole
Consciousness has plagued us and we cannot shake it
Though we think we're in control, though we think we're in control

Questions that besiege us in life
Are testament of our helplessness
There's no vestige of a beginning, no prospect of an end
When we all disintegrate it will all happen again

Time is so rock solid in the minds of the hordes but they can't
Explain why it should slip away, explain why it should slip away
History and future are the comforts of our curiosity but here we are
Rooted in the present day, rooted in the present day

Questions that besiege us in life
Are testament of our helplessness
There's no vestige of a beginning, no prospect of an end
When we all disintegrate it will all happen again

If you came to conquer, you'll be king for a day
But you too will deteriorate and quickly fade away
And believe these words you hear
When you think your path is clear

We have no control, we have no control
We have no control, we do not understand
You have no control, you are not in command
You have no control, we have no control

No control
No control
You have no control

There's a watch in my pocket
And its hands are broken
The face is blank
But the gears are turning

Confusion
Is a fundamental state of mind
It doesn't really matter what I'm figuring out
I'm guaranteed to wind up in a state of doubt

And sanity is a full time job
In a world that is always changing
And sanity is a state of mind
That you believe in sanity

There's a shadow on the wall
Where the paint is peeling
My body's moving forward
But my mind is reeling

Depression
Is a fundamental state of day
It doesn't really matter how my day has turned out
I always end up living in this world of doubt

And sanity is a full time job
In a world that is always changing
And sanity will make you strong
If you believe in sanity

And sanity is a full time job
In a world that is always changing
And sanity is a state of mind
That you believe in sanity

There's a specter in the corner of an illustrated page
And a lonesome muted stripling with a rapt remedial gaze
The poverty of his language and the wealth of his emotion
Bring him endless murky musings and unexpected frustration

Angst and madness weave the fabric of his life
Tomorrow might be better but right now it feels like...

There's a panther wild and proud behind the doors of a redolent cage
And an undeveloped intellect filled with impotent and static rage
And don't think you're exempt if you earn a good weekly wages
'Cause your neighbor's going crazy and insanity's contagious

I know there's so much you want to say
But your tongue gets in the way
And sometimes it feels like...

I know there's so much you want to say
And the tumbrel of your mind gets in the way
It's the same for everybody to degrees
We all get that foggy freeze and sometimes it feels like...