Titus Andronicus Album

(Whispered) Are we ready to go?

"From whence shall we expect the approach of danger? Shall some transatlantic giant step the earth and crush us at a blow? Never! All the armies of Europe and Asia could not, by force, take a drink from the Ohio River or set a track on the Blue Ridge in the trial of a thousand years. If destruction be our lot, we ourselves must be its author and finisher. As a nation of free men, we will live forever, or die by suicide." (-Lincoln)

There'll be no more counting the cars on the garden state parkway
Nor waiting for the Fung Wah bus to carry me to who-knows-where
And when I stand tonight, 'neath the lights of the Fenway
Will I not yell like hell for the glory of the Newark Bears?

'Cause where I'm going to now, no one can ever hurt me
Where the well of human hatred is shallow and dry
No, I never wanted to change the world, but I'm looking for a new New Jersey
'Cause tramps like us, baby, we were born to die

I'm doing 70 on 17, I'm doing 80 over 84
And I never let the Meritt Parkway magnetize me no more
Give me a brutal Somerville summer, give me a cruel New England winter
Give me the great Pine Barrens so I can see them turned into splinters

'Cause if I come in on a donkey
Let me go out on a gurney
I want to realize too late I never should have left New Jersey

I sense the enemy
They're rustling around in the trees
Oh, I thought I had gotten away
But they followed me to 02143

Woe, oh woe is me
No one knows the trouble I see
When they hang Jeff Davis from a sour apple tree
I'll sit beneath the leaves and weep

None of us shall be saved
Every man will be a slave
For John Brown's body lies a'mouldring in the grave
And there's rumblings down in the cave

So if it's time for choosing sides
And to show this dirty city how we do the Jersey Slide
And if it deserves a better class of criminal
Then I'm'a give it to them tonight

So we'll rally around the flag, rally around the flag
Rally around the flag, boys, rally once again, shouting the Battle Cry of Freedom
Rally around the flag, rally around the flag
Glory, glory, hallelujah, His truth is marching on

"I will be as harsh as truth and as uncompromising as justice. On this subject, I do not wish to think, or speak, or write with moderation. I am in earnest. I will not equivocate, I will not excuse, I will not retreat a single inch, and I will be heard."

The enemy is everywhere, the enemy is everywhere
The enemy is everywhere, the enemy is everywhere
But nobody seems to be worried or care
That the enemy is everywhere

The enemy is everywhere, the enemy is everywhere
The enemy is everywhere, the enemy is everywhere
But no one seems to be worried or care
That the enemy is everywhere

The enemy is everywhere, the enemy is everywhere
The enemy is everywhere, the enemy is everywhere
But no one seems to be worried or care
That the enemy is everywhere

The enemy is everywhere, the enemy is everywhere
The enemy is everywhere, the enemy is everywhere
But no one seems to be worried or care
That the enemy is everywhere

"I am now the most miserable man living. If what I feel were equally distributed to the whole human family, there would not be one cheerful face on Earth."

Everything makes me nervous
And nothing feels good for no reason
Waking up, it's rarely worth it
The same dark dread every morning

Senior year here in Mahwah
A new world just around the corner
Leave me behind, let me stagnate
In a fortress of solitude

Smoking's been okay so far
But I need something that works faster
So all I want for Christmas
Is no feelings, no feelings now and never again

There is a faceplate all brown and red that stretches across my mouth
It's worn for protection, nobody gets in and nobody gets out
I used to look myself in the mirror at the end of every day
But I took the one thing that made me beautiful and I threw it away

I was a river, I was a tall tree, I was a volcano
But now I'm asleep on top of a mountain, I've been covered in snow
Yes, I have surrendered what made me human and all that I thought was true
And now there's a robot that lives in my brain and he tells me what to do

And I can do nothing without his permission, that wasn't part of the plan
So now in Rock Ridge pharmacy I will be waiting for my man
But there is another down in a dungeon who never gave up the fight
And he'll be forever screaming, sometimes I hear him say, on a quiet night, he says

"You will always be a loser
You will always be a loser
You will always be a loser
You will always be a loser now"

You will always be a loser
You will always be a loser
You will always be a loser
You will always be a loser

You will always be a loser
You will always be a loser
You will always be a loser
You will always be a loser

You will always be a loser
You will always be a loser
You will always be a loser
You will always be a loser

You will always be a loser
You will always be a loser
You will always be a loser
You will always be a loser

You will always be a loser
You will always be a loser
You will always be a loser
You will always be a loser

You will always be a loser
You will always be a loser
You will always be a loser
You will always be a loser

You will always be a loser
You will always be a loser
You will always be a loser
You will always be a loser now

And that's okay

Soon you'll be burning orphanages down
Watching ashes scattering all over town
And when the smoke gets too close to the ground
You'll see blue trampling over gray and green over brown

And you'll be cutting ears off of dead men
Pumping shells into the carcass for hours on end
Then you'll swear that we've always been friends
And be unable to conceive it could ever happen again

Of course, you have never been to blame
For the various horrible things that you did
You may have gotten away with them too
If not for those meddling kids

The lump in your throat, the ache in your bones
They are nobody's fault but your own

And whatever amount you paid
For your many distractions, well, it was too much
Oh, and at the end of the day
To whatever extent that you hate yourself, it isn't enough

And we can no longer afford
Waiting for someone to lift this terrible swift sword
In our basements, we all look so bored
We've never seen the glory of the coming of the Lord

There will be parties, there will be fun
There'll be tall gallows for everyone
And we will all be sleeping easy upon the sinking of the sun
But there's only one dream that I keep close and it's the one of my hand at your throat

I will not deny my humanity
I'll be rolling in it like a pig in feces
'Cause there's no other integrity
In awaiting the demise of our species

May you endure every indignity knowing all the while that life will go on
And when it ends, may you have nothing to say, except that it took too long
And may I be there somehow
Asking, "Where are all your friends now?"

"The audience was large and brilliant. Upon my weary heart was showered smiles, plaudits, and flowers, but beyond them, I saw thorns and troubles innumerable."

It was a pretty good GPA
We got a couple of good grades
And it sounded like a pretty good seven inch

And winter didn't seem so cold
I had a smile for everyone I know
I was starting to get comfortable in the place that I'm in

And it used to not mean anything
It used to not mean anything
It used to not mean anything
But it really means nothing now

Nothing means anything anymore
Everything is less than zero
And I know it won't do much good, getting drunk and sad and singing
But I'm at the end of my rope and I feel like swinging

It was an unflattering photograph and people saw it all over town
Hanging up on the wall above the urinal
Hear the man with the notepad say, "Oh, they're funny, but they drink too much"
"And don't be surprised if they don't amount to nothing at all"

And we were talking about giving up
We were talking about lying down
We were talking about tying off
Wasn't it supposed to mean something now?

Let them see you struggle and they're going to tear you apart
You ain't never been no virgin, kid, you were fucked from the start
They're all going to be laughing at you
They're all going to be laughing at you

You can't make it on merit, not on merit and merit alone
Dan McGee tried to tell me, "There ain't no more Rolling Stones"
They're all going to be laughing at you
They're all going to be laughing at you

I've been called out, cuckolded, castrated, but I survived
I am covered in urine and excrement but I'm alive
And there's a white flag in my pocket never to be unfurled
Though with their hands 'round my ankles, they bring me down for another swirl
And they tell me, "Take it easy buddy, it's not the end of the world"

"And there and then and bathed by the rising sun, my son in his grave, in his rude-dug grave I deposited,
Ending my vigil strange with that, vigil of night and battle-field dim,
Vigil for boy of responding kisses, (never again on earth responding),
Vigil for comrade swiftly slain, vigil I never forget, how as day brighten'd,
I rose from the chill ground and folded my soldier well in his blanket,
And buried him where he fell."

This is a war we can't win
After ten thousand years, it's still us against them
And my heroes have always died at the end
So who's going to account for these sins?

And I don't know who here is my friend
I'm certain that I've seen uglier men
But Christ, fuck me if I can remember when
Will I never be lonely again?

Olden times are returning once more
As six dark-winged devils line up at my door
Each one is more evil than that which came before
Seven angels find me spread across the floor

You'd like everyone to believe you're a star
And I'll admit that it's worked out pretty well so far
But when they see the kind of person that you really are
Then you won't be laughing so hard

No, you won't be laughing so hard
No, you won't be laughing so hard
No, you won't be laughing
No, you won't be laughing

No, you won't be laughing, you won't be laughing
No, you won't be laughing, you won't be laughing
No, you won't be laughing so hard

I'm depraved and disgusting, I spew like a fountain
Been debased, defaced, disgraced and destroyed
"Most of all disappointed," I say atop this mountain
As I urinate into the void

Fuck, I'm frustrated, freaking out something fierce
Would you help me? I'm hungry, I suffer and I starve
And I struggle and I stammer 'til I'm up to my ears
In miserable quote-unquote art

About how ever since our forefathers came on this land
We've been coddling those we should be running through
Please don't wait around for them to come and shake hands
They're not going to be waiting for you

'Cause these humans treat humans like humans treat hogs
They get used up, carved up, and fried in a pan
But I wasn't born to die like a dog, I was born to die just like a man
I was born to die just like a man

It's still us against them
It's still us against them
It's still us against them
It's still us against them

It's still us against them
It's still us against them
It's still us against them
It's still us against them

It's still us against them
It's still us against them
It's still us against them
It's still us against them

It's still us against them
It's still us against them
It's still us against them
It's still us against them and they're winning

They're winning

I'm sorry, mama, but I've been drinking again
Me and the old man got us a head start on the weekend
And rest assured tonight I'm going to be in Kevin's basement with all my friends
Provided we can get, get our lazy asses down to Bottle King by ten

And the walk home is going to be a real shit-show
I'll be picking up half-smoked cigarette butts all up and down Rock Road
And then throw up in the warm glow of the traffic light
But I'm going to put the devil inside me to sleep if it takes all night

So let's get fucked up
And let's pretend we're all okay
And if you've got something that you can't live with, save it for another day
Alright, save it for another day

I'm sorry, Mama, expect a call from the neighbors tonight
All of my asshole buddies are coming over and they're feeling a little too alright
I'm sick and tired of everyone in this town being so goddamn uptight
But don't you worry, I'll do all the talking when they turn on the flashing lights

When I'm an old man I can be the quiet type
And I can go without a moment of fun for the rest of my life
I can read a good book and I can be in bed by ten
And I can get up early, go to work and come home, and start it all over again

But while we're young, boys, everybody raise your glasses high
Singing, "Here's to the good times, here's to the home team
Kiss the good times goodbye
Oh yeah, kiss the good times goodbye"

I need a timeout
I need an escape from reality
Or else I need eternal darkness and death
I need an exit strategy

Down in North Caroline
I could have been a productive member of society
But these New Jersey cigarettes and all they require of me
Have made a fucking junkie out of me

So give me a Guinness
Give me a Keystone Light
Give me a kegger on a Friday night
Give me anything but another year in exile

I need a whiskey, I need a whiskey, I need a whiskey right now
I need a whiskey, I need a whiskey
God know how many times I've said this before
But I really don't feel like doing this anymore

So hey, Andy, let's turn into dirty old men
Close down the bar every night at the Glen Rock Inn
Talk about our grandkids as we stroke our gray beards
Funny we're still doing car bombs after all of these years

Now I know there are bicycles waiting to ride
But I could swear I heard voices from the other side
Saying, "Wait until you see the whites of their eyes"

And now that I'm older, I look back and say
"What the fuck was it for anyway?"
Those dreams are lying in the still of the grave
What the fuck were they for anyway?

So let it be on a stretcher if I get carried away
What the fuck was it for anyway?
What the fuck was it for anyway?

You have got a lot of nerve to behave the way that you do
Making me listen to all of your carrying on
You are not the only one who thinks that life is so cruel
Me, I have got problems of my own

If you talk and nobody's listening
It's almost like being alone
So it's alright, the way you piss and moan
It's alright, the way you piss and moan

Like the time traveler who killed his grandfather
These cycles are bringing me down
We could build a nice life together
If we don't kill each other first

Are you just too fucked up to understand me
Or is it the other way around?
Maybe it's both
And I just don't know which is worse

So you better thank your lucky stars
You don't know half what I know is true
But it's alright if you think that you do
It's alright if you think that you do

Was it the Devil
Or was it the Lord
Who gave you those words
The ones I never heard?

That it's alright to kill and it's alright to steal
If you're willing to hold up your part of the deal
There are plenty of things that are worth dying for
But you'll never know until you open that door

And reasons for living are seldom and few
When you see one, you better stick to it like glue
Yes, it's true
It is true, it's true

If I were there to keep satisfied all of your carnal desires
Then it might be my place to say what is or isn't forbid
So how can I hold it against you if you answer the call of the wild?
No matter how brilliant a woman, you're only a kid
But if you know that nobody is ever going to suffer for you like I did

Then it's alright, the way that you live
It's alright, the way that you live
It's alright, the way that you live
It's alright, the way that you live

It's alright, the way that you live
It's alright, the way that you live
It's alright, the way that you live
It's alright, the way that you live

It's alright now

The enemy is everywhere, the enemy is everywhere
The enemy is everywhere, the enemy is everywhere
Oh, I'm worthless and weak and I'm sick and I'm scared
And the enemy is everywhere

The enemy is everywhere, the enemy is everywhere
The enemy is everywhere, the enemy is everywhere
Oh, I'm worthless and weak, oh, I'm sick and I'm scared
And the enemy is everywhere

"I am loathe to close. We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break the bonds of our affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature."

Tonight two great ships will pull back to their ports
Depleted of everything that shoots flames and reports
And in the morning the shells will wash up on the shore
And the mighty of Earth will have no other recourse

But to shiver and shake and make shit in their shorts
Because we have been told that if you've been assured
There's a way to live the values your forefathers gave you
Prepare to be told "That shit's gay, dude"

Well, I guess that what they say is true
That there is no race more human
No one throws it away like they do

The things I used to love, I have come to reject
The things I used to hate, I have learned to accept
And the worst of the three, you now have to expect
Satan ain't hard to see without craning your neck

He'll be seventy-some inches tall
He'll be chugging a beer and he'll be grabbing his balls
He's a remote explosive waiting for someone to call
He's just eighteen for now but he's going to murder us all

Solidarity's going to give a lot less than it'll take
Is there a girl at this college who hasn't been raped?
Is there a boy in this town that's not exploding with hate?
Is there a human alive that can look themselves in the face

Without winking?
Or say what they mean without drinking?
Or believe in something without thinking, "What if somebody doesn't approve?"
Is there a soul on this Earth that isn't too frightened to move?

I think the wrong people got a hold of your brain
When it was nothing but a piece of putty
So now try as you may
But you will always be a tourist, little buddy

And half the time I open my mouth to speak
It's to repeat something that I heard on TV
And I've destroyed everything that wouldn't make me more like Bruce Springsteen
So I'm going back to New Jersey, I do believe they've had enough of me

So when I leave Boston, my tail is between my legs
After deep cups of patience have been drunk to the dregs
And now I'm heading west on 84 again
And I'm as much of an asshole as I've ever been

And there is still nothing about myself I respect
Still haven't done anything I did not later regret
I've a hand and a napkin when looking for sex
And that's no one to talk to when feeling depressed

And so now when I drink, I'm going to drink to excess
And when I smoke, I will smoke gaping holes in my chest
And when I scream, I will scream until I'm gasping for breath
And when I get sick, I will stay sick for the rest

Of my days peddling hate out the back of a Chevy Express
Each one a fart in the face of your idea of success
And if this be thy will, then fucking pass me the cup
And I'm sorry, Dad, no, I'm not making this up

But my enemy, it's your name on my lips as I go to sleep
And I know what little I've known of peace
Yes, I've done to you what you've done to me
And I'd be nothing without you, my darling, please don't ever leave

Please don't ever leave
Please don't ever leave
Please don't ever leave

Please don't ever leave
Please don't ever leave
Please don't ever leave
Please don't ever leave

Please don't ever leave
Please don't ever leave
Please don't ever leave
Please don't ever leave

Please don't ever leave
Please don't ever leave
Please don't ever leave
Please don't ever leave